A fruitful September.
Mostly.
Apples from the orchard, bees from the trees and a cider-making ambition that took a slightly unexpected turn.
Come and have a look ↓The best-laid plans. And the apple cart.
September is the sort of month that makes you feel rather pleased with yourself. The trees have been quietly getting on with the important work, and suddenly there's fruit to pick, things to make and the hopeful conviction that this year we'll be terribly organised.
At Oakfield, that conviction doesn't always survive contact with reality. Which is often when the better stories begin.
This month's notes take us from the orchard to the beehives, then into the kitchen — where Kathy is bringing two very good ingredients together.
The general idea is to use what we've got, learn what we can, and enjoy the occasional surprise.
Apples take centre stage.
There's something very satisfying about seeing the fruit actually on the trees. Weeks and months of weather and waiting, and then there they are: apples in various sizes, colours and degrees of cooperation.
And the pears? They deserve a little attention too. Rather than give them a token mention in an apple story, we'd like to give them their own moment when we've worked out what to make with them.
For now, the apples are about to become a rather larger experiment than anyone first intended.
The geese are rather keen on windfalls too. We haven't persuaded them to save any for the cider press.
We bought a proper cider press. Naturally, we made vinegar.
The ambition was straightforward enough. Apples, a proper cider press, a bit of patience — and eventually some cider. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, we didn't quite end up with what we'd put on the shopping list.
We did get something genuinely useful: good vinegar. Not exactly a triumph for the cider department, perhaps, but hardly a failure either.
That's one of the things we enjoy about trying things on the farm. Sometimes a plan produces the thing you intended. Sometimes it produces something else worth keeping.
And in this case the story carried on. Something developing in that cider-and-vinegar experiment led us towards a new project: a kombucha starter. One experiment apparently felt the need to introduce us to another.
Buying a proper cider press is one thing. Getting it to produce cider instead of vinegar is apparently another.
Meet the mother.
Our cider-and-vinegar experiment produced quite a surprise: vinegar and a mother. Not quite what we had in mind when we brought home the press.
The mother led us on to another experiment: making a kombucha starter. Apparently one kitchen project was not enough.
We aimed for cider. We got vinegar. We'll call that a change of direction.
They've been rather busy themselves.
Elsewhere on the farm, the bees have been following an entirely different plan. We've got the photographs to prove it: a huge swarm in the branches, an astonishing procession into a hive, and the intricate, colourful world inside the comb.
The bees keep their own calendar, of course. Their story belongs here because the hive eventually brings something rather useful to the kitchen.
A swarm is one way honey-bee colonies reproduce. Part of a colony leaves to find a new home, often gathering temporarily in a cluster while scout bees search.
Read the full bees & honey story ↗Honey & apple cake.
Now we're talking.
Apples from the orchard and honey from the hives. Two quite separate stories, brought together in one very sensible piece of baking. We have a honey-and-apple cake recipe to try — and a very good excuse to put the kettle on.
Not a bad use for an apple.
There's the practical side: use the fruit, make something good, and give everyone an excuse to put the kettle on.
There's also a lovely connection here. The orchard and the bees don't need to be squeezed into the same article to belong together. A cake does that quite naturally.
See the recipe to try ↗Best enjoyed with a cup of tea. A little extra honey wouldn't go amiss, either.
And there is always something else...
A moment for the pears.
Maybe a tart. Maybe preserves. We'll let the fruit — and Kathy — decide before claiming we've done it.
A pumpkin, a pie
& a bit of a mess.
The Halloween story, complete with a glowing lantern and a recipe to try. Read October ↗
And yes, we do catering too.
These farm notes are a glimpse of the things happening behind the scenes. Oakfield also caters hog and lamb roasts for events, provides cooked roasts for delivery and hires out roasting machines. If you're planning an occasion, we'd be happy to talk.
See the food & catering ↗