Tomato heaven 🍅

New arrival 😊

🍠

Just look at all that gleaming, healthy beetroot at Frith Farm, on its way to be roasted and frozen ahead of Freedom FEASTival on Sunday September 3!

We'll be releasing some exciting FEASTival news this week, so keep your ears to the ground for details about how you can nominate someone for something very special... ... See more

Monday's Harvest... Have you ever seen a beet so big?
See you at the Annek shortly.

Delicious healthy recipe idea! The Rainbow chard we get from Frith Farm is amazing! ❤️💛💚💙💜

Brimming brilliant broccoli!

Another day on the farm brings new exciting produce. Broccoli well on its way.

- and a lovely photo of Ben.

Great produce reaching great places.

Superb produce from @frithfarming today locally grown chemical free zero food miles #rainbowchard #radish #heritagecarrots #gooseberries #lovesummer #food #cheflife #chefofinstagram #thewestwoodrestaurant #beverley #eastyorkshire ... See more

Just the finishing touches left for the Monday Box Scheme Harvest - Drop off Soon !
The first Fresh tomatoes will be on their way and we're keeping the tops on the beetroot.
Thank you for the support for local organic producers! ... See more

Box scheme ready for drop off point - the annex
See you all soon!
Don't forget your bag!

Cucumbers almost there x

This week's weed of the week in our #WeedyWednesday series is the most cheerful of #spring plants - the bright yellow #dandelion.

#Bees 🐝 love its early source of #pollen, so leave some plants over winter for them.

Dandelion roots, #flowers and leaves are used in #herbal medicine and the Victorians grew dandelions for use in salads and sandwiches!

The leaves contain vitamins A and C, and iron and they can also be used to make a foliar feed, like #comfrey. The dandelion truly is a plant of many uses! ... See more

Weedy Wednesday - Dandelion The next in our Wednesday Weed series is the most cheerful of Spring plants - the bright yellow dandelion. Bees love its early source of pollen, so leave some plants over winter for them. In this weekly series, we take a quick look at common garden weeds. How they grow, w... ... See more

Our food security, our freedoms as domestic growers, and our rights and responsibilities as consumers are all up for debate.

We are already working hard on your behalf, drawing attention of decision-makers to the benefits of organic practice. But it's not easy.

We need your support to ensure we are firmly at the forefront of negotiations, discussions & decisions.

You can help by texting FFGO17 £5 to 70070 to donate to Garden Organic and make a difference today. ... See more

Support our Fighting Fund Donate now Turbulent times ahead… In the last 12 months the political landscape, both here and overseas, has shifted beyond recognition. The ‘norm’ has most definitely been reset… Those who were lucky enough to hear our president Prof. Tim Lang speak at our AGM in May, will... ... See more

It's a little grey outside for today's #mondaymotivation

To brighten up the day we'd like to introduce our first 'plant of the week' from our Head Gardener Emma.

The Phlox paniculata 'White Admiral' can be found in our exotic and growth garden. It will grow well in full sun or part shade and with fertile well drained soil. Fragrant flowers will form mid-late summer. #phloxpaniculata #fragrantflowers #mondaymotivation ... See more

We've really enjoyed seeing your pictures and receiving your garden & allotment updates during National Allotments Week.

Before the week comes to an end, here is part five of our series 'One man and his organic plot'.

In this part Chris is enjoying the fruits of his hard labour down at the allotment with an abundance of tasty crops from french runner beans to courgettes.

Have your harvested a large amount of any particular crop on your allotment? #nationalallotmentsweek #organicgardening ... See more

One Man & his organic plot - Part Five The phrase ‘you reap what you sow’ certainly rings true in August and suddenly I’m drowning in courgettes, this really is the plant that keeps on giving and I am struggling to stay on top. It has opened up a new front on my allotment activities though and it’s… ... See more

Do you have spare time on your hands this Tuesday?

If you do then why not book onto one of the last remaining places for our popular course - Cutting Edge Veg.

Learn how to grow vegetables, herbs and spices associated with a more exotic cuisine and introduce new flavours into your own dishes at home. You'll even learn how to make garam masala! ... See more

In the last 50 years our culinary horizons have broadened to encompass a wide range of cultures including India, Chinese, South East Asia and the Caribbean. However, it seems that our growing skills have lagged behind our cooking habits.

This course will show you how to grow many of the vegetables, herbs and spices associated with a more exotic range of cuisines and introduce you to vegetables that you may not have tried before. Much of this expertise has been learnt by working with immigrant communities around the Midlands, so the plants have a proven track record of growing in this area. A glasshouse is not essential, as many will grow outside without a protected environment.

The following will be covered during the course of the day:
- Understanding the challenges of growing non-traditional crops
- Exotic legumes
- Exotic cucurbits
- Exotic tubers and roots
- Taking lemongrass cuttings
- Unusual herbs and spices
- Making garam masala
- Sowing haloon
- Taking african kale cuttings
- Explore the exotic garden at Ryton
- Saving seed from exotic crops

You will be able to take home a variety of factsheets to help get you started. This course assumes some experience of growing, but does not need advanced knowledge. ... See more

In part four of 'One man and his organic plot' Chris's balcony garden is thriving and is heading toward its peak with a mix of roses, herbs, summer bedding plants and of course plenty of food crops.

All of his crops are growing completely without chemicals or artificial fertilisers. #nationalallotmentsweek #organicgardening ... See more

One Man & his organic plot - Part Four So suddenly the summer arrives, with blistering heat and I find my work day gaining an hour as keeping the plants on my allotment watered becomes a necessity. I will confess after coming all the way back from Gardeners World Live, in Birmingham the idea at 8pm… ... See more

No one yet knows how the UK's withdrawal from the EU will impact organic growers. But one thing we can be sure of is that there's much work to be done.

