River Cottage Community - 'Hugh calls for River Cottage Heroes!'

'Hugh calls for River Cottage Heroes!'

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2009-01-13 16:40:09

We’ll be back on TV this coming spring, with more from River Cottage, and if you or any of your friends are growing or producing your own food in a surprising way or in a challenging or unusual place, we'd love to hear from you.

We are looking for stories to feature in our coming Spring Series and would like you to tell us about what you're doing to Grow Your Own!

Using our new community site, please sign-up and set-up a blog and tell us what you're up to - we'd like to see pictures, video and or just good old fashioned words.

We're going to set-up a thread in the forum here and you'll be able to discuss your plans, issues etc. with our wider audience, so please, sign-up and get involved.

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Jan 15, 2009
at 12:23 AM

Hi,

i sent you an email about our new village allotments- will try and get some photos and info up about it on my blog!

Hurdle number one was working out how to overcome my compost bins desire to fly- it was the first peice of 'structure' onsite at the moment (currently just a big feild with lots of string pegged out and rotovated plots- people are starting to dig their edges too) and with a 'light breeze' over the weekend it flew halfway across the site.

Someone kindly flat packed it for me and put a stone on it, so i went down today with re-inforcements in the form of 4 long metal stakes, some bungee cords and a VERY big stone to weigh down the lid... heres hoping its still there in the morning!

Jan 15, 2009
at 10:56 AM

Hi there, I plan to grow my own veg down here in Germany again this year with my "Sonnenacker". Check out my blog at http://theenglishgardener.blogspot.com/ for details opf how we grow veg down here. I am a Brit living in rural Bavaria near the Alps.

Jan 15, 2009
at 07:00 PM

Hello, I am a river cottage blogging virgin and so hello from Staffordshire. We have been growing organic veg for years - first mum and dad, then mum and now me. We have hadour annual seed catalogue debate that runs for about 2 weeks and decided between me, mum and sis what we will buy, share and plant and have left over from last year. We are even planning to share our (actually mums) knowledge on some day courses soon too for those who don't have a mum like mine.
Anyway I am going to try potatoes in bags this year as my soil is good for pots ( I live of Marlpit Lane so say no more...) - any advice?? Do I really need to buy one of those posh potato growing bags or can a wing it with something from my garage? Also going to try some Chantenay carrots in crates - good idea or shall I bung them in my soil? My 2 boys seem to want to grow the obvious and I don't want to disappoint!

Jan 19, 2009
at 02:58 PM

Hi,

I serve in the British Army and i have to move every two or three years. The quarters provided always have small gardens and covered in grass. My garden is about 10 mts x 10 mts and last may when i arrived it had no plants just grass. It was abit late to start growing but i managed and had a good crop of most veg and flowering plants using raised beds and boarders.

This year ive already got a small poly tunnel up and built a chicken coop for three layers i got from a local battery for 2 pound each. I have many more ideas for such a small place and hopfully the year is productive.

Jan 19, 2009
at 07:41 PM

Hello, we are Judy and Wayne (and dear Old Dad!). We have bought a house in Ness on the Isle of Lewis that we plan to retire to within the next couple of years. My (Judy's) retirement is coming up this May so we are taking it one step at a time in order to get all things set to go up and running for self sufficiency by the time Wayne retires too.

Ness in the Outer Hebrides is a very interesting place with crofting still an integral part of the community, Dear Old Dad (Gordon) is now 88 years old. He was very much involved in an agricultural background being himself brought up on the Isle of Wight (in the day's when our Island truly was rural!) and having experience with farming and the mechanics of farming - he was foreman of Hurst's the Island's agricultural suppliers. He put in and maintained the milking plants as well as being an all round blacksmith (in the true sense of the word) toolmaker and mechanical engineer.

As children we were brought up in the environment of a smallholding, having goats, geese, chickens, rabbits (both edible and pets - flemish giants being the former and dutch and rex the latter!) and a variety of other animals that passed through and by. Bearing in mind that Dad was still doing a full time job all this time too, it was quite an undertaking. All manner of vegetables were grown and (sorry Hugh!) flowers too. We had an acre and an eighth of ground (that eighth makes all the difference - you could store hay on that). I can still remember the blisters from turning the hay with a pitch fork - my age then .... about 8 to 9 years!
So, blisters, hard work and all what makes us (my husband being the newcomer, he's a city lad - in more ways than one - he is from Salford, Manchester) want to go from an overcrowded Island, with memories of a once idyllic way of living off the land back to an again real idyllic way of living off the land. A few statistics:
We cross from Uig to Tarbet in Harris and there are two sailings a day. Wightlink alone has two hundred crossings a day (includes foot and car crossings) . There are less than twenty thousand people on Lewis. There are over one hundred and thirty two thousand on the Isle of Wight. The Isle of Lewis is three times bigger.
So, why should we want to go from what is still a beautiful overcrowded Island to what is still a beautiful free and wild and livable Island?
I know I have no need to answer that one!

Jan 20, 2009
at 02:59 PM

Hugh you've gone and done it now matey.

We both had steady jobs and were about to start building a beautiful house. We ate nice normal food. And lived nice normal lives.

We had wooden floors and electricity and running water.

