The Stables Christian Centre

Because of the early dry and sunny weather crops were ready for harvest early.  The lavender and catnip went to the craft department, and lots of kinds of fruit including currants and strawberries to the kitchen.    For processing some produce such as onions or hot chillies, space-age goggles are chosen to protect the eyes! Three ladies took a few moments to celebrate – they all turned 60.  Congratulations!

By April we were harvesting our first crop of the year, rhubarb – here it is being processed ready for rhubarb and ginger jam or rhubarb chutney. We re-assessed our plants after their winter dormancy and got ready for the new season.   Benches and tables were scrubbed down ready for the first coffee shop:  the milder weather has meant customers could enjoy the outdoors.

There were plenty of winter jobs to do, such as cleaning down the plant selling tables. Processing the compost through our five bin system is rather smelly – but we are producing some lovely compost at the end. Everyone is happy to come in for that coffee break! In the craft room, the purchase of some black needles has meant that one visually impaired team member could get on with some tacking.  Others were cutting out and sewing up a new “frog”. And the plant presses were em

The year ended as usual with Christmas celebrations and goodies.  Joining in was one of our regular visitors to the project, our local...

The apple harvest kept our outdoor teams busy.  Handling the fruit carefully is important so there are no bruises.  Earlier pruning made...

Once again our trustee Dudley brought in his microscopes, some equipment and a soft toy in the shape of a microscopic bug, and spent a...

The craft department were busy outside picking lavender to be processed and eventually packaged ready for sale. It was also the time for...

Despite it being slow to warm up, this was the beginning of our busy season in the garden and plant departments. 1. Hoses were repaired...

The winter storms brought down several trees, and the post for our hanging sign – the latter was reconstructed by some friendly...

Our Christmas sale was held on a day of freezing fog so we were very grateful to our many customers who ventured out to support us and...

A very exciting day was spent in August when Dudley, one of our trustees and also a scientist, brought in some laboratory equipment, and...

Autumn brought with it many outdoor jobs of clearing and raking. Trees in the apple orchard were all pruned hard and th resulting...