Snail versus shrew

So far I have caught five tiny shrews just by picking them up with gloved hands and transferring them unhurt to a field not far away. I am just hoping there aren't any more as they seem to have eaten a lot of baby snails. I haven't actually caught them red-clawed but they were snuggled up with the snails and surrounded by empty shells which seems fairly decisive to me. Shrews are carnivorous and are supposed to eat earthworms and insects but in this hot dry weather I guess you can't get an earthworm for love nor money so it looks like they held their noses and turned to nice juicy snails.

Dusty and her mate Freddie ferret are helping to protect the snails by spreading their wonderful odour about the place, in the hope that the shrews will take the hint and dine elsewhere. I have some more baby snails in the nursery waiting to go out but I don't want to take them until I'm sure it is safe.

The good news is that the first of this year's snails have 'shelled': the front edge of the shell has turned up like the brim of a hat to show they've stopped growing. They've grown fantastically well outside where they have more space than indoors and a good diet of dry food supplemented by lots of waste fruit and vegetables.

Visitor numbers to the farm have increased now the summer holidays are here and UKTV were filming here last Monday. Look out for us in the Autumn on the Good Food Channel programme Market Kitchen with chef Mark Sargeant, formerly at Claridge's with Gordon Ramsey and now at The Swan at West Malling.

Cherry flavoured snails?

For a few short weeks this day tent provided shelter from the sun, wind and rain - though we didn't get much rain. Then one night a strong gust of wind blew it away.

But the Cherry Festival was fun. Lots of people crowded in to meet the snails who were feasting on waste cherries from the packhouse. The snails haven't turned noticeably pink yet. In between showing everyone round I did a cookery demonstration and sold hot snails as well as bottled: both flew of the shelves.

We made our presence felt at the Kent County Show the following weekend. I put together some snail rearing kits for people to buy with half a dozen baby snails and all they need. Hot and bottled snails sold well and I made lots of good contacts to take the snails on visits and give talks.

The next big event will be the Smallholding Fair at Sissinghurst 21 and 22 August. This is a first for me and I'm really looking forward to showing the snails in such wonderful surroundings.

In the meantime, I have a shrew to re-home. It has somehow got through the defences and taken up residence in the snail enclosure. On the whole I like small furry animals, but if they eat snails they have to go! Catching it alive is proving difficult so if anyone has any suggestions I would be pleased to hear from you.

Visit Faversham

June was very busy and I can hardly believe it is already July. Lots of things have happened:

This lovely picture was taken at Sandwich when I took the snails along for Le Weekend - their twinning event.

We've made it onto the visitor attraction websites: http://www.canterbury.co.uk/things-to-see-and-do/Faversham-Slow-@-Grow,-Slow-Summer-Snail-Farm/details/?dms=13&feature=1&venue=3037860&easi=true
In June we also featured in an article in Speciality Food Magazine with a picture of me with the Natalia and the snails.

We've applied to register with the Children's University as a Learning Destination and now have worksheets for children to do alongside drawing and handling the snails. I also hope to become registered in the Autumn as an external provider to schools but I have to do some training first.

The website brings in some fascinating enquiries: one was from a school in Tenby where the children are studying Applied Science. As part of that curriculum they have to look after animals and we are discussing the idea that they could have some baby snails for a term and then return them to me. This fits well with the snail rearing mini-kits I am currently building for sale at the County Show. Look out for more details on the website.

Snail Farm Open

What's behind the door? To find out you will have to come and see for yourself. The snails started moving in on 29th May as planned and we have had lots of visitors wandering down the the end of the garden centre to find out what's going on. I was musing on the concept of freedom food and decided it really couldn't apply to snails. The bird netting, metal barrier sunk into the ground and electric fencing are essential if I want to find the snails still there waiting for their breakfast each day. So far I have managed to keep the free range chickens out but a sparrow blundered in by mistake one hot afternoon. It sat for a while looking round with amazement and eventually worked out where the door was.

The ground has been seeded and with last night's rain it should start to green up soon, though the thistles, dock and bindweed are doing quite well. I hope the ground is green soon as we have TV cameras coming in a couple weeks time.

The snails will be visiting Sandwich for a couple of days for Le Weekend 12/13 June: http://www.open-sandwich.co.uk/events/leweekendl.htm so Slow@ Grow will be closed for those days.

The next events on the Brogdale calendar will be Soft Fruit day on 27 June and then the Cherry Festival 10/11 July. I am planning a cookery demonstration for the Cherry Festival. Then the following weekend is the county show so I will be in Maidstone for three days 16/17 and 18 July and Slow @ Grow will be closed for those few days too.

Building the farm

Chris and his team from Willow Landscapes have made rapid progress with building the farm enclosure, though the lovely warm weather has probably helped.

We had half a page in Your Swale this week:
http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/ see page 8/9.

KM online want to make a video when we are open and Great British Food Magazine plan to publish a piece about us too.

I will be running Slow Summer Snail Farm on my own which means that I will not always be there. However I will need to go there at some point most days to feed the snails. I will fit that in with my other work commitments but I am most likely to be there in the afternoon during the week but longer at weekends. There is a phone number if visitors want to check when I will be there: 07811395974 and I would like groups to book. The 50 p per child charge reflects the focus at this stage of the year on providing an educational experience for children. For this introductory period I will charge £1 for anyone over 16. Children under 3 would not be charged for.

The snails will be particularly pleased to see you if you come bearing gifts. They like the stalks of cabbage, cauli and broccoli - the bits you throw away, along with that apple that has been sitting in the fruit bowl too long or the odd carrot. When the veg growing season really gets underway they would be delighted if there was a glut of courgettes or your lettuces bolted. Whatever it is in the waste fruit and veg line - bring it along and find out what they like best.

Slow Summer Snail Farm

We're making progress at Slow Summer Snail Farm. The ground has been cleared and rotivated ready for construction work to begin on Wednesday. Press releases and leaflets are going out and attracting lots of excitement locally. It's a nail-biting time with the opening planned for Saturday 29th May.

The Real Food Fair at Earls Court was a fascinating experience last week. It was like a big farmer's market with several stalls from local Kent producers.

The website is coming along now so watch this space: www.snailfarm.org.uk.

Life in the slow lane

http://www.pressup.biz:80/clients/ten/canterbury-times---life-in-the-slow-lane.html

The local papers have all picked up the story about our trip to Belgium.

There was a Family Fun Day and Hog Roast at Brogdale yesterday, so I was able to tell lots of people that the snails are coming. The children were having their faces painted and riding up and down on the mini railway. A wet bank holiday Sunday is no surprise of course, but we've been promised a fine day tomorrow. So I'll be back out meeting the public and spreading the good news. I'm planning to offer a snail cookery course soon, to show people how good snails can be when you cook them slowly in plenty of Kentish cider.