Organic networking... And what a character this guy is 😂

There's nothing like a bath full of worms.

New arrival for the boxes! Squash!

No need to peel me. Just roast, steam, stew me, stick me in a curry or blend me into a warming soup. The possibilities are endless -

Enjoy.

The resulting effects of CSA and how it can support a bright and abundant future for the way we produce food.

This story among many others will be included in our new documentary Living the Change: Inspiring Stories for a Sustainable Future! Find out more at https://livingthechangefilm.com

Farm friend Jen has started a really good food blog for us called 'One Hull of a Kitchen'. She'll be using the Frith farm veg box to produce weekly, seasonal recipes to help us all stay inspired. Go check out the link below.

https://onehullofakitchen.wordpress.com/ ... See more

First sight of corn yesterday. It's delicious as it is uncooked, creamiest corn I've ever tasted!

🌽

Interesting new blog post on our website about pesticide residues in food. Written by Gina Allen who has Masters by Research in Science of the Environment.

Click the link below to read:

https://frithfarming.com/blog/ ... See more

Frith farm is a local community agriculture scheme providing fresh seasonal, high quality, chemical free, vegetables and gourmet salad in Hull and Beverley

This machine makes planting a breeze!

Looking at a small African tribe, this study found that the composition of their gut bacteria changed with the seasons, due to a strict seasonal diet. The study found that some bacteria even disappeared altogether and then reappeared the following season. When samples were compared to those from industrialised, western countries it demonstrated (again) their diminishing microbial diversity.

Nice little article supporting the importance of local, seasonal eating! 😉 ... See more

Seasonal changes in gut bacteria make-up of a small African community strengthens the evidence that diet strongly influences our gut microbiota, finds a new study in Science.

Good Morning!
Our Colourful Carrots dug from the new bed are ready for today's box scheme members !

Just one week to go! Don't forget to come and see us in the BBOWT Wildlife Zone

ONE WEEK TO GO! Lots of exciting new attractions await you at BBC Countryfile Live this year. Set in the beautiful grounds of Blenheim Palace from the 3-6 August, our action-packed show includes live arena shows, activities exploring nature, animal displays, debates, music, food, drink, shopping and more! It's not too late to book if you havent done already: https://countryfilelive.com/tickets ... See more

This week we've got a fruity #fridaytip for you...

Thin out #apples and #pears to get a perfect crop of good sized fruit. Firstly remove any diseased, damaged or unusually small fruits.

Then carefully reduce numbers to no more than 2 or 3 per cluster. You will get larger sweeter fruits as a result - ideal for the perfect crumble or apple pie! 😋🍏🍐🥧

If you find our information useful you could help us to continue providing this advice by donating just £2 to Garden Organic today. Please text TIPS17 £2 to 70070 to donate. Thank you 😃 #fridaytip #organicgardening #fruits ... See more

The weather is set to be fine and sunny in #Upminster this Sunday. If you're in the area or you fancy a day trip out with a difference, then why not visit Frank's Cottages Open Garden.

This delightful #wildlife garden will be open on 30th July
between 12pm & 6pm in support of Garden Organic 😃 ... See more

Frank's Cottages Open Garden at: 8 Frank’s Cottages, St Mary’s Lane, Upminster RM14 3NUon: Sunday, 30 July 2017 - 12:00pm to 6:00pmTony Gunton and Pat Allen are generously opening their organic garden – a wildlife garden in the Metropolitan Green Belt near Upminster. Frank's Cottages boasts A half-a... ... See more

This week's #weedywednesday plant is #stinging #nettle - fierce, invasive but full of goodness!

The common #nettle is abundant throughout the UK.
Dried nettles provide excellent food for farm animals with a high protein content - despite the stalky nature it is easily digested. The flowers are a good source of pollen and nectar for butterflies 🦋

Did you know...
Stinging nettles also make the perfect soup 🍵 The nettles contain high levels of iron, calcium and magnesium & cooking will destroy the sting!

#weedywednesday #nettles #weeds #stingingnettle ... See more

On 3rd August we'll be heading off to be part of the 2017 BBC Countryfile Live show.

You'll find us located within the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust - BBOWT Wildlife Zone alongside our Oxfordshire Garden Organic Master Composters.

Don't miss out on this action-packed four-day show, we look forward to seeing you there! ... See more

BBC Countryfile Live is delighted to be returning to the spectacular grounds of Oxfordshire’s historic Blenheim Palace from 3 - 6 August 2017.

We thought we'd share something bright & beautiful for today's #mondaymotivation.

The stunning Comma #Butterfly can be seen here taking a little rest upon an #Echinacea flower.

If you run, or are part of a community garden or group like Caldmore Community Garden, then you may be interested in one of our courses, held here at our gardens 🌿

Take a look at what we have to offer here...
http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/our-courses ... See more

Yesterday we visited Garden Organic and took part in their excellent "Attracting Wildlife to Your Garden" course. While there, we learnt about this amazing bumblebee project - have a look at their website and become one of its contributors! ... See more

Our Sustainable Communities Manager, David Garrett was in #Cumbria on Saturday to kick start the first #volunteer training session with our brand new Master Composters project.

A great day was had by all!
#GetComposting #composting #mastercomposters #cumbria ... See more

We had a fantastic training session with Garden Organic today to kick off our Master Composter project.

Nine volunteers were given training on all things compost and left the day eager to share what they have learnt in their communities and help people across Cumbria to #GetComposting!

Watch them learning how to put together all sorts of different compost bins, starting with the Green Johanna... ... See more

Ongoing RHS trials reveal that #organic #slug pellets perform as well as toxic synthetic chemical ones – especially on #hostas.

This is good news for organic growers...

RHS trials - organic slug pellets perform better than those with toxic metaldehyde Ongoing RHS trials reveal that organic slug pellets perform as well as toxic synthetic chemical ones – especially on hostas. This is good news for organic growers. This two year scientific study aims to identify more… ... See more

Follow our 3 step #fridaytip holiday plan for safekeeping of #vegetables and #flowers in your absence.

#Weed, then #water, then #mulch. This will keep the soil moist in your absence. Lawn mowings make an excellent mulch, feeding nitrates into the soil. ... 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