| Date/Time | Location | Course facilitator |
| 7 Jun 2015 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM | Ditchling, Ardingly, Hailsham, Hellingly, Bodle Street |
SFTG Open Farm day has become a popular annual event and gives members the chance for an outing to meet other members, see new set-ups and exchange ideas.
We have five holdings which have kindly agreed to open this year. There are two in the west of the area (Ditchling and Ardingly) and three in the centre/east (Hailsham, Hellingly and Bodle Street). Pre-booking is required but there is no charge. You will receive the addresses when you book (see below for how to book). Open Farms are very informal and you are welcome at any time between 11 and 4 pm. There will be guided tours by the owners at certain times during the day. You can bring a picnic if you like. Please try to bring clean boots/footwear for obvious biosecurity reasons and note owners’ requests re dogs.
We hope to see you there!
1. Hailsham. (Ben and Maggi Pratt). Our “holding” is a large back garden, but we achieve quite a lot from it. Over the years we produced fruit, veg and eggs. After the joy of eating our own table birds we added pork and bacon. Our newest venture is smoking food and we have discovered that the options of what can be smoked are limited only by your imagination. Dogs on lead please, loo available. Tea and coffee.
2. Ardingly (Marlene and Peter Holter). Ours is a 6 acre holding which consists of 0.5 acre garden (open under NGS) with veg plot, greenhouse ,soft fruit cages and 5.5 acres of grazing for Highland ponies, Lleyn sheep ,a variety of chickens and an orchard. Well behaved dogs on a lead if kept away from the sheep, loo a few hundred yards away in village.
3. Ditchling. (David and Annie Woolley). Ours is a remote 7-acre smallholding where we breed sheep, grow vegetables and try to keep some old country crafts alive. Its the real part of our work-life balance. For the sake of our sheep’s wellbeing, no dogs please. There is a basic caravan loo for ladies and plenty of pissoire for gentlemen.
4. Bodle Street Green (Julia Desch). A 6 acre holding concentrating on environmental improvement and biodiversity. Main activities are textiles with Wensleydale Fibre. No longer have breeding flock (now at Merrist Wood) just a few wethers. Will appeal to those interested in fleece development and associated skills. I am offering a Fleece Sort and Evaluation session at 11.00 a.m. prompt until 12.00. Also open that Day and others as part of South East Open Studios (details on www.seos-art.org.uk ). No dogs. Loo available. Tea/Coffee.
5. Hellingly (Caroline Harding and Kate Dalton). We are a small, cut flower business, growing a wide range of flowers and foliage on around a third of an acre. We have a big polytunnel to extend the season, and a workshop mainly used for Wedding floristry and for courses. No dogs please, loo’s are available. We will also do teas etc.