farmers market business

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November 3, 2009

Market and event list between now and Christmas

Posted by glanbrydan under Glanbrydan business, farmers market business, places to visit in Wales, seasonal
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Here is a list of the market & events we will be attending between now and Christmas. 

November:

Farmers markets

  • Brecon farmers market Saturday14th Nov 9.30 am until 2.00 pm-  In the market hall as usual http://breconfarmersmarkets.wordpress.com/producers/
  • Llandovery farmers market Saturday 28th Nov 9.30 am until 2.00 pm– In the market square
  • llangynidr farmers market Sunday 29th Nov  10.30 am until 1.30 pm- In the village hall http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/mid/listings/pages/event.shtml?eid=275529&rid=80 for further dates.

Special events

  •  Llandeilo festival of the senses Saturday 21st Nov to Sunday 22nd Nov – producers in and around the town. http://www.orchardweb.co.uk/fest/events.html for details of all that’s going on
  • Llandovery Christmas lights switch on Friday 27th Nov from about 3.00pm until after Santa arrives at 6.30pm.

December:

 Farmers Markets

  • Brecon farmers market Saturday12th Dec 9.30 am until 2.00 pm-  In the market hall as usual http://breconfarmersmarkets.wordpress.com/producers/
  • llangynidr farmers market Sunday 20th Dec  10.30 am until 1.30 pm- In the village hall http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/mid/listings/pages/event.shtml?eid=275529&rid=80 for further dates.
  • Llansawel farmers market 19th December 10.00 am until 2.00 pm. A local market well attended by craft producers as well.

Special events

  • Llanerchaeron near Aberaeron (National trust) Christmas and food fair Saturday 5th to Sunday 6th Dec 10.00 am until 4.00pm http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-events-find_event.htm?propertyID=219
  • Talgarth Christmas fair 5th Dec all day in and around the town. With food, craft and activity stalls.
  • Aberystwyth Christmas farmers market 19th Dec in the town centre from about 10.00 am
  •  Brecon Christmas market Saturday 28th Nov in the town centre from 9.30 am until 3.00 pm

We look forward to seeing you there if you can make it.

Please say hello and tell us if you read the blog.

 

April 5, 2009

Our first ever food festival – Llanwrtyd Wells

Posted by glanbrydan under Gardening Calendar, Glanbrydan business, farmers market business
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img_0004

After the Llanwrtyd Wells food festival yesterday we are having a catch up day in the house. It seems the cleaning of our home as well as the animals won’t wait for us to have a day off so we’ve knuckled down and now the house at least looks a bit more welcoming.

When we arrived at the festival to unload there was a mass of producers all jostling for the unloading spaces needed. We were lucky though as we like to get there with a little time to spare, once we had finished and moved the car to the parking area more and more vehicles piled in to the limited space. Eventually it became a car park, those at the front hemmed in by those at the rear. It all goes off in good humour and everyone makes the starting time.

The day was a warm day all the food producers were in a marquee while the craft producers occupied the hall. The warm day brought the shoppers out to enjoy a pleasant stroll round the wonderful mixture of delicacies on offer. Next to us was a fascinating couple who import and roast coffee beans. They then sell hot drinks, some home bakes and of course the beans. A good choice of neighbour! On our other side a lady selling spices all bagged up in tiny amounts lovingly labeled and displayed in exotic looking baskets.

Love spoon ice cream http://lovespoon.wordpress.com/ were opposite us and we were able  to sample their wonderful vanilla ice cream. Other stall holders such as the chili stall, the pickles man, the couple who make bread  and the french patisserie lady we recognised from Brecon farmers market. There was another spices lady we know from Llangynidr farmers market and a couple of  nice looking cakes stalls. This year we noted the huge array of beer, cider, whisky and other alcoholic beverages produced by micro breweries . Our Brecon neighbour who makes cheese was on the other side of the room and lastly there were some meat stalls, a veg stall and a few others dotted about the place. 

Soon after setting up we munched on a fantastic sausage sandwich each and this kept up going through quite a busy day until we stopped for a kitkat mid afternoon. Exhausted but happy we had only a couple of things left at the end of the day so we treated ourselves to a fish and chip supper.