Now we have both given up our jobs and are moving our family of five into a tiny mud and dung brick cottage in the middle of an AmaXhosa village on the wild coast of South Africa. We will both be running sustainable development projects.

We now have dung floors, no electricity, and no running water.

We don't have a loo either. Yet.

The great news is, we can, and will, have a total gastronomic adventure for two years.

We will be cooking on open coals, supplemented with a little two plate gas cooker, and I will definitely be building a mud and clay wood burning oven.

This is the most beautiful spot in the world (sorry Britain, even old money can't buy these wild views)

Can you imagine catching fish for your dinner three nights a week. (One of the top fishing spots on the East coast of South Africa!)

Dispatching a chicken or two to the pot each week.

Doing a sheep once a month.

Lots of fresh organic vegetables grown locally, eggs warm from under the chickens.

This will be a cooking adventure. And I can't wait.

On my list of to cook and taste. Other than the obvious, are: Red Bait, Sea Urchins, Various fish, pigs head, sheeps head, brains, chickens feet, field mice, snakes, birds, all sorts of offal, tongues, trotters and tails.

Hugh, we need you mate. It's that air of culinary authority that you will lend proceedings that will get my wife to try a dish that she would never do otherwise. I will be eating alone otherwise.

Pop over and show us how far we can push the envelope with what we have. Show me how to get pigs ears grilled to perfection, and sheeps brain spread on toast.

I can promise you excellent fishing, fantastic birdwatching, and a three part program gratis. For free. For fun.

You can catch what we need from the sea, or pick it fresh from an organic garden, dispatch it, dress it and hang it. We will have fresh goats milk and lots of opportunity for dairy. Help us build a mud and clay adobe oven to cook it all in, or over our open flames.

We can show you how to make traditional African beer, sour milk in a gourd, and if you still want to try it, snake.

We have an amatuerish blog at www.bythetipsofourfingers.blogspot.com

Come and teach us, have a blast, film the whole thing, and leave us with enough gastronomic inspiration to last the two years we will be here.

Sadly, we will have absolutely crap wine. Terrible. But we will drive some in for you. The nearest shops are a six hour return drive.

Oh, and I have kept your cookie recipe from your book.

Have never tried, but will do most things once.

Jan 21, 2009
at 07:48 AM

In our small corner of Suffolk, there is a small family run restaurant working with the Primary School next door & East Feast project to grow food for the school & the restaurant. The project gives children huge opportunities to learn about where their food comes from, to grow it & to work with artists about their connection to the land. The restaurant benefits from the fresh produce & shares skills with things such as bread baking for the Harvest Feast.
A fantastic small scale community enterprise!

Jan 21, 2009
at 12:32 PM

My wife started making jam & chutneys as a way of therapy to get over a nervous breakdown - 18 months on and she is a regular attendee of several local farmers markets (in the Bedfordshire area) and jams, marmalades and chutneys are flying off of her stall. She makes her jams and chutneys using as much locally sourced ingredients; from strawberries & raspberries, wild crab apples & plums, chillies (grown in Bedfordshire), which help her make a vast variety of different jams and chutneys from traditional favourites to unusual combinations. Check out her site at http://www.humbershomemade.co.uk

Jan 23, 2009
at 03:30 PM

Hello.

We are a free-range producer of eggs for TESCO Hampshire. The large flock at the top of our farm pays the majority of the bills but just recently (oct 08) we have opened a small farm shop with massive success.

People cannot believe the quality of the eggs we produce. Not only that, we have also added local vegetables from across the road, home made jams and chutneys, free range pork, manure, logs and kindling. By far our most popular product is our free-range chicken, hung for 7 days for succulence and taste! We cant produce enough, so much so that we have a waiting list. All of our produce is from no more than 15 miles away.

This has probably lead you to believe it is a large shop with many staff to run it - In fact we trade all of this from a 6x4 log cabin. It really is very quaint and beautiful. An honesty box inside the shop takes the majority of our money when we are busy collecting the eggs in the shed.

My partner and I are often referred to as 'Tom and Barbara' from the good life series.

Our view is very interesting as we are producers on a large scale (TESCO) while also selling direct to the public.

Jess

Haresfield Poultry

Jan 23, 2009
at 08:39 PM

Hello, I should like to answer your call for heroes by nominating "Fishy Rob" of Brighton.
I believe (although I may be wrong) that Robin gave up his city job to become a fishing guide.
He is famous in these parts for his morning forays to the rocks east of Brighton to collect lobsters and prawns for breakfast for himself and his wife, and bait for his fishing trips.
The name Fishy Rob is synonomous with Sussex Bass and almost everything else that swims and can be eaten.
When Rob isn't fishing himself he works as a fishing guide teaching others his craft and has also turned his hand to inventing things to make catching fish a bit easier (he is responsible for the D-Vice, a bait casting system).
Rob taught me and my young lad the rudiments of fishing and I would like to take this opportunity to pay back a little of what he has given to so many on the south coast.
If you go to http://www.fishyrob.co.uk then navigate to the diary entry for Oct 7 2007 you'll see just what he did for us, and what he does for many others.
Give a man fish and all that.......He doesn't exactly grow it, but he doesn't pay for it either!
Des

Jan 26, 2009
at 05:31 PM

My name is James Coleman from Creedy Carver Ducks ltd, and this is my entry to the, grow your own hero section of this wonderful web site.

