The loganberries are early this year
They love sunshine and we’ve had plenty of that during May.
Each flower develops one berry, which has a juicier and sharper flavour than a raspberry. So we’ve been picking them as quickly as they ripen and making delicious jam.
The berries don’t all ripen at the same time so keep going back for more!
In 2019 we decided to buy a greenhouse to help raise more plants from seed and for chillis during the summer.
Greenhouse 2 has just been completed – May 2020
Strawberry crop at Springdale this year is amazing. Already picked 128lbs and it’s only the middle of June. Strawberries are on the menu every morning for breakfast.
Freshly made jam is delicious! A real taste of summer.
Marmalade 2019
Delicious new season Seville Oranges have been transformed into Springdale Produce’s tangy, fruity marmalade. We have been selling it at Usk Farmer’s Market, which takes place every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month.
All our labels are newly designed with the the Springdale logo, our lovely Magnolia tree, and Wye Valley Jam with the variety named below. Available to buy from us, or at Leaf Creative, Huntley Garden Centre, Huntley, GL19 3EX or from The Pantry, St Briavels, GL15 6TA
Clip from Monmouthshire Beacon
The Rivers’ Early Plum – Delicious eating plum, ready at the end of July 2018
Just before picking
First crop from this little tree
The Rosette Apple – A beautiful early season apple
Rosette is a bright red early season apple, with an amazing rosette-like pattern of marbled pink or red flesh that is revealed when you cut the apple open!
The flesh does not brown (oxidise) that quickly either so it can be used to add an interesting colour to savoury or fruit salads. It was a good choice of apple tree and although only in its third year has a good crop in 2018.
Planted last year, 2017, this is the first year (2018) for picking our loganberries.
They look like raspberries but the fruit is a little longer and firmer. The loganberry is a raspberry x blackberry hybrid with quite a tart flavour which is ideal for cooking or jam.
The fruit is a sharper than a raspberry but makes delicious jam which sets in minutes.
A jug full of loganberries can be turned into three of these lovely jars of jam!
French bean seeds were planted towards the end of May, and potted on, planting into well manured ground on 8th June 2018, In 6 weeks these were ready to start picking.
Three varieties of French Beans are ready for picking.
Purple Queen at the top, Saxa on the right, and Kinghorn Wax on the left.
Saxa variety – 10lbs picked so far (21.7.18), 5lbs now blanched and frozen, the rest have been eaten! The Dwarf French bean ‘Saxa’ (Phaseolus vulgaris) is a strong variety that seems to give a good crop and can be harvested early. The Kinghorn Wax (Phaseolus vulgaris) is also an early to late, stringless, dwarf French bean, but a lovely yellow in colour. 2lbs of these so far (21.7.18). The Purple Queen, dark purple in colour, turns green on boiling. However this seems to be a later variety and the pods are still developing.
6lbs of blackcurrants picked
Springdale Blackcurrant Jam
springdalegarden 