Prepping garlic beds back in October 2022. You’ll see all the garlic now growing away on Saturday. All 2,000 bulbs of it!! We may have got a bit overexcited about garlic this season…

Welcome to Farm & Feast 2023 and our first Saturday gathering of the 2023 season.

I’m delighted to say that all 20 places for our Farm & Feast 2023 season have been snapped up and we’re all getting together on Saturday 22nd April.

20 families. 73 humans!

The main aim is to get to meet everyone, give you a tour the farm, make sure you feel at home here and have a lovely lunch and introduce you all to the world of soil-obsession with a screening of a short film - ‘Kiss The Ground’.

This will be by far our biggest Farm & Feast Saturday ever! (We had 15 families last year, rather than 20). And I can’t wait to meet you all.

Please note: This event is for Farm & Feast members only. If you’re not a member and want to find out more click here.

10am – Members arrive at Laurelbank Farm

We will be officially kicking off at 10am, but you are welcome to arrive a little earlier (don’t come before 9:30am please!!) to get settled and grab a cup of tea or coffee.

Once we all have a cup of something in our hands, Jo will welcome all our new members to our CSA and introduce the Laurelbank Farm team. If the weather is good, we’ll all head out into the courtyard for this.

10:45 am – Film Showing / Farm Tour

You can choose what you do - either watch the film, go on a farm tour, or neither!

Film Showing in the Cow Byre

We’re going to watch “Kiss The Ground”. It’s a fantastic film that reveals the answer to our current climate crisis is right below our feet - it’s all about the soil! (If you miss the film, or your small children don’t allow you to fully enjoy it, then don’t worry - we will send around a link for you to watch it in the comfort of your own home after the event).

Farm Tour with Jo

We’ll walk around the farm, introduce you to all the important things…

1. swings for small and large children

2. the lawn for relaxing in the sunshine

3. all the numerous growing areas

4. our polytunnel - it didn’t exist this time last year!

5. our campsite (in case you fancy moving in this summer!)

6. and much more.

12.30pm – Lunch in the Gallery

Menu for 22nd April 2023

Three bean chilli with sour cream

Grated cheddar, coriander, pink pickled onions & jalapenos

Steamed rice

Ancho crema slaw

Pea guacamole & tortilla chips

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Chilli Chocolate Brownies

2:15pm – Farm Tour / Film Showing

After lunch we’ll do another farm tour (for those who watched the film) and put the film on again (for those who missed the film)

3:30pm - Time to head home

But what about the farming I hear you shout?!

We’ll have a couple of growing activities set up for you and families to get stuck into throughout the day.

• We’re creating a Farm & Feast potato patch where you’ll be invited to plant and personalise a potato!

• We’re also planning to run a sunflower growing competition so you’ll need to take 5 minutes out of your busy day to plant some sunflower seeds.

• We’ll also invite you to take a family selfie in front of our rainbow wall to post to our F&F whatsapp group. There will be lots of new names and faces, so we thought this would be fun and useful.

The time: From 9:30/10am to around 3:30pm on Saturday 22nd April 2022.
The place: Laurelbank Farm, 121 Middle Road, Saintfield, Co. Down, BT24 7LS
The cost: This event is free for Farm & Feast Members (to find out more about the scheme, click here).
The refreshments: We’ll serve a hearty vegetarian lunch and there will be plenty of tea, coffee & water to help yourself to throughout the day. Feel free to bring extra snacks for small children.
Dietary Requirements: Lunch will be suitable for vegetarians but if you have any other dietary requirement please let us know so we can plan the menu around your needs.

What to bring: Bring suitable clothing for the weather. We will aim to head outside for our farm tour even if it is raining. Bring sturdy, comfortable shoes if you have them.

This was our first Farm & Feast Saturday of 2022. Erin and I were so nervous (mainly about inviting small children onto the farm for the first time). Hopefully the weather on Saturday will be just as good!