In other news, we have the results from the Conservation Grade/ Nature Friendly Farming research on barn owls. It shows that there has been a 25% increase in barn owls on Conservation Grade farms. This was covered in a great feature on the BBC news. Let us know your thoughts if you saw it.

We are happy to announce that on our own farms several successful broods of baby barn owls have been hatched. That’s on top of all the farmland birds, bumble bees, butterflies and bats. And that’s just the “B”s!

Steve’s Leaves and other like minded farmers have been engaged with Nature Friendly Farming from the start by dedicating 10% of the farm to wildlife habitats. We follow the Conservation Grade model by growing crops that produce pollen and nectar to feed insects which feed the mice, voles and shrews. Then we add areas of fine and tussocky grass for them to live in. Finally we erect barn owl nest boxes and sit back and wait! A successful pair of barn owls raising a brood get through something in excess of 10,000 mice, voles and shrews over the course of a year! And you don’t get that many small furry mammals in a barn owl’s territory without a really healthy ecosystem. That’s what Nature Friendly Farming creates and we feel privileged to be part of it.

x Steve

It is now mid August and  we  don’t seem to have had a proper summer yet.  Sunshine and showers being the order of the day, sounds familiar somehow.

As we approach another bank holiday weekend, I am confident the sun will finally shine, and with it I turn my thoughts to the possibility of an Indian Summer.  The wet June and July means our irrigation equipment  to water the leaves hasn’t been particularly stretched so far, but that can all change very rapidly.

A field of Steve’s Leaves soaks up a lot of water and without rain we need to replenish soil moisture by irrigating.  To ensure Steve’s Leaves reach you in perfect condition we do this in a very controlled way.  Water is a precious resource and we use it very carefully.  Here are some things we do to manage our water…..

Firstly we work out just how much moisture our soil can hold and how much water is currently already there.  We do this to avoid over watering, there is no point adding more water than the soil can soak up.  Then we work out how much the leaves need.  This is dependent on what growth stage the plant has reached, how dry the air is and how windy it is going to be.  We use all this information to decide how much water to add, only then do we start to irrigate.

Aside from looking after our precious resource, we have found less water is good for our tasty little leaves.  Less water means the plant grows deep roots as it searches for water.  Amazingly this can be over 1 metre deep.  This makes for a very healthy plant because it is able to take up more nutrients from a well developed root system, which makes Steve’s Leaves tastier and better for you.

It has been one of the most eventful months I can remember.  Our farms have been buzzing with activity for all sorts of reasons with Steve’s Leaves having lot’s to celebrate along the way.

Steve’s Leaves are now available in stores nationwide thanks to Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Budgens Wholefoods and Ocado.  Our UK farms have been in full swing to meet the increased demand for our ruddy gorgeous leaves.  Thanks to all who have given the tasty little tasty leaves a go, with a special thanks to those who take the time to Get in Touch, it is great to hear your views of Steve’s Leaves.

The success of the Steve’s Leaves Salad Bar, run in partnership with the Cole Henley Restaurant Bar & Grill, has been particularly exciting.  We have had some great days out already, right across the country, from the Devon County Show (the weather was fantastic) to the Royal Highland Show.

Check out our Win Stuff page for the chance to win tickets to summer events attended by the Steve’s Leaves Salad Bar team.

On a more serious note, I was saddened by the recent deaths and illnesses caused by the German e-coli food poisoning event (replicated, thankfully to a lesser extent, in France), now traced to sprouted seeds.  All food is vulnerable to microbial contamination.  Some microbes cause food to spoil, others can cause serious illness.  We took a number of calls over the month asking how safe are Steve’s Leaves.  We were able to offer reassurance, as by growing on our own farms, we take the route of preventing contamination in the first place.  We do it by applying Rocket Science – literally, using the HACCP (hazard snalysis crital control point) concept, which was developed by NASA in the early days of space flight.  That’s a business where accidents are not an option!  For us it means we have analysed all known risks to safety in the growing, harvesting and packing of our leaves.  To do this effectively, avoiding the serious issues when things go wrong (as in Germany and France), takes focus on the detail, applying great skill and a commitment to doing things the right way.  At Steve’s Leaves we do all three aplenty – to give you the confidence that each and every bag of Steve’s Leaves is fresh, tasty, nutritious and safe.

News just in is another fantastic win for Steve’s Leaves.  Not content with a Q Award last year for best new product in fresh produce, Steve’s Leaves has just won the prestigous world Dieline Award for pack design.  Announced at the Dieline conference in Chicago, this put’s us amongst previous winning brands such as Coca-Cola famed for their iconic brand designs.

Some more exciting opportunities will be available later this year, so watch this space!

The question I get asked the most, is where can I try Steve’s Leaves.  With that in mind, this year we have decided to get out and about attending events around the country with the launch of the Steve’s Leaves Salad Bar.

