weird, weird weather!!!

I have to admit that when I went up to the farm last Thursday I suggested to Sarah and the team that they should cancel the big day on Saturday...luckily no-one listened. The Urb Farm open day was a resounding success with beautiful sunny weather and a great atmosphere! I couldn't make it - granny duty again - but eveyone seems to have a great time and there are some really positive messages flying around from the growing people facebook page - including one asking for more open days! If you took any photos let me have them and I'll post them on the blog.

view from the cabin during the hail storm

This Tuesday, though, was quite different. We had the full range of weather conditions  - cold and cloudy in the morning with warm, sunny spells. A downpour in the afternoon sent us scuttling for the polytunnels and then we had an amazing hail storm just as we were packing away! The whole area was covered in white.

This weird weather is having a bad impact on the urban farm, though. The ground is sodden, there isn't much sun and it's still cold - even for May! The greenhouses are full of plants that really need to be put outside, but the conditions just aren't right  and that means there's no space to sow or pot on the next set of plants to be ready for planting out later! It's quite a headache for the team...and now, with all this grumbling about the weather I'm beginning to sound like a real farmer!!!

It isn't all miserable though. DHL's UK Foundation have given the farm a cheque for £500 . The DHL UK Foundation is an independent charity which funds activities and programmes helping children and young people achieve their full potential. Some of the money will go towards buying a new bee colony and the rest - crazy though it might sound at the moment - will  probably go towards an irrigation system for the polytunnels...am I back to writing about rain...????


If you want to volunteer at the urban farm come along on Tuesdays after 10.00 for a chat or contact Dave at : dave_meara@hotmail.com