I established Creedy Carver Ducks ltd eight years ago, after deciding to swap my place at Reading University for the opportunity to set up a free-range duck farm.

I started buying in 50 day old ducks every other week and I am now rearing and processing 2500 ducks per week which are being sold to quality butchers, hotels, restaurants and wholesalers throughout the south of England.

Bird welfare has always been our priority and I have tried to design the rearing system with that in mind. All of the free-range ducks have access to large range areas as of four weeks of age. In the range areas they can find small ponds for washing and bathing which encourages them to act as naturally as possible.

This kind of system is very difficult to manage and is why there are so few free-range ducks being produced, with the vast majority of the ducks in this country being produced in a very similar way to the intensive chicken we all learnt so much about last year. However in spite of its difficulties the feeling of satisfaction when you see all of the ducks outside washing in the ponds or digging around in the rain makes it all worth while, and in my opinion the flavour and texture of the meat is vastly improved by this system, but don’t take my word for it, Nonie in the river cottage kitchen tried some of our free-range ducks last year and I believe she was pleasantly surprised by the flavour and texture of the meat.

I would love for you to try some yourself Hugh and would love to know what you thought of our ethical rearing system, as I believe it is exactly in line with what you were trying to achieve with your chicken out campaign.

Jan 26, 2009
at 09:59 PM

Hi
I live on the 10th floor of a council flat block (no window boxes or balcony), but I am growing my own red peppers, and have grown huge basil plants, thyme and parsley. I did grow tomatoes, but they refused to flower!
Love showing them off!
Who said that living in a one bedroom flat in sunny Birmingham was an excuse for not growing your own!
hugs
Becks
x

Jan 26, 2009
at 10:07 PM

My brother lives in a tall old terraced house in Whitechapel, London. There is no garden yet he has created his very own toilet-top garden where he grows his own courgettes, baby tomatoes, runner beans, potatoes, garlic , spinach, salad leaves, radishes, carrots, cucumbers, rosemary, marjarim, thyme, sage and chillies. He does all of this on a 7ft by 7ft flat roof complete with handmade dining table and flower pots for armchairs! By jumping out of his bedroom window onto the roof of the bathroom below he enters his little haven in stinky London. Amazingly the veggies are sweet and full of flavour - astonishingly tasty for such a hustling bustling area of the city. Also the view from so high up is very beautiful, you just have to remember not to look down...We need to make more places like this in London!

Jan 26, 2009
at 10:21 PM

I have just moved into a top floor flat (in London) that doesn't have a garden, but last autumn I had decided that I would grow some fruit and veg this year and I decided that moving into the flat wouldn't stop me. I decided to grow some because I spent 6 months of last year off work ill and got bored, I read so many books (not all on growing) and decided that I could save money by growing some of my own food. I couldnt do it last year because I was ill, but I am now on the road to recovery and have decided to give it a go.

The first decision was where to grow it. When I looked at the flat there was a window in the hallway that leads onto the roof of the flat underneath. Now, I am not stupid and will not be walking out on it, although it would most likely support my weight, but it would support pots and allow me to grow a little. This is the first time I have gotten my green fingers out to grow something, but I am not letting my lack of a garden be the excuse for stopping me. I have brought seeds and planted them, am just waiting for them to sprout. I am so excited and cant wait to put them out on the roof, but got to wait for the frost to stop. I am trying to grow strawberries, tomatoes, basil, mint, rosemary, carrots and broccoli. Well green fingers crossed that I will be successful, waiting for the first shoots to come through the soil.

Jan 26, 2009
at 10:23 PM

after growing my own potatos/tom's/rhubarb last year im getting more serious this year.
ive got plans...........
so far ive managed to get 6 chickens happly living in my garden (In DARTFORD!!) for fresh eggs and planting/sowing has just begun for this year!
roll on the summer!

Jan 26, 2009
at 10:29 PM

Dear River cotttage team,
Having lived in the city for thirteen years its been a whole new adventure moving from Hong Kong to North Devon and definately a culture shock.
We have been here for nine months moving five children, three cats and our dog puddle.
We have moved onto a farm where we now have sheep, goats, chickens,a cockerel, ducks,a pony and i'm just starting a veg garden to start on the road to self sufficiency.

It's been fun, hard work and bloody frustrating trying to keep sheep in when they are determined to escape but i wouldn't change it for anything. I have to experience lambing this spring at a friends farm where i will learn all the problems of lambing before i decide to put our sheep to lamb this winter. I've still got a long way to go and i'm learning every day but i would like to start producing veg this year.

The chickens have come from steve the rspca inspector in Exeter who has found me some ex battery hens who now have lots of feathers and are very free range. They roam around the farm all day until dusk when they make there way back to the chicken house. The eggs are amazing my youngest daughters Charlotte wants two for breakfast every day.
In the summer we made jam and chutney but the elderflower cordial was a real hit with the children.
My husband still works in Hong Kong as it is our own business but every few weeks he comes home to fix fences or just to buy more animals.
I now shop very locally buying meat, veg and local milk from my village shop and bread from a local baker in Barnstaple.
Seeing all the different seasons has been fun we have to get the garden going and we want to dig a pond for the ducks and that is only the beginning...

