Field News 31st July 2026

The CHW committee received a lovely email this week, from one of our cropsharers, thanking growers and volunteers for a wonderful cucumber harvest. We have loved snacking on them with hummus (classic combo!) and making smashed cucumber salads with a dressing of sesame oil, ice vinegar, soy sauce, chilli, garlic (and a little maple syrup if some sweetness is desired).

The cropsharer who emailed had read in the paper about crop shortages affecting supermarket supply (cucumbers in this particular article), as a result of the challenging conditions of drought and heatwaves. I wish this challenge was contained to cucumbers. Farmers and growers up and down the country, as well as further afield have been struggling to produce crops - to stop them from dying, and with far reduced yields where they have managed to keep crops alive - due to very little water available. Arable farmers have nearly finished their harvests already, exceedingly early.

In fact, it hasn't rained in any meaningful quantity for growing since the start of June. This means that here at CHW we have been irrigating heavily using the mains water supply, and it isn't nearly as effective as good old fashioned rain! We have also seen wildfires starting in the UK and Europe, due to how dry the landscape is. Whew! Heavy stuff.

The picture seems pretty bleak, but there is hope - I promise!

I read an article about hope this week - about how it is not a passive thing. It is within our gift to actively create hope. What a beautiful concept. The challenges that farmers have been facing are exactly why Community Supported Agriculture is vitally important. For the health of the earth, the soil, the water cycle and for our overall resilience.

At CHW, we are creating local food systems and a network of people that we can rely on in times of uncertainty and potential food shortage in the supermarkets. Whilst growing has been difficult for us this year and probably will continue to be extremely challenging in a changing climate, we still have crops that are going strong. We plant a huge diversity and so, whilst we have had some crop failures and some crops will finish quicker than usual, we have others that are doing brilliantly. When people commit to a crop share with us, they are investing in healthier soils, biodiversity, meaningful employment and more resilient systems - it isn't just about the veg, it is so much more than that (although I have to say, the veg is pretty darn great too!)

We hope you enjoyed the start of the tomatoes last week - so many beautiful colours, so tasty. These were all grown from seed that we saved last year, and we will collect more this year. This means that the crop will continue to adapt to our local conditions and provide a heavy and delicious crop into the future. All these little ways that we do our bit for food security.

And, if you want tomato seeds for your own garden, let us know! There will be plenty to share around.

Big thank you to everyone who contributes, in all the multitude of ways. Let's keep working at hope, and creating the change we want to see!