So it’s a thumbs up for our first ever food festival

I’ve planted up a box of spinach in the greenhouse today & a few more broad beans

 

March 15, 2009

We have pea shoots

Posted by glanbrydan under Gardening Calendar, farmers market business, gardening, veg garden, vegetable garden
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My lettuce box

My lettuce box

At long last we have a germinated tray of peas. The tender little shoots appear to be the only living things  in the greenhouse at the moment. My improvised heated propagator a.k.a. the radiator is working a treat on the aubergines while the chili seeds are taking a bit long to push through we have a few front runners making an appearance. I’ll be glad when they are up as they are living on my bedside cabinet which is a bit cramped.

The Brecon farmers market went well yesterday as the shoppers made an appearance which we think may be down to a bit of sunshine. It was a steady day rather than spurts of shoppers which makes our lives easier. The pork pies are popular so we will increase production for future markets. I must also get round to making up sausage rolls although for us they cost about the same to make as a pork pie just a bit less meat and we sell them for less so I’m still not convinced about the economics but they make a good option for the younger children.

My knitting has had to be put to one side as we prepared for the market so I’m eager to have a go at finishing off my first little baby cardigan. The parts are all finished it just needs putting together with a collar and borders. I say ‘just’ but this is the bit I muck up normally. I shall be searching for help and advice before I pick up a needle.

The planting continued today

Unwins 1 horseradish root – I have never grown this before. I put it in one of my recycled tyre planters which was composted last autumn.

Unwins pink garlic – a pack of two also in a tyre. They work well planted in a circle

Unwins Red Sun shallots – another tyre full.

Unwins Asparagus Bachlim F1 Hybrid – a pack of two crowns, another first for me I’ve put them in corners of the raised bed.

The real seed company Brussels Sprout ‘Sanda’  – I have planted up a tyre as a seed bed and I’ll move them into a raised bed later

Johnsons Purple Top Milan turnips – A tyre full again

The real seed company Giant Limousin Turnips - A tyre full

Unwins Bunyard Exhibition Broad beans – I’m trying a bed with a weed suppressant cover. I cut little windows, make a little hole and pop the beans in.

Unwins allsorts lettuce – in a lettuce box in the greenhouse

Mr Fothergills  red Cherry tomatoes- in 3 inch pots in the greenhouse

Mr Fothergills Greyhound cabbage – in cell trays in the greenhouse

The real seed company Serpette Guilloteau climbing peas – The weed suppressant cover covered bed and a tyre for comparison.

Lastly I have followed the advice of vegplotting and I have my parsnip seeds on some damp kitchen towel . http://vegplotting.blogspot.com/2009/01/guide-to-parsnips-you-ask-we-answer.html

Unwins Avonresister and The reel seed company tender and true parsnips.

I’ve planted modest amounts of everything. The idea for most things is to plant again in two weeks so we get a cycle of cropping.

My next ‘job’ is to get some herbs for a bargain basement pot I picked up this morning. The pot is quite large and some tiled decorations had dropped off the rim. I like it better without them anyway and my £7 pot should hold a couple of things. We found the pot when we went to a department store first thing to pick up a couple of basins they had in the sale. Compact & modern for our new bathrooms (the ones that have yet to be built).  We are buying up a few bargain things as we see them for the new rooms, there are lots of offers around now.

 

March 2, 2009

Update of the month

Posted by glanbrydan under Glanbrydan business, farmers market business, vegetable garden
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img_00821Planting progress review – The beans and peas I planted a week ago must have been nicely softened by the water I gave them and swelled by the warmth of the early spring sunshine through the glass of the greenhouse. They were so tasty that a little mouse must have indigestion as it scoffed the lot! I now have 2 cell trays with lots of very neat little holes in. I will have to start again and bring them indoors to get them started. I am tempted to leave the greenhouse door open a little bit for a couple of days and see if Smudger the cat can persuade our little friend to go elsewhere, after all they only moved into the greenhouse as it’s one of  the only cat proof environments we have – supplied with ready meals! The pepper and aubergine seeds have not shown their heads yet either it may be just a tad too cool for the tropical peppers although they can take up to 21 days to germinate.

The red onions planted a while ago that were doing so well have undergone some disturbance at the hands of the chickens who love the soil in the veg beds. Not only have they been scratching the soil, which is ok as they get rid of the weeds, but they decided to pluck the little bulbs up and toss them out the way. I have had words with the ladies…..