Jan 26, 2009
at 11:02 PM

Well hugh if you would like a story to follow try this one
for 5 years now i have been trying to rent half an acer of railway siding and embankment part to grow veg on,part for chickens and part to encourage a divercity of wild life.so far i have paid nearly £1000 to rail track so they can decide if i can rent it or not.it is soooo slowwww.they came back to me and said that i could not rent it a few times so i waited a few mouths and tried again hoping that i would be dealing with different people due to promotions etc.
It started to pay off they agreed to do the searches internally if i paid all the cost, i paid and mounths past so i contacted them again to find out they had been to busy to deal with my searches,weekly calls from then on seem to be reminding them . they then came back to me and said that the searches had came back that i could not rent the land and the reason was because"I INTEND TO ENCOURAGE WILD LIFE TO THE PIECE OF LAND" I COULD NOT BELIVE WHAT I WAS HEARING!!!!I had to write to them and promise not to encourage wildlife(in paticular endangerd species)
they then gave me the go ahead to rent the land at £3000 per year,i said is that to bye it or rent it,we have since managed to get the rent reduced by proving that by me renting the land that it will save them a couple of thousand of pounds a year in maintenance costs
so any day now i will start to rent the land
the intended area for veg is prety much covered in bramble upto 8 ft high and has about 30 fallen elm trees on it.so i have my work cut out you could say but after 5 years of trying get to rent the land i am determind to give my 9 chickens the space they deseve and get some veg growing this coming spring,well by summer at least
oh and the only train that goes along the track is the oil train to and from the oil refinary at Fawley, i am determind that some good should come from that track sideing as the contents on the track have clearly done so much damage to our enviroment.
i purchase all my meat direct from local farms and most of our veg
i am lucky being next to the new forest that the farmers cows you could say are very free range as they live most of there life roaming free in the forest and the pigs are also let out to roam the forest for the acorns .happy animals and great tasting meat
thanks
Graham

Jan 26, 2009
at 11:52 PM

Hi Hugh Mad Epileptic here (hopefully being both epileptic and slightly unhindged gives me licence to say that in a blog).

Busy converting my gravel garden we aquired last year into an allotment at the moment. I can't work due to the above and a whole hoste of related issues, but I'm contributing this way to my families income.
Am growing some unusual and weird stuff (Oca & Yacon + Ullco if I can find some amongst other things) this year as well as the usual suspects.

I'm 35, feeble only in body, have a saint for a wife and a handsom if cheeky young son. Feel free to drop by any time if you don't mind bad tea or coffee.

Stuart

PS I need you to convince my wife having chickens is a good idea.

Jan 27, 2009
at 05:15 PM

We are a small business based in Wiltshire and as the offices are based in an industrial area, we decided to bring some natural surroundings to work. We are about to begin a "kitchen garden" project, where we will convert a small patch of unused land into a community allotment. Our aim is to grow and maintain healthy, local, seasonal produce for all involved and to eventually grow enough to become self sufficient.

Those involved in the project have varying levels of experience in gardening and rearing produce, from active gardeners, to those who have never picked up a shovel. For this reason, it is a really exciting project as working as a team, we can all pull together to hopefully develop a really successful project.

We are hoping to start developing the allotment in the next few weeks in preparation for the early spring growing season.

Jan 27, 2009
at 05:16 PM

Hello!

I like a few other bloggers live in a garden-less, space restricted London rooftop flat. I think surrounding my flat must be half an acre of flat roof space and my dream one day is to turn the whole lot into a fully sustainable rooftop allotment, alas I think my landlord might not agree. However we do have access to a small corridor of flat space, partially covered and partially enclosed. The bits that are open to the elements create a bit of a wind tunnel effect which devastated my runner beans last year - my first year of trying to make my small plot of London a productive veggie haven. Last year was all trial and error with runners, tomatoes (mixed varieties), sweetcorn, strawberries, chillies, some salad leaves and the usual array of herbs, with varying degrees of success. But this year I intend on being more specific and using the most out of my space. Tomatoes, potatoes, courgettes, a variety of salad leaves, more herbs, and whatever else is relatively easy to grow in a space that might not get a great deal of sun, and can sustain a good lashing of roof top wind and rain. Shared ideas from fellow rooftop gardeners would be appreciated!

Sadly no room for chickens, only pigeons....or is there!

Jan 27, 2009
at 08:37 PM

Hi everyone

How do i compete with the stories so far on this thread? they all deserve close concideration and merit tremendous amounts of recognition in there own way so i hope my plea of support is concidered
i have tried to establish a Community/School allotment which came about after my local council gave one to them or lets say gave them a 30 mtre/10 metre plot which had been vacant for yrs, not ony that but the whole site is a disgrace totally neglected with many plots in a terrible condition and access seriously restricted. im wanting to provide an allotment to give children 1yr/9yr olds "Hands On" skills in Growing Veg etc but in trying to get anything of the council was a total "No Money" "Sorry, Cant help" anyway i went on radio and got a major Utilities Company to provide a digger and 6 men over 2 days to clear everything (16 tonnes in total) and put stone down one side but sadly with this credit crunch etc i am at a standstill, without a Greenhouse/Shed or raised beds built on the kids allotment i cant finish the project (BLUSH) and now i have my own Allotment (waited 8yrs) on same site i call on you The River Cottage Crew to come finish this project and show the world the state its in and show the opportunitys such projects for all users groups can benefit a community which has minimal opportunitys

ps i want chickens on my own allotment yet the lease says i cant have them, any idea's on how i can challenge this and get lease altered? any test cases?

thanks
Mr Green

Jan 27, 2009
at 09:08 PM

hi hugh, our names are dan 28 stephanie 23 from berkshire. We live in a small two bed terrace but manage to produce and grow lots of our own food. It all has stemed from just growing a few bits in my mums garden. We took further by going on courses covering livestock.

