Spring Greens and Lavender Down on the Farm

# Come join us down on the farm today

# Learn about nature along the way

# From seeds to crops and field to farm

# So much to do down on the farm

# Summer, autumn, winter, spring

# Ploughing, planting, harvesting

# With JB and Storm to lead the way

# Come join us down on the farm today. #

ROOSTER CROWS

Hello, I'm JB and welcome to Down on the Farm.

Spring has arrived and the weather is getting warmer.

Farmers like the sun and the rain

because it helps the crops and plants to grow.

Now let's see what Storm's up to.

SHEEP BLEAT

Lavender is a beautiful plant which has purple-blue flowers in

the summer, but in the springtime lavender looks like this...

There's still plenty for farmer Francis to do

in his lavender farm in spring.

Today, he's getting rid of weeds to make sure the lavender gets

all the goodness from the soil.

-Hi, Francis.

-Hi, Storm.

Now, when I normally see lavender it's got beautiful

blue-purple flowers. What's happened?

Well, right now, in the winter the plant has gone dormant,

-so there's no flowers.

-Dormant? What's that?

It means they're having a rest before they grow again.

So, we just have to wait then?

-Is there anything else we could do?

-Lots to do.

-We've got some potting on to do in the polytunnels.

-Great!

Here to help us with the lavender are Abby and Millie.

-Hi, guys!

-Hi, Storm.

-Hi, Storm.

Now, are you ready to help us plant some lavender here

-in the polytunnel?

-Yeah!

-Yeah!

Well, let's get cracking.

First, we need to fill up the pots with compost.

Then we pat it down so it's nice and compact.

That's it, you're doing a good job.

Next, we poke a hole big enough for the plug.

And pop the plug in.

That's perfect. That's really, really, good.

They look really tiny just now.

Yeah, but as the spring carries on

they'll grow into much bigger plants.

Time to give the lavender a drink.

Lavender doesn't like to get too wet, but when they're young

they like to be soaked in water for a few minutes.

Do you want to try this one? Now it's time to label the lavender.

Well done, guys!

Now the lavender is all ready to go to the shops and I can't wait to

come back in summer to find out how the lavender has grown and flowered.

But in the meantime, why don't you find out how the weather helps

plants, just like lavender, grow in spring.

BUZZING

Spring is the time when the temperature gets warmer and there

are more hours of daylight too.

The nights can still be frosty and cold,

but the days can be warm, bright and sunny.

Sometimes spring brings lots of rain,

dark stormy clouds and thundering downpours.

But when mixed with sunshine, colourful rainbows appear!

This warm and wet weather allows plants to grow,

covering the country in colour as they blossom and bloom.

The trees grow new leaves that were lost in the winter.

And flowers open their heads in search of the sun.

Spring weather is important for animals too,

those who have hibernated all winter start to reappear,

and it encourages others to come out and look for food.

The food becomes easier to find

and lots of food is needed to help

feed all the new chicks that are born at this wonderful time of year.

TRACTOR HORN BEEPS

Today, I've come to a city farm in the middle of London.

I'm going to meet some children who I hope will help me

make something really yummy and tasty to eat. Let's go!

Hi, everyone!

ALL: Hi, JB!

Hiya, JB. Welcome to the farm.

Alex, I'm really hungry, so what are we going to make today?

We're going to make some omelettes today.

-Brilliant! I love omelettes, but what do we need?

-I have a list.

Can you help me to get these ingredients from around the farm?

Well, we can definitely do that.

-Right, guys? ALL:

-Yeah!

-Come on then.

-Good luck.

So, guys, does anyone know what the main ingredient in an omelette is?

-Eggs!

-That's right, and where do eggs come from?

-ALL:

-Chickens!

Let's collect some eggs, boys.

There's lots of eggs.

-What's the middle of an egg called?

-The yolk.

-Yolk.

The yolk, top marks, boys.

This egg is warm.

Wow, that means it's just been laid.

Well done, boys.

We have lots of yummy eggs, full of vitamins, to put into our omelette.

Shall we go and find some more ingredients?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Let's do it.

Kale is the next item that we need for our omelette.

Oh, this is a very big one.

POP MUSIC PLAYS

So, guys, where's the chard?

-ALL:

-Over here!

Ah! And how do we harvest it?

We have to rip it from the bottom and we have to make sure it's

the big one so the little ones can grow.

All this chard will be delicious in our omelette,

but we still need one more ingredient.

-What do we have here?

-Some special salad.

-Salad.

-Can we try some?

-Yeah.

Mmm. Tastes really peppery,

that's going to be lovely to go with our omelette, isn't it?