February farmers markets and St Davids day at Llangynidr market. – We enjoyed a good day at Crickhowell craft and food fair which was laid on as part of the Crickhowell walking festival. It was mainly attended by locals out on their Saturday morning shop, but having said that the dog treats went down extremely well. Whilst I went to Crickhowell T-W-O went along to Llandovery farmers market and attending his first committee meeting afterwards. Such a hardship spending an hour in the pub! We topped up our pasty production on the Saturday evening and managed to finish at a reasonable time (for us).

St Davids day, 1st April is celebrated here in the principality with the wearing of daffodil broaches and the national costume gets it’s annual outing.

The Llanganydir market on St Davids day swarmed with shoppers and tourists enjoying a nice Spring day out and gave us one of our best days takings ever. The hall was filled with stalls selling all manor of crafts and food delights. We were sandwiched between our chicken and bacon neighbours from Brecon with Susanne Chapman the  Chef doing cooking demonstrations on the other side.

 

January 31, 2009

Nobody in town for the Llandovery market

Posted by glanbrydan under Glanbrydan business, farmers market business | Tags: , |
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sunrise this morning

sunrise this morning

Well it had to happen, we came home with a box of food today. It wasn’t a disaster and we did sell quite a few things but we will be eating a steak and kidney pudding for lunch tomorrow. T-W-O was quite pleased about this but not so sure about the butternut squash pasties we have left over – the old carnivore that he is. (no not dinosaur!).

We are not down about it just amazed at the lack of people in town today. We think they all had more sense as the wind was cutting and they could probably be found in their houses in front of nice warm fires. Many of the more regular visitors were absent and so were some of the stall holders. We did sell all our new ‘large’ quiches, all the pork pies, quite a few pasties and most of the big pies as well as bags of dried liver and a few jars of honey which we have added to our table for the last two markets.

We are considering selling the dried liver on line and are looking at how we can successfully package it up but keep the post costs down. We really need an electronic shop front but we don’t want to set up a web site just for the liver as it would be extra expense and then there is the question of how to take money for it.  Ebay is an option I am going to explore and then customers can pay by paypal but as a seller paypal is expensive for smaller transactions.

 

January 25, 2009

Good market today

Posted by glanbrydan under Glanbrydan business, farmers market business
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We are both very tired but all went well at the new farmers market. In a village hall in a small village not a million miles from Brecon we set up on trestle tables placed around the hall and in two central islands.

We were placed between our Brecon market neighbours who do wonderful meat and poultry and a gentleman who paints scenic watercolours of the area. Oposite us was a lady with cheese and we noted friendly faces manning stalls around the room. The stall holders are a fascinating bunch, we watched two ladies at work spinning wool, the watercolour man had huge local knowledge talking to people who admired his pictures about where they had been painted.

We had sold out by 1.00pm having taken a smaller amount of products to a new venue – the idea of pasties for tea all week having spent all weekend with them (nice as they are -honest) made us cautious but the wonderful Powys people bought us out. We did well with the dried liver and added jars of honey to our table.

The new venue is officially a success.

 

January 24, 2009

working hard in the kitchen

Posted by glanbrydan under Glanbrydan business, farmers market business
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M is for mince and veg partner pie

M is for mince and veg partner pie

We have worked hard today to get ready for our trip to Llangynidr farmers market tomorrow. The kitchen is full of the smells of beef, lamb, chicken and all the herbs and spices we use to flavour them. The labour bit is done and now it’s just rounds of cooking.

The new food mixer worked well reassuring us we made the right choice and poor T-W-O has worked very hard today. He did all my prep work for me: meat and veg. He has lifted, moved, opened things for me as well as making, rolling and cutting all the pastry.

Another addition to the kitchen has been an alphabet of cutters so the pasty types are now identified with a letter; L = lamb, B = beef and so on. We are pleased with the results. I also have two differen sized heart shaped cutters ready for valentines day when we are at Brecon market so we will have a day with everything covered in hearts.

To overcome the wrist problem I have been using my left hand which has now made me back aches on my left side. I don’t think a little flour will hurt my cast but I have been very careful to keep it away from the food and water. I am amazed at how adaptable we are to situations – there are still some things that defeat me such as eating fish with bones on, chasing salad around the plate and I haven’t tried cutting meat.

Luckily for us since my little slip up we have eaten out twice with last night at E & Ps house. They did a very nice pasta dish and salad, healthy too. Followed by a slightly less healthy pudding,  but you do have to have a balanced diet.