Our local schools have come up trumps and taken us up on our slightly whacky request for scarecrows in the theme of characters from traditional tales. In return, each school that participates recieves enough plants to establish a kitchen garden or to add to their existing garden, while the winning school will be invited to join us for a free day at the farm and follow up work with our chefs working in their school, with some of the ingredients they have seen growing in the fields.

The event is intended to promote the educational possibilities within a business such as Trevaskis. Since we have been running our education programme in earnest here at Trevaskis, around 5,000 students, from nusery aged children, to college students and adult groups have visited the farm to learn about the journey of food from field to plate. The unusual diversity of the business means that chidlren can not only see how food grows in the fields but, once we've dusted the mud off, they can see how the produce is sold or used in the restaurant, they can see how our livestock is reared and learn about the fresh fish available to us just off the Cornish coast when they visit the fishmonger. Younger groups enjoy the sensory experiences of tasting fruit, smelling the herbs, picking apples etc while the older children gain an insight into running a business or businesses such as this and the decisions that have to be made and problems that need to be solved.  

Just as importantly, we hope to make more parents aware that the farm is open to walk around, free of charge, year round (although areas may be closed in the depths of winter due to too much mud!) and your children can see around 100 different crops grown seasonally plus piglets, calves and lambs.

Scarecrow weekend opens at 10 am - 8pm Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th May. The scarecrows need your votes!

We had a handful of Wellsummers and a good few Light Sussexes ( a few too many cockerals ) which grew into fine chickens, only to suffer an attack by our neighbours dog that cost us five of our eight lovely chickens.

The remaining three we named Buster, Billy and Bolt. Two light Sussexes - a hen and a cockeral and a Wellsummer hen, who lived happily, attacking the neighbours' children and waking everybody up at the crack of dawn, until the next dog attack from which only a slightly chewed Buster and a totally unscathed Bolt (the cockeral) managed to survive.

Enough was enough and we decided to relocate Buster and Bolt and brought them here to the farm. Giles promptly visited a poultry sale and so now we have a happy, if very mixed, flock of chickens and a few ducks thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately, the formidable Bolt has since passed away - probably the lack of small child in his new diet - but Buster remains, and they truly are an asset to the farm and lovely to watch. You will find our new residents in their enclosure as you walk past the currants and gooseberries on the way down to the tunnels. Please go and have a look and remember to get in touch if you read of any cockerals in the lonely-chicks columns... 

With our own strawberries on sale everywhere you look in Trevaskis Market at the moment, you can be in no doubt that tunnels are laden with beautiful fruit which taste much nicer when they are picked by your own hand - as fresh as possible straight off the plant. A brilliant education and a great day out for children, and next month will see gooseberries, raspberries, currants, broad beans, peas and much more ready to be picked.

Why not take a leaf out of your granny's book and fill your freezer with fruit to take you through the winter months? Or resolve to make this year the year to start making your own jam?

So watch this space and the TM shelves as they become full of the freshest home-grown produce picked that morning, only a few minutes down the lane! Couldn't be better...