On Saturday Aug 16th several members visited Crowhurst Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).
The project is located on a working farm: Upper Wilting Farm in Crowhurst, tenants of Hastings Borough Council.
There is a large growing area, including polytunnel, greenhouse and a kitchen garden. Loads of manure and other resources are freely available on site. They also have a small orchard and keep Bees.
They were growing a variety of fruit and vegetables including courgettes, pumpkins, beans, chard, pears, apples and tomatoes. We came away with some Bangkok cucumbers, grown from seed. When the project has a glut of produce they usually send it to a soup kitchen in Bexhill or local residents in need in Crowhurst village.
Membership
Membership is £40/year, with an expectation of 4 hours work per month. This entitles you to a share of the harvest and covers the cost of seeds, compost and insurance.
Members have access to the farm land including the Monkton Woods. There is an orchard out near Rye that has an annual apple crop that gets turned into juice and sold cheaply to members.
See more details on membership. It’s very much about being a team player – it’s not allotments!
Membership dropped off during construction of the link road, which goes very close to their land, but they are looking to recruit new members ready for next year when the road builders have gone.
