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

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