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

It's the perfect time to sow chard and leaf beet for harvesting from autumn through into winter & next spring. You can find Fordhook Giant, Pink Passion and Golden Chard - all recommended by Alys Fowler - on our leaf greens page here: http://realseeds.co.uk/cookinggreens.html ... See more

Wilt it in butter, put it in a flan, turn it into a gratin… Sow now, and you could be reaping the benefits all winter

Halfway there! Not a bad days work. Our new water tower will help next spring if there's a dry spell just as we put out all the baby plants...

Here's Ian checking the first piece of our new water tower, which we're hoping to put together today. Made from local wood cut by Adrian Krakiewicz on his mobile sawmill, it will be 4m high, with a 2000l tank on top. ... See more

Very unusual pods developing on our edible chickling vetch (Lathyrus sativus). It makes small lentil-like seeds that are eaten in many countries around the Mediterranean. We always have a few experimental things on the go, and this one certainly grows well here. We'll have to wait and see how easy it is to gather the seeds before they scatter though! ... See more

It's finally time to sow Oriental Greens! (If you sow them before midsummers day they just go to flower straight away) But now we can sow all these amazing greens that have been bred for growing really fast from now until winter. These come up quick and are ready to eat cooked or raw in just month or so. Find them all at http://www.realseeds.co.uk/orientalgreens.html ... See more

"Czech Early" aubergine living up to its name! Just about ready by the end of June - not at all bad for an unheated polytunnel in Wales.

Here's experimental tomato 'Blue Fire' under trial in one of the polytunnels. It is very pretty - but not yet ripe enough to taste-test.

Beautiful summer salad - from our seeds: spinach, golden chard, pink passion chard, magentaspreen, fennel leaves, orach, 'green days' oriental green, mange-tout peas, marigold petals, violets, radish flowers and pods & chive flowers- plus elderflowers and rose petals from the hedge. ... See more

Thought people might like to see the nodules on the roots of a broad bean plant. In all 'leguminous' plants - peas, beans etc - this is where the beneficial bacteria live that fix nitrogen from the air for the plant to use, so the plant can grow in poorer soil. The plant in return provides a safe home and sugar for the bacteria to live off. It also supplies oxygen to the bacteria - if you cut a nodule open, it is pink inside. The colour is from the plants 'leghaemoglobin' - just like the haemoglobin in your blood! ... See more

A fine crop of Early Prolific Straightneck is growing in the tunnel. It's been many years since we were able to offer seed of them, so this is quite exciting. Fingers crossed for a good seed harvest this autumn 🙂 ... See more