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 !

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.

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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