Blog

Welcome to the Autumn folks. At last it feels like our new garden site is on the cusp of big developments! Our fencer has starting laying out the site, cultivations have began on the first plots of growing space and our hedges have been ‘tickled’. Alex our new Education Officer started with us last week and much work has already been done on our education garden design, many meetings set up with future users plus schools and youth groups contacted to assist us in developing the site. On 12th October we will be starting a regular Tuesday volunteer day, we would of course LOVE you to get involved in any way you can!

MEET ALEX – OUR GARDEN EDUCATION OFFICER

A very warm Growing Local welcome to our latest new employee Alex Lockett. Alex joins us from Summerhill School in Suffolk and brings a wealth of creativity, growing and teaching experience to our team. She will be taking responsibility for the design and development of the education garden and re-writing and delivering our garden educational programme at the new Growing Local Gardens site. Here’s some news on Alex’s first few days……

CSA/MARKET GARDEN NEWS Here’s some news from Katie on the market garden developments:

The green manure we sowed in August has come up really well. If you visit the site you’ll be able to see a visible difference between the two areas. There’s a smaller area of land which has been sown with a short term or annual mix, which includes mustard (those are the big leaves you’ll see, with yellow flowers) but also vetch, linseed and five different types of clover. The other area, going through to the smaller far field, is sown with six different clovers.

So green manure is just what it says, manure! It just hasn’t come from a cow! It feeds and replenishes the soil. The mustard helps to discourage wire worm, which are little blighters that like to nibble vegetable roots and the vetch and clovers fix nitrogen into the soil which is super good for it and for the delicious vegetables and fruit we’ll be growing next Spring onwards. We’ll be cutting the mustard mix soon and that will nourish the soil in the first growing area we’re starting on. The other clover mix will over-winter.

The fencing has also started! This is very exciting as it’s the beginning of marking out and defining the growing area and the Education Garden. There will be a lovely wide track for all walkers and dogs, so you are all very welcome still! There will also be a rabbit proof fence to keep our furry friends the rabbits out.

** CALLING ALL FUTURE SESSIONAL STAFF**

We are looking for passionate and energetic outdoor-based sessional staff to join our small and friendly educational team from this autumn. If you have prior teaching/sessional experience and would like to inspire our future generations to get their hands dirty and get growing then please do get in touch with us to info@growinglocal.org.uk. All details below. Due to the dire weather this week we have postponed our open afternoon to 2pm on Tuesday 26th September – so it’s not too late to register your interest and join us.

VOLUNTEER NEWS

We are at last in a position to start a regular Garden Volunteer Day! We will be starting on Tuesdays from Tuesday 10th October. Initially one day a week, but this will likely grow soon to two days a week, plus a monthly family garden volunteer day on a Saturday. Volunteers will help work on developing our education garden and market gardens undertaking a variety of different tasks each week, including initially marking out layouts, laying weed membrane, constructing raised beds and path edges, laying wood chip and gravel etc. Plus our compost loo construction.

We will be on site each Tuesday between 10am and 3pm – come along all day or drop in for a couple of hours. We will supply cake and biscuits (and drinking water), but please bring your own lunch and hot drinks. We plan to offer lunch once a month to our volunteers – i.e homemade soup over the winter – and will let you know which Tuesday of the month this will be on.

Absolutely no experience is necessary, just come along and muck in! We’ll always have plenty of jobs. Please note that for the time being we will not have our own toilet facilities on site (we have to construct them first!), we do however have use of the toilets over by the Belmont Wanderers car park – which is where you can park if driving. It’s about a 10 minute walk from the gardens.

If cycling or walking – we are situated at the end of the Great Western Way foot/cycle path, go past the football fields and you will see our fields on either side the path as you head towards Grafton.

If driving: We are currently able to use the car park of Belmont Wanderers – it is just off Vernons Williams Close in Newton Farm, Hereford (HR2 7BF). Coming from Hereford on the Belmont Road, turn left at the Tesco’s roundabout into Southolme Road. Go over the little roundabout, up the hill, through the chicanes and then turn right onto Vernon Williams Close. Follow the close round to the left and you’ll see the car park at the end.

Volunteer enquiries to info@growinglocal.org.uk
Our good friends at the Food Alliance have asked that we let you know of some really exciting events happening in Herefordshire this autumn:

PICK IT – COOK IT DAYS – see the flyer below for details

Ledbury:

1st October: Ledbury Community picking day 11-3. Sites in and around Ledbury. Meeting point TBC.
8th October: Pot and Page Community cooking day 11-3 preserving the harvest for Ledbury Food Bank at Pot and Page community hub

Hereford:

6th October: Hereford Community picking day 11-3 Lower House Farm Herefordshire Wildlife Trust reserve near Cock of Tupsley, HR1 1UT.
14th October: Herefords Community cooking day 11-3 Preserving at the Living Room Hereford.
Food: Lunch provided on each day, please bring your own mug for soup on the picking days as we won’t have kitchen facilities available to us!

Transport to venues: Picking days are at rural locations. We will be hiring the community bus in Ledbury to go to the picking locations, picking up point TBC.

Lower House Farm Orchard is accessible by public transport with the 420, 469 and 476 from Hereford bus station stopping at the Cock of Tupsley pub, a 10 minute walk from the orchard. There is also a car park for those coming by car. We are also hoping to hire the Hereford community bus for those without transport and to bring the apples back to the Living Room in the afternoon. We will set off from The Living Room at 10.30.

The processing days are in central town or city locations and we encourage the use of public transport where possible, however there are large car parks nearby if coming by car.

Llangarron – Archenfield:

30th September: Archenfield CEG Apple Day

Additionally the Food Alliance are organising a series of 100% HEREFORDSHIRE AUTUMN FEASTS A breakfast, lunch AND a dinner that is 100% nature and river friendly, nutritious and delicious and all sources from within our county.

There are so many great producers out there and we want to bring as many of these together in delicious feasts with a few great stories thrown in for good measure! Come and join us at a Farm, a community pub or one of the county’s best restaurants and learn about food, meet the producers and have fun!

More information here, plus details on how to book your places at the feasts.