Stats for April: 421 hours of volunteering by 34 volunteers over 17 sessions; 3 new volunteers.
Stats for 2024: 1688 hours, 49 active volunteers, 67 sessions; 11 new volunteers, 2 work experience placements.

This month the apple blossom exploded all over the farm, but the oaks are slower even to show their leaves. Suddenly we had a polytunnel full of seedlings to look after. A bed of lettuce was planted out in the first week of the month – will they survive the snails and slugs?

The soil has warmed up and we are seeding carrots and parsnips directly into the soil. Before the planting out begins in earnest we had a week of dawn and dusk slug/snail patrol, catching 100+ of each every time we go out. This works well just before the clocks go back – it feels like a last opportunity to use the hours of darkness before the days are just too long.

Our second batch of chicks and duckings require daily transfers from the barn to their outside run, a chore that brings a lot of pleasure.

A volunteer built them a new house from donated wood and towards the end of the month they made the transition to be permanently outside, neighbours to our ducks. They are a great attraction and everyone marvels at how quickly they grow.

We continue to improve our compost bays and sort the compost yard. And we are working through logs donated from local tree surgeons to split them for next winters firewood.