So we now have a couple of chickens in the back garden which supply's us we more than enough eggs. Aftre finding a small piece of land which we rent we then picked up our first two oxford sandy and black pigs last june. One went to slaughter and kept one gilt for breading which she is ready to go off for a dirty weekend or two to be serviced. We have two new osb's which are going to meat in may. We are hoping our next jump is into lambs and table birds on the livestock front.

At the moment we are just applying for an allotment from our local parish council. Hoping that it will go easy in getting one because there seems to be plenty of free spaces by peeping over the fence. Also we will be still growing bits at my mums garden.

Most people think we are crazy because we are both young and they think it's a 'old persons' past time. In the future we hope to have our own small holding in the counrty.

Jan 27, 2009
at 11:45 PM

Hello i think my husband is a river cottage hero, he has a country inn on the dorset wiltshire border. He is very passionate about his food and sources ALL produce from the local farms and our own garden. We have created our own minature fruit orchard, have free range chickens (most of which we rescued from the battery hen welfare trust) we grow our own vegetables, make our own preserves, sauces, breads etc etc. David has also now started a cookery school and organises shoots, fishing trips etc etc anything to support the local land owners, farmers and countryside.
We want to grow more and learn more about growing our own and even thinking about getting some pigs or goats, watch this space... (WE HAVE A LOT TO LEARN!!!!) photos to come.

Jan 28, 2009
at 12:06 PM

Hi Hugh,
Congratulations on your excellent programme and passionate campaign.
My husband and I are also passionate campaigners, but not quite in your league - yet.

Since 1984 we've been fairly self-sufficient thanks to the incredible mineral-rich qualities of volcanic rockdust. We have a fascinating story to tell. There are 78+ minerals and trace elements (which are deficient in most of the planets soils) in rockdust. Earthworms love it, eat it and desposit it in the soil. The minerals are then available to the soil life and plant roots, increasing fertility. This is how we can grow bumper yeilds of giant organic crops, even in previously poor soils. We are convinced it makes people, birds and animals fertile and healthy too. Between 1984 and 1991 we had 5 children and brought them up self-sufficiently from our small organic garden and our herd of goats and birds. Wishing to share this chemical-free technique for flavoursome bumper crops with a wider community, we set up a charity in 1997 after we moved to a much bigger site (4 acres) with 4.5 pH soil in a barren glen, 1000 ft above sea level on the foothills of the Grampian mountains where farmers gave up trying to grow crops 50 years ago - a very unusual and challenging place to attempt self sufficiency - if it works here, it will work anywhere! We believe Rockdust is the solution to soil and food poverty, chemical agriculture and climate change via stimulating natural carbon absorbtion into such remineralised soils. The charity encourages, demonstrates and researches the use of Rockdust for Sustainable Ecological Earth Regeneration (SEER). The SEER Centre Trust's trading arm, Rockdust Ltd, was set up in 2005 to promote and market Rockdust and sustain the work of the charity. Many gardeners and farmers in the UK and beyond are now using rockdust to great effect. We have started a small revolution in organic gardening and farming and we hope you and the river cottage community will give it a try by doing your own trials with and without rockdust. It increases pest and drought resistance and improves, nutritional value, flavour, aroma and shelf-life of the crops. Its great for speeding up and improving the composting process too! Our family garden is well establisehed now with 5 fruit & veg terraces, hedgerows and trees, having grown fast and abundantly with the rockdust. It is neighbour to the SEER Centre Demonstration Gardens - open to the public in the growing season. check my blog for some pictures of our garden terraces and produce and the SEER Centre garden terraces and produce.

Jan 28, 2009
at 02:54 PM

We are developing a micro aqua culture project to produce edible freshwater fish in our garden. We believe that current and future issues of food production will mean that high quality protein, which can be produced in a carbon neutral way, by individuals for individuals - will become increasingly desirable.

We are experimenting with producing common carp, bleak, chub, tench and perch in small quantities for home consumption using old and new recipes. If we can keep goldfish, why not edible fish? The clever bit will be to produce enough worms (fed from kitchen scraps) to sustain the fish growth, further reducing the enviromental impact.

We aim to keep the overhead costs down as much as possible, using recycled and low tech equipment.

Has anyone else got experience of backyard fish farming? All comments welcome!

Jan 29, 2009
at 09:50 AM

Hi All,

I have just obtained my first allotment site. I got it in August 2008. After months of searching in my local town of Burgess Hill, West Sussex. I found nothing. And being told it's at least a 3 year wait, I was deeply upset by this!
But this did not deter me from searching.

