27th January 2009
We excitedly collected our new girls last Friday. They are still a little timid but extremely quick and lively. They have got loads of space to play and be inquisitive and the grass is already getting rooted over. During this latest cold weather they have been lavished with extra straw to keep them warm and cosy and seem to enjoy arranging their bedding!
20th January 2009
We are planning what we hope to be our fruit and vegetable seasonal offerings this year. This includes some new ideas for sausage flavours too, so watch this space.
7th January 2009
We are getting excited as we eagerly arrange the finer details for our next Saddleback piglets. They will hopefully be here in a few weeks. The hen house arrived at dusk today, so guess what tomorrow’s job is!
4th January 2009
I have purchased an array of seeds today to add to my stash of dried seeds I have been collecting. I have no idea whether they will take but if not hopefully we will have success with the packets.
3rd January 2009
The idea of freshly laid eggs has become too much – we have ordered the hen house today and will be sourcing some hens very soon.
17th December 2008
All our Christmas Pork and Just Pork sausages have now sold out. We do still have some fabulous joints available ideal for Christmas. Email us about ordering and delivery.
18th November 2008
All our sausage packs are £5.00 for 8 sausages.
Pork & Chocolate
100% cocoa blended in for a rich velvet texture
Christmas Pork
Juniper berry, cinnamon and orange zest
Oriental Pork
Garlic, ginger and chilli
Pork & Lemon
Lemon zest and cracked black pepper
Pork & Pistachio
Pork with Sage
Pork with Spring Onion & Cheese
Just Pork
Download a PDF of our menu here
5th November 2008
Look out for our unique range of gourmet sausages coming soon. If you would like to be kept informed of their progress please either sign up for our newsletter or complete the enquiry form. I look forward to hearing from you.
5th November 2008
A really rewarding and interesting day today. We have been ‘hands on’ and I mean ‘hands on’ working with Paul Middleton of Middleton Butchers, who has been advising us on the preparation of the meat. It is very important for us to understand and respect all aspects of the pig and that included a practical lesson! We would like to thank him for his valuable and continued knowledge and support.
3rd November 2008
It was both sad and happy all rolled into one today. We have said goodbye to our first pigs. Sad because we have loved having them and it will be strange not to go out to feed, water and scratch them but it is also positive as it marks the start of the next chapter in our story, using the carefully and lovingly reared meat for our new and unique range of gourmet sausages. We would like to thank Bob Willington for his ongoing support and helping us with this final stage. We look forward to having more Saddleback pigs from him early next year.
2nd November 2008
It’s our last day with the pigs today as tomorrow they will be off. Because of the weather they have spent most of the day in their ark but at least it was warm, cosy and dry.
31st October 2008
Just setting up the 4 Pairs of Wellies blog at the moment. So when it is up and running please feel free to register and discuss your views on growing, topics close to your heart or if there’s something you want to get off your chest (the more relevant to growing your own the better!)
6th October 2008
Sales for our first pork boxes are starting to come in which is very exciting. These will be available from the 7th November.
5th October 2008
Another good day was had at the East Midlands Food and Drink Festival, lots of different foods and drinks were sampled (we became particularly partial to the Blackjack flavoured vodka!). Jackson and Autumn enjoyed trying venison, bison and ostrich and took a liking to balsamic dressing. We will look to attend next year as exhibitors with our Saddleback pork products.
1st October 2008
We have done a little autumn sowing. Garlic from the Garlic Farm on the Isle of Wight, cauliflower, Swiss chard and peas so far. We did this around two weeks ago; it will be a trial as I have never planted this time of year. So far we have little shoots coming up on the cauliflower, chard and peas, fingers crossed they will continue to grow. The autumn leaves are going well too and taste great, the rocket is very peppery.
30th September 2008
‘Become a Taster’ click here to register your details to become one of our first sausage tasters.
29th September 2008
Another noteworthy date for the diary is the Sausage and Mash Festival on Saturday 25th October at Lincoln Castle.
http://www.visitlincolnshire.com/exec/167535/18920/
28th September 2008
Bob kindly offered to come over to see us today. You may remember he is the farmer we bought the pigs from. It was great to have someone far more experienced in pig rearing to tell us we had done a great job with the pigs so far. He said they looked really well and happy. He has also offered to accompany us to the abattoir as it will be our first time.
24th September 2008
Our tickets arrived for the East Midlands Food and Drink Festival on 4th and 5th October. We attended last year so we really looking forward to it. This time we will also be looking at it from a potential exhibitors point of view.
http://www.eastmidlandsfoodfestival.co.uk/
12th September 2008
I am looking into abattoirs and butchers at the moment. Whilst I have never forgotten why we are rearing the pigs this has made it feel like the beginning of the end.
27th August 2008
We are all quite taken with the pigs; they are very sociable and enjoy it when we are out with them. They do like to help too; taking the old straw out of their pen has proved popular.
18th August 2008
Jackson and Autumn have introduced a running game up and down the pig pen. Good exercise for all, including the pigs!
9th August 2008
‘The Girls’ as we call them (not quite giving them names) have been here for 4 weeks now and we are enjoying pig keeping. During the hot weather we have been putting on sun cream to prevent burning, they were not sure about this at first but are getting used to being handled and even quite liking it!
6th August 2008
We harvested some beetroots today; the children really enjoyed pulling them out of the ground to see what was underneath. The pigs enjoyed eating the leaves.
13th July 2008
I was slightly cautious as to the success of the electric fence at first, it does seem to be that they get used to knowing ‘their area’ and do not approach it. Thankfully, they have not tried to get out, although they can certainly dig big holes.
12 July 2008
The day has finally arrived when we collect our first Saddleback piglets. Finding a local farmer took a while but with the help of our friend and fellow small holder Adam we met Bob who breeds Saddlebacks in Nottinghamshire. Prior to that we had to decide on what type of fencing to have and which ark to buy. Hammering in posts and erecting the electric fencing in the pouring rain was fun if not a little stressful. We managed to get the ark erected with moments to spare as Gary and Adam arrived with the sleeping piglets in the Land Rover. Getting them into their new home was a calm slow process as they were a little timid at first. After a sleep in the ark they ventured out for some food and a drink and started to explore their space. It felt like having 4 new children to look after.
5th July 2008
Back from holiday to terrible outbreak of cabbage fly threatening the entire crop and also black fly on my precious broad beans. Soul destroying. This time they had to be treated with a bug gun. Next year I will do more companion planting as this seemed to help with the tomatoes and strawberries.
20th June 2008
Harvesting our first crop of broad beans was really rewarding having only really grown herbs in the past.
11th June 2008
More planting today, spinach, mushrooms, peppers and courgettes.
26th May 2008
Our very first day of planting. We have sown seeds and transplanted seedlings of brussels sprouts, broad beans, red cabbage, leeks lettuce, broccoli, sweet corn, carrots, onions, beetroot, raspberries and rhubarb. What will happen to them we will have to wait and see.
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