We have partnered with the Cole Henley Bar and Restaurant to compliment their posh barbeque food with some ruddy gorgeous salads.  You will be able to catch up with us right across the country including the East Anglian Game and Country Fair, the Royal Highland Show, various Ascot race meetings and perhaps my favourite, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

A few weeks back, I was very honoured to host a visit by HRH Prince Charles to one of our farms near Lisbon, Portugal.  This one grows tomatoes, where I was able to explain the fascinating life cycle of thousands of bumble bees we use to pollinate the tomatoes…..but I must say I would rather have been talking leaves.

With still more news of my travels, a visit to our farm in Spain by the Conservation Grade team who give us our Nature Friendly Farming status, has identified a big opportunity to support some very special wildlife – namely the Spur Thighed Tortoise, which is an endangered species.  These delightful creatures roam the dusty hillsides around our leaf farm – ever ready to grab a tasty leaf if the chance arises.  We are now working on a plan to ensure we protect the necessary habitat for them, so that our tasty leaves and the tortoise can co-exist in harmony. 

Back to the UK, and after the recent remarkably dry and mild weather we are already harvesting Pea Shoots from our Mullens farm in the Vale of Pewsey.  Bring on the summer.

The CPRE Hampshire Countryside Awards scheme was launched in 2007 to recognise significant achievements across the county which support our goal of “a beautiful, diverse and living countryside that everyone can value and enjoy”.

It is one of the best established Awards schemes in the county and over 20 projects have been recognised by an award to date.

For 2011 CPRE Hampshire was proud to have the Awards sponsored by Steve’s Leaves.

The programme was being run in conjunction with Hampshire Fare & Hampshire Ambassadors.

Who Won?

The scheme welcomed applications from all sections of the community and from projects of all types, big and small. For 2011 the focus was on three categories in which environmentally outstanding projects ccould be nominated. The three categories were:

• Rural Enterprise (Public Sector or Commercial) with a particular emphasis on “Field to Table” – food related businesses
• Voluntary / Community
• Schools

Full details on 2011 Winners are available on the CPRE Hampshire web-site, click here for further information.

The days are getting noticeably longer and it is certainly feeling a lot warmer.  The seeds of our first Steve’s Leaves crop of the UK season have been sown at our Wiltshire farm in the Vale of Pewsey.  Now we wait patiently for the tiny shoots to push through soil.

As well as drilling the first crop, we have also been busy getting things ready for other farm inhabitants.  As well as the Barn Owl project mentioned last month, we are looking to help out the increasingly rare Tree Sparrows.  Quite a number were spotted on our farm during a visit last year from the Conservation Grade team who give us our Nature Friendly Farming accreditation.  Since then we have been working up a way to help them out.  This has included providing supplementary winter feed from wild bird seed crops planted on the field margins adjacent to our cropped land.  We have also been working with the local Wildlife Trust to identify sites to erect nesting boxes.

With the help of the local school, 22 nesting boxes have been assembled by the children.  This week they came onto the farm to put them up - with some help from the adults!  We and the children await the first signs of the Tree Sparrows taking up residence and the prospect of some Baby Tree Sparrows.

This year we are going to be involved with an important Nature Friendly Farming research project that aims to measure just how successful we and other Nature Friendly Farming members have been by seeing how many Barn Owls have been breeding on our farms.

The Barn Owl is one of the UK’s top predators.  At the top of the food chain, Barn Owls can only survive if there is a fully functioning ecosystem around them.  This starts with healthy soil growing nectar, pollen and seed producing flowers and plants, which in turn support healthy populations of insects, birds and small mammals.  A regular supply of the latter are critical to keep the Owls going – with a nesting pair needing 1,000 small mammals a year.

Our farms which grow Steve’s Leaves have recorded several successful rearings of barn owls in the boxes we provide over the years.  However, this will be the first time we will have independent experts on the farms monitoring the goings on, so all eyes will be on our nest boxes this summer!

Further information on Barn Owls available on The Barn Owl Trust Web-site.

The festive season is upon us!  Despite the snow we’ve been able to keep up deliveries of Steve’s Leaves thanks to some pretty heroic acts by our drivers.

I always look forward at this time of year to the early days of spring when we can get back on the fields… with first sowings (we call it drilling) on the light soils of our Vale of Pewsey farm planned for March.

Before then we are bracing ourselves for the mini leaf boom in January.  I think everyone goes on a guilt trip after the excesses of Christmas and pledges to eat more healthily.  Sadly for most that only lasts a couple of weeks!  But we will be ready for the rush as there is nothing healthier to eat than Steve’s Leaves.  On a recently published Nutrient Density Index (a way of rating food according to it’s goodness on a scale of 1 to 1,000 called the ANDI Scale) two of our most popular leaves do very well – watercress scores the maximim 1,000 whilst rocket scores 559.  Contrast that to a recent superfood, pomegranate juice, which scores just 193!!!!

Wishing all the best to one and all and here’s to an exciting 2011 – and we already have good news on that front.  Steve’s Leaves will be available to purchase on-line at Ocado from early January.