Five Rod Farm

FIVE ROD FEST 2026! 🥕🪩

Ahhh two weeks ago we hosted round four of this lovely little festival and what a wonderful day it was. ✨

Four years of doing this and somehow we keep pulling it off. Lots of music, dancing, food, drinks, flowers, questionable logistics and a farm full of lovely people. 🧡

It takes a small army to make it happen, so huge thanks to everyone who helped out in any way, big or small, all the artists who played and everyone who came down and made it such a joyous one. 💃

I’m feeling very proud of what we’ve created over the last four years, while also wondering what it might look like going forwards. No answers needed yet. We’re always learning as we go. 🤔

All we know is it’s still our favourite day of the year. 🥰

And thank you kingsley for finding time to take these beautiful photos whilst trying to feed the people. 🙏

Until next time…

Fermenting, eating & wandering around the farm this Saturday 12th September. 🫜

Come and spend the morning getting stuck into the wonderful world of fermentation with Rowen Halstead of Rowen Halstead. 🌈

We’ll be making vibrant, gut-boosting ferments and preserves using the produce growing all around us and you’ll get to take your creations home to keep fermenting away in your kitchen. 🫙

There’ll be a delicious lunch from ACRE FARM + BAKERY, a wander around the farm with me and plenty of time to eat, chat, learn a few new things and generally enjoy being outside. 🌞

A morning of good food, good people and getting your hands a little bit messy. 🥕

Saturday 12th September · Five Rod Farm.

Come and join us, tickets via the link in our bio. 🌿

FIVE ROD FEST IS BACK! 💃✨

Round four, let’s go! We’re back in the field on Saturday 19th September, 2–10PM, for another afternoon / evening of music, food, flowers and community gathering.

We’ve got Samuel Taylor, eleanor (milvain), DJ Lily and Screen Time performing for us, a BBQ, cold drinks from the bar and, of course pick your own flowers. 🌸

And something a little different this year… myself and Robin Hutchinson aka Four Wheels South will be sharing stories from our bicycle adventure from Ethiopia to South Africa, raising £10,000 for St Elizabeth Hospice. 🚲

We’re also donating £2 from every ticket to St Elizabeth Hospice, with the option to donate a little extra on the day. 🙏

Bring your friends, your family, a blanket, something warm for later and maybe a flower crown or two. 🌼

Early bird tickets £15 (only for this week) then they’ll go up to £20. Tickets available via link in bio.

Beautiful poster designed by our very own Jan Ashwell. 🥕

See you in the field. 🧡

Lots of love,
Cam x

Join us for a morning of fermentation with Rowen Halstead. 🫜

I’m really excited to be welcoming Rowen Halstead to the farm for a hands-on morning of fermentation, local food and all things preserving. 🫙

We’ll be getting stuck into making vibrant, gut-boosting ferments and preserves using produce grown on the farm with plenty to take home with you afterwards.

Rowen is a Michelin-trained chef with a real passion for reducing food waste and finding more sustainable ways to support our food system, so we’re very happy to have him here sharing his knowledge and experiences.

There’ll also be a locally sourced lunch followed by a farm tour where I’ll chat about how we grow, the no-dig approach and the story behind Five Rod Farm.

A lovely morning of good food, getting your hands dirty and learning a few new ways to make the most of what we grow.

Thank you Spells Of Reverie Studio for designing the colourful artwork for this one. 🙏🌈

Ticket link in bio. We’d love to see you there. 🧡

With love,
Cam & Rowen 🌱

Taking a minute to appreciate the Amaranth…the big, beautiful, vibrant flower and nutrient-rich ancient grain also known as Love Lies Bleeding.🩸

It’s been absolutely mega this year. Proper tree-like plants reaching over 8 feet high in the polytunnel. 😮
..and while we’re appreciating things, can we also take a minute for all the watering we’ve had to do to keep everything alive? It’s been the driest year I’ve experienced as a grower and my thoughts go out to everyone else feeling the weight of this drought right now.

We’ll keep praying and dancing for the rain and when it finally comes, it better come in bucket loads. I want it to soak every single one of my plants... and every bit of my body too. 💃

Now to finish these appreciations... despite the tough growing conditions, the produce somehow just keeps on thriving. Every day we’re picking delicious tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers, beetroots, basil, parsley, runner beans... yeoooow. Somehow, the garden keeps finding a way. 🙏

A final thank you to Maddie and Tobias Warner for capturing these wonderful shots of the farm recently, and to BBC Suffolk for having me on FarmWatch last Thursday. If you fancy a listen, you can catch it back on BBC Sounds.

Now then... rain. Whenever you’re ready, let’s go. 🌧️

We harvested the garlic. We made a carpet out of it. We lay on it. It made sense at the time. 🧄

Garlic always feels like such a special crop. It’s one of the only things we get to watch growing through winter. While most of the beds are empty, these little green shoots keep quietly pushing on through frost, wind and the darkest months. They always feel reassuring somehow, a reminder that even when the garden looks asleep, there’s still life out there, and before long everything will be green again. 🌱

It still amazes me that one of the longest crops to grow is also one of the quickest to harvest. After months in the ground, it’s all lifted within minutes. 

The heat definitely got to both Jan and I but we had a lot of fun harvesting together. The garlic is now hanging under the feasting area, gently drying in the breeze.

We’re really happy with this year’s harvest. Most of the bulbs are a lovely size. The biggest will be saved as seed for next year’s crop, and the rest will be heading into our veg boxes and to local chefs and restaurants.

If you’d like some beautiful, locally grown garlic, send me a DM or order a veg box through our website. 🧡

POV: you’re a lettuce and I’m picking and occasionally snacking on you. 🌱

The farm and the weather have really been giving lately. We’ve had plenty of rain, thunderstorms, rainbows, and now the abundance of produce is starting to come through. The salad leaves are thriving, the strawberries are plentiful, garlic scapes have made their appearance, and the garlic harvest is just around the corner. The broad beans are almost ready too.

The squash patch has now been planted out. This year we’ve decided to use a w**d membrane and plant directly into it. Yes, it’s plastic, but it’ll be reused year after year and should make a huge difference to w**d control. We burnt holes into the membrane for planting to help prevent tearing and fraying, reducing the chance of little bits of plastic ending up in the soil.

The polytunnel is looking better than ever. It’s the fullest and wildest I’ve had it, with flowers and vegetables self-seeding everywhere. The new soaker hose irrigation system has made such a difference, and while I occasionally pull things up to keep the pathways clear, I’m really enjoying the organised wild beauty of it all.

I’m also feeling incredibly grateful for the recent weekend working parties and all the help, love and support the farm has received. It’s such a rewarding feeling when every week brings more jobs to do, but also more food to harvest, share and take home. 🧡

Some highlights from 2025. ✨

- the flowers just kept coming
- we got a ride-on lawnmower
- dad building the feasting area
- the great garlic harvest
- jan creating the outdoor kitchen from recycled timber
- being part of a panel with some inspiring growers
- mum working her flower arranging magic
- our Rajasthani-inspired supper club on the new feasting table
- hosting 7 weeks of DofE volunteers
- personalising our outdoor kitchen
- refining our veg box design
- doing what they do best
- giving talks and farm tours to local gardening clubs
- a double rainbow
- filming and farm days with
- hosting a panel with local growers and farmers
- autumn veg boxes
- five rod fest 3rd edition with
- making luffa sponges
- a bumper crop of chillies

While these highlights have been great, it’s important to remember that there have been challenges too. The tough moments have taught us valuable lessons, and I’ll carry those with me as we move into the new year.

Here’s to an abundant 2026. Happy New Year all you growing lovers 🧡🌱