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

Eating fresh fruit and vegetables is one of the huge benefits of an organic gardener's diet. Plus you know you're not eating unnecessary and potentially toxic chemicals. This principle is often followed through when buying meat and other products.

But what if you don't eat organic - especially if the food is imported? Recently, the Soil Association has revealed the differences between EU and US legislation concerning livestock farming – profligate use of antibiotics, growth hormones and the celebrated ‘chlorinated’ chicken... ... See more

The dangers of international trade food standards Eating fresh fruit and vegetables is one of the huge benefits of an organic gardener's diet. Plus you know you're not eating unnecessary and potentially toxic chemicals. This principle is often followed through when buying meat and other products. Bu... ... See more

We’re thrilled to see this coverage of the 'Sutton' tomato. One of the popular varieties from our Heritage Seed Library. This rare white tomato is now available to buy as plug plants from The Organic Gardening Catalogue​.

We think this tomato is a definite must for the growing season ahead https://bit.ly/2JmhHtJ ... See more

The variety was saved from extinction

Exciting opportunities...

We have three brand new roles to offer at our Head Office in Ryton:

🌿 Commercial Manager
🌿 HR & Compliance Manager
🌿 Fundraising Officer

If you're a well-organised individual with a thorough approach then one of these roles could be for you!

To apply please use the link below. Closing date for all applications is midnight 9th April. ... See more

Vacancies & Volunteering Vacancies and Volunteering We’re here to get more people growing organically and by becoming part of our team, either in a paid or voluntary position, you can help us to make a change for the better.Work for Garden OrganicIf you are interested in working for us we have emp... ... See more

If your soil has unfrozen, you can prepare it for sowing the earliest vegetable crops, such as parsnips and broad beans. Warm it with a cloche or sheet of plastic, for a week or two. This will bring it up to 5°C or more.

If your soil is heavy clay and slow to warm, wait a few weeks, as seeds sown in cold/ wet soils are unlikely to thrive. #Fridaytip #springgarden #healthysoil ... See more

It's great to see that so many of you have received your packs are already underway with your 2019 Members' Experiments. Don't forget that guidance notes for each experiment can be found in the members' online area.

We'd love to hear about your progress along the way! ... See more

Do you have questions about composting ?

Our Cumbria Master Composters will be attending the Cumbria Life Home & Garden Show 2019 at Rheged, near Penrith this weekend - 15th - 17th March!

Come along and join us to learn more about the benefits of composting - we look forward to seeing you there. #HGShow2019 ... See more

The Cumbria Life Home & Garden Show 2017 takes place at Rheged near Penrith on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 March 2017.

FREE composting workshops for beginners!

In partnership with Cambridge City Council, we're offering free workshops to show just how easy it is to compost and be successful - as well as saving time & money.

Workshops will take place on the following dates:
20th March 7-9pm, Brown’s Field Youth & Community Centre
23rd March 10.30-12.30, Ross Street Community Centre
27th March 5-6.30pm, Central Library

Book here https://bit.ly/2F6bxJV to avoid disappointment! ... See more

Successful growing is all about good planning!

'Planning your organic growing plot' is the perfect course if you're looking to gain an understanding of how to plan out the growing space for an allotment or garden.

Using organic principles you will learn how to plan your plot, with a focus on crop rotation, preventing pests and diseases, maximising harvests and planning for the year ahead! ... See more

It's time to prune your roses. Then give them, and other herbaceous plants, climbers and bulbs, a spring feed. Your own organic garden compost is ideal, using 2 buckets per sq m.

Fork in lightly, or just leave on the surface and let the soil creatures take it down. #Fridaytip #FridayMotivation ... See more

Winter pruning is a good way to stimulate healthy growth in a plant. Here we show you step-by-step how to prune a rose bush to ensure new growth from the buds.

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