WEEKLY MAIL OUT 13th October - continued ...... The story so far... and yet so near! the Larkfield and Ditton Local Food campaign and project Communigrow 'Three thoughts on food'

WEEKLY MAIL OUT 13th October View this email in your browser

In this weeks update.... Pictorial notes from the field Produce this week Planting and harvest sessions "Your Idea Starts Here" - social enterprise Guardian article on struggles and rewards of local food - The Oak Tree Low Carbon Farm  Our 'Field Kitchen' on the 18th October The story so far (and yet so near - that's local food!) continued... 'Three thoughts on Food' Our Field Kitchen - Saturday 18th October We will have two, two ring, burners, flat plate grill, solar powered LED lighting, a tandoori or a pizza oven (to make) and even a kitchen sink. We have lots of fresh veg so if you have a particular recipe based on potatoes, beans, courgettes, pumpkin, leeks, cabbage, parsnips and foraged chestnuts please do bring it along with the essentials you may need to make it. We won't have a working oven so best assume it must be done on site with hobs alone. Please don't bring lots of prepared food as that it is not the intention to simply picnic, far too late in the season for that. Loads of chopping facilities and the idea is to take turns or have several cooks at once rather than one person doing it all. We are ALL chefs for the day! from 3pm Invite to all our 'Friends of Communigrow' only so please be sure to complete your friends of communigrow form before and let us know you are coming please. We need as many as possible to make the kitchen - and our charity registration - a success so please come if you can rain or shine.

Produce available this week Radishes are back and very tasty they are too, young and crisp. Sad to see the sunflowers go but they will live on with vengeance next season as we have a huge number of seeds. Note for October. We do have late french beans, courgette and runner beans until the frost takes them, keep ordering as these are often put aside for box customers and may not be taken out on the barrow. VEGETABLES: Courgettes (Round) onions marrows (few left at time of writing) Pumpkin in segments to your own requirement Large or very large whole pumpkinsonly to order Potatoes 'BINTJE' - mixed size as they come or ask for .... very small potatoes 'BINTJE' - for roasting whole or.... large potatoes 'BINTJE' - for baking new crop salad leaves, new crop Radishes fine runner beans (no string) (few left at time of writing) long runner beans (to string) (few left at time of writing) spinach cabbage beetroots new crop Parsnips French Beans (late crop) (few left at time of writing) Leeks Baby Leeks Baby carrots Spanish round peppers (few left - best to order) (few left at time of writing) Chestnuts from Bradbourne Lane Soya HERBS: Rosemary, Old English Mint, Coriander seeds Chives OTHER:  Oilseed Rape seeds (very high energy wild bird food) Sunflower seeds (Wild bird food) Bamboo clumps for planting as an attractive barrier 'hedge' - email bamboo@communigrow.org Leek seeds * We welcome old tools and bits of old engines, cogs etc for fundraising. Also any old packet of seed for use on the plot. * Also we need to know what veg you want. Silly as it may seem we grow to the needs of local people, that's everyone who may be interested in what we are doing. Working on this local level means we can respond to demand although you may need to give us a few months to put it into our plans, prepare the ground, sow the seed, tend the young plants and finally, if all has gone well (more on this 'risky' business at a later date), dig, pull or cut the cropbefore you get your chopping knife at the ready! So if you think "Hmmm, wouldn't it be nice to have....." please share that thought with us. Emailhmmm@communigrow.org  and you may be pleased to hear we like thoughts on anything we may grow or produce.  Planting & Harvesting Sessions this week, the 13th October to 18th October Friday's are the best 'drop-in' day from 12 noon. Other days are best 'by arrangement' until we know best to organise ourselves to suit the help offered. Monday 13th - 10am until 2.30pm Tuesday 14th      N/A Wednesday 15th - N/A Thursday 16th    N/A Friday 17th          12noon - dusk  Saturday 18th     10am - dusk - with the Field Kitchen and 'Natures Golden Orb'  Saturday 18th October - A Friends of Communigrow Open Day - cooking with veg picked from the plot with our (basic) field kitchen and developing this as a regular event with clay oven etc. A chance to try pumpkin and more seasonal stuff including chestnuts, leeks and the mass of potatoes all in the luxurious surrounds of where they grow. Its the end of the line for many tender types but a chance to try our own new season parsnips and leeks along with soya beans. Please come rain or shine and if you know you will be coming and what you can do please email us at kitchen@communigrow.org so we know numbers. If anyone can help set up on saturday morning that may be really helpful for an hour or so.

