Monday, May 27, 2013

Planning the future for East Malling CSA (Communigrow)

June will be the deciding time for the future of the plot and all things related to the co-operative. Having researched for 5 months and established the basis for the market garden with the support Joining Hands and the land allocated by East Malling Research it is now time to make a few decisive moves on the formation of the group that will run the project in the future.

Our timetable sets September for the registration of the Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, with the basis that it will have something to work with over the winter and into next season.

It will be known as the Communigrow Garden with an official title of East Malling CSA.

Produce will be sold direct to the residents of Ditton, the Mallings and surplus to local food distributors in Kent and beyond that via Food Access co-ops stalls in Greenwich. the intention is that as many people as possible may access the good food and produce we shall grow at the Park Farm site and perhaps more plots in future.

Membership is open to all. for a modest annual fee of £25 anyone can join to support our aims.

We would hope that subscription to our seasonal veg box will start later this year ready for the 2014 season. It will take this time to organise and create the foundations for growing enough to supply the demand.

For now we will be a Voluntary Unincorporated Association, and later register as either a 'Bona fide Co-operative' or 'Society for the Benefit of the Community' as a Industrial & Provident Society or 'IPS'. The difference between the two is who actually controls the workings of the co-op, the members or the community. The jury is still out on that one.

We need more for the core group so if you may be interested send me an email for a pack of information. There is no cost other than time right now, a meeting once in awhile, though we would hope all would become members.
Email me at:
communigrow@eggsfromscratch.com


Monday, May 13, 2013

a lot of people are uncomfortable with the idea of raised bed gardens


raised garden beds
standard hugelkultur raised garden beds
raised garden beds
narrower hugelkultur raised garden beds
raised garden beds
peaked hugelkultur raised garden beds
raised garden beds
hugelkultur raised garden beds with a stone border
raised garden beds
hugelkultur raised garden beds with a log border
http://www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/

A great idea that works........................ by paul wheaton

I have discovered that a lot of people are uncomfortable with the idea of raised bed gardens. They have seen the large flat gardens for years and are sure this is the way to do it. Some people are okay with raised beds that are three to six inches tall - they consider anything taller than that unsightly.
So this is gonna sound crazy, but I hope to convince you that the crazy-sounding stuff is worth it.
If you build your hugelkultur raised garden beds tall enough, you won't have to irrigate. At all (after the second year). No hoses. No drip system. Anything shorter won't require as much irrigation - so there is still some benefit. Imagine going on vacation in the summer without having to hire somebody to kill water your garden! As a further bonus, the flavor of everything you grow will be far better!
To go all summer long without a drop of rain, you need to build your hugelkultur raised bed gardens .... six feet tall. But they'll shrink! Mostly in the first month. Which is why I suggest you actually build them seven feet tall.
Hugelkultur raised garden beds can be built just two feet tall and will hold moisture for about three weeks. Not quite as good, but more within the comfort zone of many people - including urban neighbors.
Some people will start out with hugelkultur raised garden beds that are two and a half feet tall and plant only annuals. And each year they will build the size of the bed a foot. So that after a few years, they will have the bigger beds and the neighbors never really noticed. And if they've tasted what comes from it - they might be all for it without caring about the big mounds.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Thanks to Betsy we have enough leaky pipe for 5 beds


An essential tool, leaky pipe.

Thanks to Betsy we have enough for the first five beds so can irrigate without watering too many weeds and the piles of stones at the same time. Watering along the ridge makes a lot of sense.



Now I need some mulch, or manure, or both ideally. I've got some sheet mulch but need to bag up some stones to weigh it down as the wind wipes across the wield.

Good day yesterday though I spent most of the day messing about with carbs on the rotavators but at least it was successful. There is a therapy with mechanics but alas I am not sure that Zen and the art of rotavator maintenance would make a best seller.

Must listen to this weeks Gardeners Question time as it came from the conference centre at East Malling Research. Wonder if they have solutions to stones?

Latest idea is for a 'voluntary unincorporated association' to run things but as that may not provide the structure we need for the CSA I can't get excited about a short term fix for any reason other than to form a core group.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

sodalite rock, not sure that would be found there & the raking is extreme



Good day yesterday will runner beans and peas now in. Desperate to get some salad and herbs and rocket as I realise they could make a return quite fast. I will need to devote the next sowing to those along with more carrots, beetroot and radish.
Finally got my replacement coil for the rotavator so can go back to building up beds but want to make a wire mesh rake for my draw plough and see if I can draw some of the stones to the end of the rows, the raking is extreme, there are so many stones and it is not an easy patch to work because of that. I calculated that the bed I raked yesterday has 1/3rd stone content, the heaps are huge and in total it will be tons of stones.
Mainly flint but i did find a bit of sodalite rock, not sure that would be found there.






 
pretty  stuff isn't it



Thanks for help with the porous pipe to lay on the ridges of the raised beds. I do still need more so if anyone can help with this or simple water timers please let me know................
if anyone can help with the cost of irrigation please let me know, we need about 5 of these urgently for the plot. I've checked and it is about the cheapest available. You can order direct and have it sent to me. Thanks

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

guides and toolkits to help you set up or develop a community food enterprise, by Making Local Food Work



Practical Guides and Toolkits

Below are some practical guides and toolkits to help you set up or develop a community food enterprise. Where appropriate they have been grouped per type of enterprise, but all of the resources will have relevant tips and information whatever the type of enterprise you are interested in. If you find any of the links are broken let us know by emailing info@makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk. 

also the section on Community Supported Agriculture has a lot of material..............

