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.

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