I absolutely love gardening, which is strange as I am only 25 years old, while allot of my friends are in bed with hangovers etc, I would much rather be down at my allotment....Anyway, I was walking through a local village with my family only 10 minutes drive from my town, when I spotted a poster offering Private land for allotment growing. I was extremely happy and quickly got my mobile phone out and dialled the number. I arranged an appointment that day to meet the owner of the land. I turned up on-site with my good friend who is also looking for a site and we almost fell over, firstly at the size of the plot, secondly, how cheap it was and thirdly....HOW OVERGROWN IT WAS!!! The good part about it is that there were many raspberry, blackberry and gooseberry plants planted and left by the previous owner.

But this did not deter us in the slightest. We snapped up 1 plot between the 2 of us, that's how big they are. He has 4 small children and I have 2, so I’m sure you can imagine these are not average size plots.

The only problem to figure out was how to clear the plot. It had grass up to my waist (and I’m 6'4 inches tall) there was rubbish all over the place. No water on site or power. There was no paths or access for vehicles and parking is difficult too.

Anyway, Only after 1 week of wait and ordering many items, we started at the site. We had a Heck of allot of work to do, but it was so much fun, especially involving our children in the fun of gardening.

It has obviously been many months now and we have come a long way, the allotment is clear and we are in the process of building our greenhouse to start raising our first crop this year. We have got our plot clear, and have our compost bins and water butts all ready to go. We even have our plots sectioned off for our children to plant their own Veg in.

It will be an exciting year to see how the plot does and we are looking forward to the challenge. I have not got any photos yet, but will try take some soon.

The thing that upset me the most is that the local councils just don't seem to bother about providing any land for people to grow on. With mounting pressure of the economy, more and more people are wanting to grow their own. And this is just not available to most people because of not having enough land in towns.

This is something that seriously needs attention.

I hope everyone does have a good year, although they are predicting a very hot summer this year.

All the best.

Jan 29, 2009
at 10:45 PM

hiya i saw you are asking for heros who are growing there own veg i currently grow my own in my garden but have been given permission to build a teaching and learning garden at my sons infants school with each class having there own raised bed to learn and grow there own fruit and veg its still in the early stages but the head teacher is willing to allow me one on one time with each class a week to spend time in there own patch tending and learning about the importance of healthy growing and eating and also include the sicence team at the school about bugs and such im very excited to be given the chance to reach children from as young as 4 and hopefully encourage them to eat more veg and fruit im also looking at in the future in to making a small medow patch and nature garden and as far as i am aware in our area we will be the first infants school to start a project like this any advice or help would be greatly appreciated or even a visit which would maybe encourage other schools to do the same as i believe and so does the school that the earlier we catch the imagination of children the better

Jan 30, 2009
at 03:01 PM

Hi,
I work for Organix in Christchurch, Dorset and at the end of last year we decided to start an organic veggie patch in the field next door to our office, which is set in the Royalty fishery on the Avon. A good number of the office give up our lunchtimes and get outside and dig.

So far we have planted Raspberries, Gooseberries, Rhubarb, Garlic, Onions and have plans to plant many more.

I shall put up some photos on my blog.

Thanks,
Kate

Jan 30, 2009
at 10:12 PM

Hello readers

I am the 4th generation of my family that is growing veggies in the back garden (in the same house for all those generations in fact). However, unlike previous generations I have acquired a greenhouse which was going to be thrown out!!! I hope that with the greenhouse addition I shall have lovely salad beds even if we have yet another wet and cold summer.

I am happy that more and more people at work ask me 'what can I grow that's easy?' and 'how do I...?'. I just hope after this credit cruch is over people will carry on growing and getting pleasure from it.

I have to admit I get confused when I am away from home and don't have fresh herbs outside the back door. I am known to go camping with at least a basil plant!

Jan 31, 2009
at 03:16 PM

I have a small plot of land at Lasham airfield. I think that it is the only plot on an active airfield. I was driven to this because my husband is a very keen glider pilot and if I wanted to spend some time with him at the week-end I had to go to Lasham. Not being intersted in gliders to the same degree, I asked if I could have an allotment and was told yes. I think that the administration couldn't believe their ears and thought that I wouldn't do it. How wrong they were. I can now enjoy spending time at Lasham and have even learned to look up when I hear my husband shouting if I want a cup of tea!
The plot was reclaimed farm lane which had not been cultivated for 60 years and was very overgrown as well as next to the old ammunition dump. I kept digging up empty bullet casings and scrap metal. I also had to fence off the plot due to an over abundance of rabbits.
This will be my fourth year on the plot which is approximately half the size of normal allotments but I have grown vegatables and flowers here much to the amusment of the vintage glider pilots, whose hut is next to the plot. I have also bewildered some of the old boy-network flyers who have been heard to mumble " this is a gliding club hurrumph"
I even made the club magazine and have taken other people on a tour of the plot (admitedly this only takes five minutes) but I have been amazed at the interest that has been shown in my plot.

Jan 31, 2009
at 08:54 PM

My friend Steph and her lovely fiancee are growing two pigs in her mum's back garden (well, now more like back mudbath) to serve at their wedding this coming May. It's going to be a crack(l)ing day!

