Seedlings 🌱 #frithfarm #seedlings #permaculture #horticulture #csa #salad #birdseyeview

What a chore but what satisfaction! An afternoon well spent getting the rest of the beds lined out, now just to get some veggies in. #frithfarm #farmingthefuture #csa #permaculture #horticulture #cultivation ... See more

Strawberries are in flower 🍓. #frithfarm #farmingthefuture #strawberries #strawberry #inbloom #inflower #horticulture #permaculture #csa

Blooming nettle! #nettle #inbloom

A day well spent at Humber street vegan market today. The place was packed with like-minded people and it was great to hear such a positive response from people about local farming. Hopefully, you managed to catch us and some of our produce, if not watch this space for more markets in the future. ... See more

Plenty of wonky carrots here at the farm.

Billions of pounds of perfectly good produce are being wasted simply for being the wrong shape, color, and size. But Imperfect has a great solution!
www.imperfectproduce.com
Like Rob Greenfield for more videos like this! ... See more

Out of your pantry and into your garden - Millie Ross shows you how to grow black beans and chillies in your backyard.

Birdseye view of the farm

We spent the day up in the northeast, experiencing other CSA's and organic farming practices. We had a walk around Nafferton farm, showing us their research on organic methods vs conventional methods. We finished the day with a presentation documenting the evidence that organic foods were higher in antioxidants and omega fatty acids, while been much lower in carcinogens like cadmium. It was the positive affirmation we needed, a real buzz around small-scale organic farming is building. ... See more

We've made a film describing the work we do with our producer and distributor members. We launched the film on Saturday at the Land and Food Forum and are thrilled to be able to share it with you now..... Give it a watch, then share it across your social networks! Thanks to the lovely Black Bark films for their amazing work. ... See more

Autumn 🍁 has arrived and we're starting to see our gardens change, here at Ryton. Our Head Gardener Emma & her team of volunteers have had a busy month preparing for winter vegetables and harvesting.

Here's Emma's monthly update on the gardens...

We've made some simple changes in the small organic garden to bring it up to date. A small decked area and pergola has been added as well as some new planting and winter vegetables.

The small and large keders have been cleared out, manure incorporated and winter salads planted. Our Cooks Garden has also been cleared ready for the herbs to move in - this should be completed shortly.

My volunteers have been busy collecting seeds and seedlings, emptying and re-planting the container garden. We have also redesigned and planted the long border that runs alongside the herb garden this will start to bloom in the spring.

We are continuing to weed, cut back, harvest, mow and cut hedges back.
Our compost heaps have also been turned again and some will be ready for use in spring as a mulch. And finally we are in the process of strimming the wildflower meadow down. ... See more

Our Head of Organic Horticulture, Chris Collins has been busy at work this week on his allotment #harvesting all of his veg goodies.

There's some lovely #autumnal colours here and Chris certainly has lots of veg to make a tasty soup or two!

We'd love to know what you've been harvesting and cooking. ... See more

Euonymus alatus is our plant of the week. Also known as winged spindle or burning bush.

This large spreading deciduous shrub, grown for its autumn colour will tolerate any soil or aspect.

We think you'll agree the vibrancy this plant is perfect for an autumn garden. #plantoftheweek #autumn #organic ... See more

Do you have experience of saving seed from #vegetables?

Our 'next steps' course on the 12th #October will take your seed saving skills to the next level - focusing on types of seed with more complex requirements.

There are now a limited amount of places remaining so if you're interested you'll need to be quick!

Pop the date in your diary and secure your place here:
www.gardenorganic.org.uk/events/next-steps-seed-saving ... See more

#simpleswitch No.9 - Bring wildlife into your garden.

Mix your #flowers and #vegetables so the #blossoms attract #pollinators; leave some relaxed areas as #habitats for #insects and small animals; plant shrubs and trees for birds to shelter in; build a pond for frogs and dragonflies.

