Category Archives: news

all images & text copyright to Kintaline, news, pigs

Free range pork

Free range pork : fresh in today (31st March) : ALL SOLD – many thanks

Delighted to see our scrummy free range pork back from Mull today. All for sale, limited joints, lots of sausages, bacon back next week.
Fill your freezers .. <g>

Contact for collection /local delivery arrangements. Please share with friends and family.

These 2 were locally born and raised with us all winter helping to clear different areas of ground around the farm. Happy, healthy lovely girls made wonderful meat.
● Joints       ○ Sausages
● Chops      ○ Bacon
● Steaks      ● Ribs

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news

Beautiful and vital early blooms

Another blossom in full bloom.. so important to have flowers all year around, for our insects, this is especially important for the native mason bees. With the weather getting milder, it’s wonderful to know there is a ready source of food for early emergents.
#flowersofinstagram #shrubsofinstagram #pieris #pollinators #masonbees #beesofinstagram #farmingwithnature #naturefriendlyfarming #kintaline

Pieris blooms in February
news

Sowing preparations for the coming season

Storm Brendan might still be howling around having kept us all awake all night but looking forward to the coming growing season makes everything worth while. This “half tunnel” was made up using old tunnel hoops against a building to create an easy working space. The tables are sand covered in thick coffee that worms love but slugs don’t! It could be tidier !! and all our equipment is very ancient .. root trainers are wonderful for the broad beans and early peas and these are at least 20 years old !!

all images & text copyright to Kintaline, news

January pollinators

What do we have around for any bees out in the increasingly mild month of January?

So far it’s been really wet here on the west, but very little snow around us.

In between the showers there are likely to be winter insects, even bees, out and about.

What do we have flowering for them?

Mahonia, Gorse, Ivy, Periwinkle, Hellebores, Snowdrops

There is strong growth on the other early bulbs, and plans to take lots of cuttings so that the Mahonia can be spread into hedge rows across the farm. The flowers and berries are edible too.

news

Willows for sale

Winter 2019/2020 – thank you all for your custom this season – will take orders again for next winter.

We now have a variety of Willow (and Balsam poplar) pegs for sale which can be sent mail order or collected from the farm.
(and some well established in pots, also for local sales)

Basket willows : Construction willow : Native willows  (and Balm of Gilead, Balsam poplar, which is not a willow but can start in the same way and is highly vigorous)

Basket willows  :
40p per rod (for pick up or plus postage)
Varieties : Flanders Red : Brittany Green : Packing Twine : Tri Norfolk. Packing Twine . Dark Dick . (may have a couple of others spare)

Eugenii 35p : is vigorous but not as massive as the Chinese, it is better for small constructions like domes and tunnels as well as lower hedging and tree hay

“Construction” biomass, tree hay Chinese willow : Chinese (Salix miyabeana)
35p per rod (for pick up or plus postage)

Native / Species Willows

Grey Willow
30p per rod (for pick up or plus postage)
Salix hybrids
35p per rod (for pick up or plus postage)
Balm of Gilead / Balsam Poplar
40p per rod (for pick up or plus postage)
Salix udensis
50p per rod (for pick up or plus postage)
Salix Udensis is a lovely shrubby vigorous willow, with very early catkins (already opening in Jan in Argyll) so one of the best for early bees in mild spring days, its branching and covered in soft strappy leaves that our sheep love, cut and come again all year, so really good for a fenceline hedgerow where the stock can help themselves from one side, and we can make tree hay from the other.  It does not get very tall and thrives on being cut back.

  • Salix Udensis .. a branching vigorous shrubby willow with lots of fine leaves, one of the earliest to bud and provide vital food for the bees and other pollinators that are out in the mild winter weather.

all images & text copyright to Kintaline, news

Make Soil – Crowdsourcing the creation of new living soil

Soils are one of the most powerful carbon capture mechanisms .. and there are so many ways we want to learn to do more.

We have joined the Make Soil Compost Waste collection point network.. click on the logo to see our map entry 

MakeSoil is an online platform powering a global movement to make soil together on a planet-saving scale. Redefining composting as making soil, Soil Makers can easily and safely post their Soil Sites to our online map, and invite their neighbours and friends to contribute their food and yard scraps. Anyone, anywhere in the world, can use MakeSoil to find Soil Makers near them or start a Soil Site themselves. Together, we can reduce food waste, restore nutrients to our food, capture carbon in the ground, and beautify our neighborhoods.