Jan 31, 2009
at 09:38 PM

Hello my names not Barry, i would like to tell you about our alotments here in Telford, first of all i would like to say what a great job my fellow allotmenters are doing, growing all kinds of vedge, and sharing their shovels. My family help muck in on planting and growing, and my children love to plant things and watch them grow from scratch, and taste what they have helped grow, and it gives them a great sense of acheivment, i have also built my very own shed so when it rains they dont get wet! I also cure my own ham, and hang it in my attack, make my own jars of jam, rosehip jelly, and grow my own apples for cider, i have also reared my own chickens in my back garden! But just want to say what a great job my alotmenters and doing!

Feb 01, 2009
at 06:29 PM

Hi

After reading lots of your postings mine is a bit different! We have lots of space and walls to grow fruit or veg but not sure how to do it! I have a very large, old country park walled garden. We are renting it alongside to our cottage. It has not been maintained for years and was overgrown. I am a dog trainer and plan to tidy area and use half of it for training but other half will be left to grass for a pair of old horses. So what do I do with these walls??? They are crying out for something to grow up them. So my plan is to grow fruit trees and anything else that we can eat and the rest will be available to the residents of our small village. We have had lots of offers to help but I NEED HELP!!! I have lots of books on plants etc but im looking to cover all the walls and need specific walled garden planting. Im sure it has huge potential to be turned back into a growing paradise but I dont know where to start. We have now cleared the whole area and started to cover half with recylced wood cip donated by local tree surgeon. This sun trap has given me sun burn this week! I will try to put pics on blog but Im new to this so not sure how to do it. My website www.k9interaction.co.uk has some pics to give you an idea. My landlord is great and they produce beef for the local areas www.simply.eu.com/ so he will be keen to help where he can. Its so exciting everyday it changes and the dream is coming closer. Dog training under grape vines xxxxxx

Feb 01, 2009
at 07:41 PM

hi, I am a single mum of 5 living in a small 3 bed rented house with a small back garden, last september I decided to hatch and raise bantams and quail as you can imagine we get through a lot of eggs and chicken so thought i'd have a go at feeding the family in a cost efficient way, well turned out quite expensive but the kids love seeing the hatching, brooding etc we eat all the boys and keep the girls for eggs. after recently someone gave my daughter a rabbit we have now got a pair with intention of selling the baby rabbits to fund animal feed and any left will be fattened up for sunday lunch. asside from the odd pot of strawberries and tomatoes i cannot grow veg atall just no knack for that but at least i can produce albeit in a small way meat and eggs. i really fancy some pigeons it would be fun to see them fly free and hopefully produce the occasional pigeon pie but alas no room for them.
although i have to sadly admit my budget only lends itself to 2 for a fiver chickens the little bit of meat i home produce means I do buy a few less. all I need now is to win the lottery buy a smallholder employ a gardener and i will be sorted for complete home produced food. well we can all dream lol.

Feb 01, 2009
at 08:05 PM

Great News! After 4 years of looking for funding, and presenting our case to anyone who would listen, we have finally got the money together to start our own allotments. Newcastle-under-Lyme Council own the land but they will let us manage the plots. We will be creating the very first ORGANIC allotments in the Borough! We went out today to 'walk the land' and take some photos (see my new blog Lyme Valley Allotments).
The piece of land is adjacent to a parkway full of wildlife, with a brook running past the bottom of the site. We already have kingfishers, badgers, foxes and today we saw evidence of water voles. We will create specific allotment plots for local schools and also a disabled plot. We also aim to have a communal area where all of the plot holders can meet to share tips, seeds and a warm mug of tea! We want to get local people growing their own organic, home-produced produce.
All that we need now are ideas, information and advice so that we get it right from stage one. We know that this is going to be a challenge but it is also a fantastic and exciting opportunity. We've worked so hard just to get this far, and we will continue to see this project through. I think that the Lyme Valley Friends Group deserve the title of 'Grow Your Own Heroes' - and on the first day that a crop is produced on the new allotments then they will truly be super-heroes!

Feb 02, 2009
at 02:06 PM

In mid-2007, I left the commute, sold the tiny house in Brighton and moved to France, to live in yurts on 10.47 acres, with solar showers, compost toilets, cats, dogs, chickens, pigs, a horse - and hit a wall of unexpected bureaucracy.

Today, the following animals live on our corner of land: six laying chickens (in our handcrafted fox-proof orchard), two pigs (formerly three - one I butchered on the kitchen table a few weeks ago with the help of Richard the Butcher - the last two are going to the abattoir in the next couple of weeks) and one working horse, called Pepito (who has turned a lot of grass into a lot of crap). But no humans - me, my partner, our two young children, cats and dog are hopefully moving onto the land in April. Joining us will be a dozen guineafowl and some chickens for meat this year, and maybe a cow the next. Our objective is 100% self-sufficiency, but we will also be opening a family friendly very eco yurt campsite so we can pay our taxes and put fuel in the car - and learn and teach traditional farming techniques.

I'm not blaming anyone for our recent, dramatic and fantastic change in lifestyle. But it's all Hugh's fault. Really.

Feb 02, 2009
at 04:18 PM

Introduction to Earthworks!

Earthworks is a registered charity based in St. Albans, Hertfordshire. We have a 3 acre site that incorporates a large market garden with a poly tunnel for growing lots of lovely vegetables, ornamental gardens, a wildflower meadow, a fruit orchard, and a small woodland.