#simpleswitch #organicseptember #ChooseOrganic ... See more

#simpleswitch No.8 - Feed the soil

Use homemade compost to give your organic soil good heart ❤️

It improves the texture, the soil will hold air and water, and it provides vital nutrients for your plants. #simpleswitch #organicseptember #ChooseOrganic ... See more

Confused about where to #recycle a specific item or find it too much of a hassle to find out the nearest #recycling location?

As it’s Recycle Week, what better time to find out the facts...
#RecycleWeek #recycling #waste #TuesdayThoughts ... See more

Local recycling Click on one of the three boxes below i.e. How to recycle at home; enter your postcode and find out more about your local recycling. Update your data or add the recycling locator to your website Share page Tweet ... See more

Preserving Workshop

Friday 29th September, 11.00am-3.00pm

Got a glut of runner beans? Overwhelmed by courgettes?

Well come along to our Preserving Workshop with Suzanne Davies,and learn how to turn excess produce into chutneys, relish and preserves.

Using your own produce or some from our plot.

Bring your own lunch, we supply everything else.

Message us or email to reserve your FREE place:
info.seed@ashfieldce.org.uk ... See more

Did you know that today is the start of #RecycleWeek? It's a great opportunity to take a fresh look at your #recycling habits, including recycling your #garden and kitchen #waste!

It's easy to do and here we share our know-how to help you make better #compost, more efficiently. #MondayMotivation

www.gardenorganic.org.uk/compost ... See more

And an excellent Boston squash by Jayne Moore in north wales: 55" circumference and 22" high! (apples underneath for scale)

Oliver Harbury did well with the Chocolate Cherry seed!

A few people have asked us about how to dry their Gigantes and Czar beans ready for winter - if you're wondering, here's some quick instructions. French beans (end of season leftovers or crops grown specifically for dry use) are treated just the same way.

HARVESTING YOUR SOUP BEANS

Harvest the pods once they start to turn papery/dry (or if the weather is as soggy there as it is here, when they’re definitely leathery and are turning brown). Bring them indoors and dry somewhere cool with a good airflow until the pods are reasonably dry. (At this stage a polytunnel or greenhouse with good ventilation is fine, but beware of mice.)

Then shell the beans out and dry them further again somewhere cool with good airflow.

At this point (especially if they're for cooking) you can then just store them in a paper bag in a kitchen cupboard and unless your house is very damp, they'll be absolutely fine.

If you're keeping aside seeds to sow, they need to be dry to the point where if you bite on them (with care for your teeth!) they break rather than dent. Follow the instructions on the page below to get them properly dry for storage. ... See more

How to dry your vegetable seed at home, so that it keeps well. Free DIY seed-drying instructions from RealSeeds.

Triffids!! The Amaranth and Quinoa are almost ready to harvest 🙂

A few people have been in touch asking about things to sow now. It's a great time to put in winter salads, oriental greens and lots of other things. Have a look at our summer/autumn sowing page for more suggestions 🙂
http://realseeds.co.uk/summersowing2.html ... See more

The most colourful bit of our seed crops - Here's Tam weeding the marigolds in front of the Amaranth bed 🙂

Seed harvest at the barn: Kate and Josie with "Early Prolific Straightneck" squash - after axing the fruit open, the seeds are scooped out by hand, then washed to get rid of the pulp and put in a cabinet with a fan blowing air over them to dry out. After being germination-tested by Catherine, they'll be packed up by Tam or Ian ready for the new catalogue in November. ... See more

Trial cabbage "Nadzeya" from Belarus is getting huge! If it hearts up this big it should be quite impressive . . .

Its a busy but satisfying time at Real Seeds right now - everything is ripening at once. Here's Ian collecting a fantastic harvest of Wautoma Cucumber from one of the polytunnels. All the new seed should be processed, tested and packed in time for the new season starting in November. ... See more

Wow!

3st 1lb from your boston seed