continued ...... The story so far... and yet so near! the Larkfield and Ditton Local Food campaign and project Communigrow   'Three thoughts on food' .... It is through the veg that we have found so much local support for the objectives we are aiming for and our aims must remain on this focus So what are these objectives? Clearly people are interested in food and may go out of their way to find something better than the suppermarket, though the vast majority of our food pound would be likely to end up in the supermarket as they are now so much of our life. We may offer a few fresh veg whereas they have shelves of the stuff stacked high and in glowing lights to make the many types, shape and colour look its very best and all in a warm cosy atmosphere. What can we offer that they cannot? Most likely nothing. They have the ability to follow trends wherever they feel. If CSA were successful enough they would soon be sponsoring the idea or even have their own local farms for people to visit on a sunday and would probably jump at the chance of parking one of their delivery trucks on the green for a couple of hours (imagine the long line of mobile Tesco, Sainsbury and Morrison wagons - with even a Starbucks and Costa to refresh). Success in their eyes would be ways to make money out of it! We can't really compete on their terms, they have the bulk of everyone's spending money already and, lets face it, are really good at providing foods from around the world. We have to measure our success on different, non financial, terms. Now that may be the difference, we provide foods from our fab field a few yards away from your door and this helps people eat more fresh veg. We also provide a community function, helping people get out and active - to get interested in a local charity. Our three thoughts on food .... 'learning, teaching, sharing', but more on these next time. Our objective is to provide local resources on our 5.7 acre field at East Malling Research. These include: A new viable market garden of volume production with varied cropping and production plan Incorporate sustainable techniques with extensive use of varied cover crops - 'green manure' Produce for a variety of purposes, Ethnic foods, Arts and Crafts, social & horticultural research Create a ‘Local Exchange Trading System’ to maximise fair returns Establish added value enterprises such as bees, oil and associated craft produce from the field Create skills base for educational programme in all operations and social care Install awareness in the health benefits of an active lifestyle Create new habitats for conservation Membership of our new market garden community open to all I would like to thank all who have enabled this to happen so far and in advance to all those yet to come. If anyone is able to help us plan the new planting please get in touch, email 2015@communigrow.org.   Transition Network is a charitable organisation whose role is to inspire, encourage, connect, support and train communities as they self-organise around the Transition model, creating initiatives that rebuild resilience and reduce CO2 emissions.  Ultimately it’s about creating a healthy human culture, one that meets our needs for community, livelihoods and fun.  We’re here to support you. We shall soon have a few copies of the 'Transition Free Press' available for a donation of £2 to cover costs. To order emaillaurence@communigrow.org. As a 'Friend' of Communigrow  you may express your interests in our charitable project  either as a growing plot for  fresh fine veg or as a place  to learn and have some fun  or  as a method to explore your  own ideas. In future there will be many  rewards only available to  our friends as they will  propel the project forwards. Print out, complete and return to us as an image file,join@communigrow.org, thanks Facebook - Larkfield and Ditton Local Food Website - Communigrow.org We are looking for families who do not currently eat a lot of fresh veg. Over the next year we want to work with a group of families to help them introduce more fresh food and reduce pre-packed and prepared items from their diet. If you know of someone of any age or ability, who you feel may benefit, please do get in touch. Email goodvegclub@communigrow.org   No-Bake Chocolate Pumpkin Pie 425g of freshly cooked pumpkin 1 tsp Vanilla Extract 2 tsp Fairtrade cocoa powder Quarter tsp of salt 150g Fairtrade chocolate chips Melt the chocolate (either on the stove or in the microwave), then throw everything into a food processor and blend until it is super-smooth. Pour into a pie crust and fridge until chilled. This pie gets firmer and firmer, the longer it sits. Thanks to Moira for sharing this recipe.... it is tried and tested Read all about CSA's A fantastic article about The Oak Tree Low Carbon Farm community supported agriculture initiative from The Guardian, highlighting the importance, struggles and rewards of local food as part of 'Live Better Community Project' month. http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/sep/01/writers-community-challenge-how-i-helped-bring-in-the-harvest Your Idea Starts Here.... Social Enterprise People around the world are deciding that the well-being of their local community and its economy lies with them. They’re people like you. They’ve had enough, and, rather than waiting for permission, they’re rolling up their sleeves, getting together with friends and neighbours, and doing something about it. Whether they start small or big, they’re finding that just doing stuff can transform their neighbourhoods and their lives. The Power of Just Doing Stuff argues that this shift represents the seeds of a new economy – the answer to our desperate search for a new way forward – and at its heart is people deciding that change starts with them. Communities worldwide are already modelling a more local economy rooted in place, in well-being, in entrepreneurship and in creativity. And it works. About Rob Hopkins Rob Hopkins is the co-founder of Transition Town Totnes and of Transition Network. He publishes the blog transitionculture.org and tweets as robintransition. In February 2012 Rob and the Transition Network were among NESTA and The Observer’s list of Britain’s 50 New Radicals, and in 2012 won the European Economic and Social Committee Civil Society Prize. Next week, Why Fair Trade?   Our location Access is onto the private estate so please do not enter uninvited or without appointment as you may be challenged - we cannot provide an 'open door' to the general public even though we may like to. We welcome all to join as a 'Friend' of the charity Communigrow to avoid all potential problems. We prefer if you can walk or cycle to the plot Exit A20 next to the KIA garage turning into Bradbourne Lane. Pass the Tandoori Palace on your right. As you come down the hill there is a right hand turning into the East Malling Research Institute Grounds. Turn in here and follow the road (Red Line), over the small stream. Pass the cluster of offices on your left until you reach a small white house on your left and the entrance to the Communigrow field (Green triangle) is just past it on the left through the wide gate.   Copyright © 2014 Communigrow, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: join@communigrow.org unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences