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 !

Don't forget to tune in tonight at 8.30pm for the first episode of BBC Gardeners World to kick of the new season.

We can't wait! 🌷🌼🌹🌻🌸

Join the Welsh Historic Gardens Trust and Adam Alexander - Seed Guardian and trustee for Garden Organic for his talk on the Heritage Seed Library.

Members and non-members welcome, booking is essential. ... See more

Mae’n siwr y bydd hyn yn gyflwyniad hynod o ddiddorol gan Adam Alexander o’r Heritage Seed Library yn Garden Organic. I ddilyn, bydd Piers Lunt, Pen Garddwr Ymddiriedolaeth Drws i’r Dyffryn yn arwain taith dywysedig o amgylch yr ardd gegin furiog, gan esbonio’r gwaith cadwraeth treftadaeth sydd ar gychwyn fel un o Geidwaid Hadau’r Llyfrgell. Cofiwch fwcio’n gynnar!

This promises to be a very interesting talk by Adam Alexander of the Heritage Seed Library at Garden Organic. Tywi Gateway Trust head gardener Piers Lunt will be following with a tour of the walled kitchen garden, highlighting the upcoming heritage conservation work as an HSL Seed Guardian. Book early! ... See more

Good news! New organic farming rules adopted in the EU.

On 22 May, the Council of the EU adopted new rules on organic production and the labelling of organic products. After years of discussion and clarification, the new rules aim to improve consumer confidence in organic products, as well as prevent fraud and unfair practices. ... See more

New organic farming rules adopted in the EU On 22 May, the Council of the EU adopted new rules on organic production and the labelling of organic products.  After years of discussion and clarification, the new rules aim to improve consumer confidence in organic products, as well as prevent fraud an... ... See more

Net #strawberries to deter birds, once #fruits start swelling and ripening. Ensure netting is pegged down to prevent birds getting trapped or tangled up.
#fridaytip #softfruits #strawberries #toptip #growyourown ... See more

Yesterday the Council of the EU adopted new rules on #organic production and the labelling of organic products. After years of discussion and clarification, the new rules aim to improve consumer confidence in organic products, as well as prevent fraud and unfair practices.

Read more via the link below ... See more

New organic farming rules adopted in the EU On 22 May, the Council of the EU adopted new rules on organic production and the labelling of organic products.  After years of discussion and clarification, the new rules aim to improve consumer confidence in organic products, as well as prevent fraud an... ... See more

There's less than a month to go before the opening day of BBC Gardeners' World Live at the NECBirmingham from the 14th-17th June. Don't miss out, book your tickets right here for the garden show of the year!

You'll find us at stand G412 - come along and meet the team
#BBCGWLive #organicgardening #growyourown 🌺🌼🌺🌼 ... See more

A new pilot study has revealed the health effects of #glyphosate on rats, even when dosed with the recommended safe limit per body weight. #glyphosate #research

New study reveals dangers of glyphosate toxicity A new pilot study from the Ramazzini Institute, Bologna University and the Italian National Health Institute, observed the health effects of glyphosate on rats, which had been dosed with the safe limit of 1.75 micrograms per kilo of body weight (dete... ... See more

Our Heritage Seed Library 'Commander" pea is looking magnificent in the polytunnel today. Dating from the early 1900s, this brown pea is excellent for cooking and drying. The striking flowers will be followed by purple pods.

Feeling inspired? Find out how we conserve heritage veg bit.ly/2HCcjwG
#heritage #seeds #varieties #veg #growyourown ... See more

This year we are trialling some special edible varieties of #lupins for our members experiments. Our lupins are growing well after a few days of warm weather.

Here is #Dieta, a white-flowered variety that has been bred for growing in the UK. How are your lupins coming along?
#membersexperiments #seeds #lupins #Dieta #varieties ... 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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