Here you go, Alex. We've got all the ingredients on the list.

-Excellent! Let's go and make some lunch.

-Ha-ha.

Once we've washed our hands, we tear up the chard and kale leaves,

and heat them in frying pan to make them soft.

Then we crack open the eggs,

beat them and add them to the pan.

Oh!

Smells really nice.

And while the omelette cooks we can mix the salad.

This looks incredible! Who's hungry?

-ALL:

-Me!

Let's tuck in!

So while we finish our delicious lunch, why don't you

enjoy our spring poem?

BOING! BOING! BOING!

I spy yellow daffodils, nodding in the breeze.

I spy tiny buds of green, bursting in the trees.

I spy blossom, creamy white, drifting down like snow.

I spy piglets, pink and stout, trotting to and fro.

Yellow chicks.

Grass so green.

Blue tits busy on the wing.

Petals pale and petals bright,

their beauty shining in light.

Such colour makes my whole heart sing.

I spy spring.

BELL RINGS

Today, I'm in Essex to find out about

a vegetable which is picked in the spring.

In fact, it's even named after this beautiful season.

I've come to meet Sarah on her farm.

-Hi, Sarah.

-Hi, JB. Welcome to my farm.

Now, Sarah, I've heard all about the vegetables that you grow here,

-but where are they?

-They're here under all these nets.

-They're called spring greens.

-And why are they called that?

They're called spring greens because we plant them in the autumn,

they grow through the winter,

and they're ready to pick and harvest in the spring.

-Can you help me pick them, please?

-Absolutely.

Helping us today are George, Abigail, Isla, and Jessica.

Right, everybody.

We're looking for the leafiest and greenest vegetables,

in fact, the bigger the better!

That's a big one, yeah. Shall I cut this one?

-What do you think is the biggest?

-I think this one is a big one.

-Shall I pick that one?

-Yeah.

-That looks the biggest.

-This one?

-Here you go.

-Thank you.

That one.

Spring greens belong to same group of vegetables as kale and cabbage,

but unlike cabbage, it doesn't have a hard middle.

The roots are left and then ploughed back into the ground

to feed the soil.

JAUNTY MUSIC PLAYS

Isla, choose a spring green for us to pack.

Now it's time to weigh and pack the spring greens.

-415.

-Oh, fantastic. That's a lovely one.

-ALL:

-All packed and ready!

Now we've finished our work for the day, who wants to try

some spring greens?

-ALL:

-Me!

They're delicious and healthy and

can be used in lots of different recipes.

These have been steamed, tuck in!

ROCK MUSIC PLAYS

These spring greens are full of colour and are really tasty.

So while we finish eating them, here are some useful tips

for when you're out and about in the springtime.

SHEEP BLEAT

In spring the sun is out longer,

lots of flowers are starting to grow outside.

Even though they're lovely

to look at, it's important to keep them safe.

You can help by leaving flowers in the ground

so everyone can enjoy them.

Be kind when you're out and about.

SHEEP BLEAT

Flour is used in lots of things we eat every day like bread,

rolls, and biscuits.

It's made from wheat,

which is ground down by big millstones like this.

This is Stuart. He works in the bakery on his family's farm.

Today, Chloe and Ellen have come to make something with flour.

Pizza!

To make the pizza dough we add salt,

yeast, olive oil, and water.

Then we squidge it with our hands.

So here's today's pizza dough,

so what we're going to do now is knead it -

which means stretching it out lots.

That's it, Chloe.

Push it and pull it back. That's good.

See how nice and stretch it's getting, look.

It's really sticky.

Next, the dough is popped into some bowls and put in the prover.

The yeast in the dough reacts

with the other ingredients and fills tiny pockets of air.

It takes just over an hour to make the dough grow bigger.

Now it's time to roll some dough.

JAZZY MUSIC PLAYS

We want to make a nice, big, round pizza.

Spinning it helps to stretch the dough out even more and will help

to make a lovely thick crust.

For the toppings there's pizza sauce made from healthy vegetables

like tomatoes and, of course, some cheese.

Delicious! And ready to eat.

Who'd like to try some pizza?

-BOTH:

-ME!

BEE BUZZING

Storm and I have had a great time and we hope you did too.

If you want to have fun with your own farm,

go to the CBeebies website to play the Down on your Farm game.

See you next time, bye!

# Come join us down on the farm today

# Learn about nature along the way

# From seeds to crops and field to farm

# So much to do down on the farm

# Summer, autumn, winter, spring

# Ploughing, planting, harvesting

# With JB and Storm to lead the way

# Come join us down on the farm today. #