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

A Share in the Harvest: CSA Action Manual - here. 
A Share in the Harvest: Appendices - here.
Evaluating Community Supported Agriculture: The impact of CSA projects - here. 
Community Investment in CSA - here.
Pig Ignorant: A guide to small scale pig-keeping - here. 
DIY Marketing for CSAs - here. 
Community Supported Agriculture: A teaching programme for degree students in agriculture and related subjects - here. 
Finding land to grow food: Community Groups' guide to legal issues - here. 
Removing the barriers: A guide to making growing projects accessible to all - here. 
A range of briefing sheets:

© Making Local Food Work 2008




The Community Farm at Chew Magna near Bristol



Practical Guides and Toolkits

Below are some practical guides and toolkits to help you set up or develop a community food enterprise. Where appropriate they have been grouped per type of enterprise, but all of the resources will have relevant tips and information whatever the type of enterprise you are interested in. If you find any of the links are broken let us know by emailing info@makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk. 

Initial Advice

Advice and Support for Community Food Enterprises - here. 
Community Food Enterprises: A guide to getting started - here. 
Using the media: A practical guide - here.

Enterprise Support

Make Money, Manage Money - here.
Student Guide: An introduction to community food enterprises - here.  
Trading for Success - here. 
Social Enterprise Toolbox - links to the toolbox in the Enterprise Support pages of the website. 

Legal and Governance

The Simply Suite:
 From Conflict to Co-operation booklets:

Farmers' Markets

Building Successful Farmers' Markets: A guide for market organisers - here.
Stalls that Sell More - here. 
Understanding Your Customers: a guide for local food retailers - here. 
Finding Customers for Local Food: Using customer profiling - here. 
Making Farmers' Markets Work:
Funding Tips for Farmers' Markets - here.

Local Food Systems

Exploring the growth of the community food sector through cross-collaboration - here. 
Collaborative Communities: what community food enterprises learnt by working together:
Collaborative Communities: background case studies:

Community Shops and Local Food

How to set up a community shop - here. 
How to open a local food shop - here. 
Local Food Guide: A guide to stocking and selling more local food - here.
Grow a grocery: A guide to setting up a wholefood co-operative - here. 
Shopping for a Shop - here. 
Raising Funds - here. 
Designing a store that works - here. 
Benefits of selling local food: Case studies - here.
Planning a Community Event: A guide to promoting your enterprise - here.
Selling and Serving: Becoming a customer-focused, successful enterprise - here. 
Retail Marketing - here. 
Volunteers: A guide to maximising your volunteer resource - here. 
How to reduce your environmental impact - here.

Country Markets & Home-Produced Food

Better Business: A guide for country market producers - here. 
An introduction to selling techniques for country markets - here. 

Food Co-ops and Organic Buying Groups

Food Co-ops Toolkit: A simple start-up guide - here.
How to set up a food co-op in:
Organic Buying Groups: A guide to setting one up - here.

Farming and Communities

Increasing collaboration between farmers and local communities: Benefits and barriers - here.
Keeping farming local: A guide to creating closer links between farmers and their local networks - here.
Supporting local farmers and local food: A guide for communities to create closer links with local farmers - here.  
Lessons from Fordhall: A guide to setting up and running a community-owned farm - here. 

Mapping Local Food Webs

From Field to Fork: The Value of England's food webs - here. 
From Field to Fork: Individual location reports:
Mapping Local Food Webs: A toolkit for your area - here.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

A Share in the Harvest: CSA Action Manual - here. 
A Share in the Harvest: Appendices - here.
Evaluating Community Supported Agriculture: The impact of CSA projects - here. 
Community Investment in CSA - here.
Pig Ignorant: A guide to small scale pig-keeping - here. 
DIY Marketing for CSAs - here. 
Community Supported Agriculture: A teaching programme for degree students in agriculture and related subjects - here. 
Finding land to grow food: Community Groups' guide to legal issues - here. 
Removing the barriers: A guide to making growing projects accessible to all - here. 
A range of briefing sheets:

Distribution and Supply

Food Hubs: Adding value through catering - here.
Food Hubs: Distribution of surplus from allotments - here. 
Supply chain development: A new local and organic food depot for London? - here.
Eat Somerset: Distribution mapping project - here. 
Supplying food access projects: Community food hubs - here. 
Supply chain brokerage: Local food for Cambridge University - here. 
Joining the dots: Collaborative food buying and sustainable distribution for London restaurants - here. 
Local Food Links: The first ten yeras of learning about adding value through catering - here. 
Small Scale Food Hubs: An investigation - here. 
A Growing Trade: Hihghlighting commercial opportunities for community growers - here. 
Growing Manchester Veg People: A practical guide - here.
The Story of Moss Brook Growers - here.
Growing Communities: Manual of monitoring and evaluation - here. 
Financing the community food sector - here.
A Healthy Profit: Simple guide to pricing the food you make and grow - here. 
Good planning for good food: Using planning policy for local and sustainable food - here. 
A student guide to bringing fresh, affordable food into your university - here. 

Sunday, April 14, 2013

first raked and started sowing

Good progress with the entire plot laid out, the primary rotavating done and half the beds formed.

I even have the first raked and started sowing. This is an achievement and so pleased to get there.

Due to the rain I spent a day in the tunnel and now have 1000 tomatoes sown.


It may look pretty bare but watch it grow.