To help ensure we are able to represent the views of organic growers please support us by donating to our Fighting Fund. http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/fighting-fund

Text FFGO17 £5 to 70070 to donate to Garden Organic and make a difference today - thank you. ... See more

Fantastic to read how Garden Organic and our Heritage Seed Library inspired James Wong and his seed saving escapades... (athough from Ryton in Coventry not Tyne and Wear 😃)

Save seed from your own plants. Now’s the time to do it, and these three tips make it even easier…

Do your salad herbs need attention? We have a handy #fridaytip that may just help...

If #chives show orange patches of rust, cut them back, they will resprout. #mint plants which also show signs of rust should be removed, as the disease will persist over winter and re-infect plants next year.

Re-plant with new stock and in a different part of the garden. If growing in containers, scrub out before re-using. #Basil, #parsley and #coriander can still be sown this month - they'll be ready just in time for those autumn soups and hearty suppers!

#herbs #organicgrowing #fridaytip #growyourown ... See more

How to grow vegetables and herbs the organic way To prepare your organic growing area – whether it is a pot, single bed or a large allotment – see Managing your soil and Home composting. It will help you to create the perfect soil - that has nutrients and texture to provide life for your plants. The... ... See more

We are really pleased to release our new seed packaging today! We decided a new corporate image was long overdue.

For the last day of #seedweek we'd like to talk about the Open Source Seed Initiative.

Patents & licenses on seed have spread to many parts of the world. Soon, farmers and gardeners may be unable to do anything more than rent seeds from the companies who control them. Already, the purchase of many seeds in the U.S. by a farmer is actually a one-time rental of the seed for a single cropping season. The license prevents farmers from saving, replanting, breeding, and sharing seed that has been rented, not purchased. Even plant breeders are prohibited from using these seeds to improve the crops. These legal restrictions benefit a few companies but threaten the food security of our societies.

Open source seed is seed of a plant variety the genetics of which cannot be restricted by patents or other intellectual property rights. Originally developed for computer software, the open source idea makes something like computer code, or seeds, freely available for use, and makes sure it stays freely available. The material is placed permanently in the public domain. It can still be modified, shared, bought, sold, and reproduced. Some people might may choose to improve the material to make something new. But the original material, and any derivatives must remain free for others to use forever, and cannot be restricted through patents and licenses.

You can read more about open source seed on the OSSI website below, or on our website at Real Seeds here: http://www.realseeds.co.uk/ossi.html ... See more

Free the Seed!

It's #seedweek! Read about the grassroots #seedsovereignty movement of across the UK and Ireland.

"Only 3 corporations sell 75% of the worlds seed; if we all start sowing open source, organic seed, we can grow a democratic food system." David Price, Seed Cooperative, Lincolnshire, UK

https://spark.adobe.com/page/TPzSXT2LOg0bB/?fbclid=IwAR0p2U0IevkBfVcswO-ba0r2PbF-AUZSeWqYAFPwuiXoHNE-I5JgMnhDFgs ... See more

New Seed envelopes in action! All running smoothly now after only a few adjustments: Our Ballard Brown Bag Seed Packing Machine from the 1880s. This is the first trial run of our new Art Nouveau paper envelopes, custom manufactured for us as part of our drive to reduce plastic packaging. ... See more

Exciting parcel from USA! First trial batch of custom-made paper seed envelopes for our 1880's "Ballard Brown Bag Seed Packing Machine"! Don't they look fine? Bottom picture shows the back when closed & opened - the green stripe is the latex stickum to hold the flap shut.
Next step is to test them in both our envelope printer and the packing machine.
(they did unfortunately use a draft copy of the artwork rather than the final version, but that's why you get trial runs done rather than just ordering 100,000 👍 ) ... See more

Great to see everyone at Newport Seedy Saturday today. thanks to everybody who came ; hopefully we'll see you all again next year with loads of home saved seed 🙂

Just getting ready for our own Seedy Saturday here in Newport. Anyone local, see you at the Tabernacle Chapel vestry (opposite Long Street carpark) 10am to 1pm 🙂

We got our latest shipment of seed from Italy yesterday, and Kate noticed the boxes on the pallet were now labelled in English. Read the small print 🙂

Are you part of a community seed bank project? The Community Seed Banks Academy may be able to support you with training, information and exchanges. They currently have a call out for applications.

Hopefully you're all enjoying the beautiful weather. This is just a reminder not to get *too* optimistic about sowing just yet.

Remember, in most of the country soil temperatures outdoors won't get above 7 or 8 degrees C until into March. Realistically beetroot, carrots, parsnips etc will just tend to sit and linger in cold soil - even allowing for the fact that we are very likely to get another cold snap.

We find that delaying sowing until late March or into April gives much better results, with later sown crops coming on quicker and more able to outgrow slugs & other pests.

Similarly, sowing indoors on a windowsill may be very tempting, but remember that your crops will need warmth *and* light once they're up, so make sure you'll have somewhere suitable for them to grow on. We've sown our peppers and aubergines in a heated propagator, they'll go out into an unheated greenhouse insulated with bubblewrap, but we'll bring them indoors overnight if the weather is particularly cold. Tomatoes will go into the propagator this week.

My main exceptions to the 'don't sow too early' rule are onions (need a little heat to germinate but then will stand any amount of UK- level cold) and peas which you can start in modules or trays and then put out as soon as they're an inch or so high. Again they'll happily sit through frosts. I'm going to sow my new favourite Jessy sugar snap peas today 🙂

http://www.realseeds.co.uk/germination.html ... See more

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