Our members are people with learning difficulties and mental health issues who come to Earthworks to learn about growing food, permaculture, gardening, general environmental conservation and of course to have a great time and drink lots of cups of tea!

Earthworks also has two off site teams that go out into the local community to complete work contracts in private gardens, schools, and even fire stations and hospitals!

We have a small team of staff and many wonderful and dedicated volunteers who come from all walks of life.

For more detailed information you can always check out our website: www.earthworksstalbans.co.uk

Steve Pike. Community Conservation Project Coordinator. Earthworks.

Feb 03, 2009
at 10:32 AM

Hello,
We will be squeezing our fruit and veg into a caravan garden. It is a small but sunny outside space in which we also need to park our car, fit sheds (for caravan overflow), space for hanging wetsuits and barbequing. There are a few site rules including no compost heaps, it is windy and over run with rabbits. We want to meet the Dorset Wildlife Trust wildlife friendly garden criteria which means getting in a few different habitats too. To have a lot of vibrant plants and flowers we are trying out some unusual plant species which are definately ornamental as well as having edible uses, as well as trying to grow veg in plant communities (no room for bare soil in this garden). We can't start growing anything until March when we get there. Though I have had to start of some Hardy Yams (which won't keep) to travel down with us. Perhaps we have been a little too enthusiastic ordering seeds, more than a hundred different species. If they germinate ok there will likely be some spares looking for loving homes in a few months.

Feb 03, 2009
at 02:31 PM

i am 24 and currently setting up a community garden in my village near sandringham norfolk..i wish there was a way of getting hugh to come and open it for me!! that would be fantastic..one can dream!
nicola
x

Feb 03, 2009
at 09:29 PM

Hi,

About 3 years ago we took over a small Freehold in the hamlet of Salehurst nr. Robertsbridge. Since then we have built it up to be a thriving community pub with excellent beer and homemade food.

The chef, Ogi, believes in using local produce from local suppliers and he works very closely with the local farmers who supply us with most of the meat for the pub.

I could go on for hours telling you all about the various things which have adorned our menu over the recent years (the tounge crumble was a particualar favourite) but having seen the recent advert for "challenging and useful places" for producing food I wanted to tell you about Ogi's recent endeavour to produce air dried cured ham which he currently has swinging up in the bell tower of our local church. We're hoping that the ham will be particularly delicious as the pigs, which were reared on the farm round the corner, were regulary treated to a pint of our best local beer.

We're counting down the weeks until the ham comes down and we would like to invite everyone to come and try The Salehurst Halt's 8 Bells Holy Ham.

x

Feb 04, 2009
at 03:44 PM

Hi Hugh,
fancy a trip to Switzerland?

My names Paul Foley and I'm an IT professional over here in Geneva - but in my spare time I'm a Bee keeper - and I'm expanding my holding at the moment.

I have some nice photos on my site at www.1279Honey.com and some intersting information.

I also build some of my own kit, do everything by hand in my cellar and get my eldest daughter to help out (4 years old).

I'm into the 'clean food' thing and so my bees live on a nature reserve and eat chemical free food (flowers and other crops).

So if you'd like to come and have a look at the mountains, try some clean honey, meet some fans and then try the local cuisine let me know.

I can be contacted either via the forum or through the 'contact us' function on my site.

Paul.

Feb 07, 2009
at 05:24 PM

Hi,

We are Jeremy & Vanna from Norwich.

We have two allotments in the city and we're about 80% self sufficient in fruit and vegetables.

Vanna paints our flowers, fruit and vegetables in watercolour and has greetings cards, prints, coasters and placemats produced with the designs. (They are "warts and all" - Swiss chard with snail holes, leeks with rust and autumn raspberries with shieldbug holes in the leaves.) See www.vanna-art.co.uk for details.

A community gardening group has just been formed in the part of Norwich where we live and has started work on a nearby allotment. We're providing advice as well as helping with the work. We want to create a garden in the church grounds and the vicar is going to devote some of the vicarage garden to community growing.

We're hoping to inspire the local community and eventually involve school children from local schools in our projects.

It feels good to be involved in a community project that will hopefully benefit both humans and wildlife.

Feb 08, 2009
at 02:46 PM

We have a small Spanish Tapas Bar in Swindon - we try to be authentic as possible with food and drink. From July to Octoberwe usually offer "Pimientos de Padron" (little sweet green peppers with an occasional hot one to keep you on your toes) We've been buying from one of our importers who brings them in from their original home in Padron, Galicia - not very local, although very lovely! So this year have invited our customers to help us grow "Pimientos de Swindon" in their greenhouses! We have sourced some "Padron" seeds and given them out to a band of willing volunteers, the crop to be sold back to us in exchange for vouchers for use in the bar... We were delighted by the response and plan to keep a record and award a big prize at the end of the season for the grower with the biggest annual crop! Will keep you posted on how this goes, but if anyone has any general pepper-growing advice to offer, please help! (Any comments on the general issue of balance between authenticity and local also welcome.)

Feb 10, 2009
at 07:08 AM

Hi,

New to all this bloging stuff but here goes.

We live in a middle terraced house in North Bedfordshire .We have no rear access to our garden !!! other than a shared walkable passage, the reason for mentioning this will become apparent later.

We have been keeping chickens and growing fruit and vegetables for over 16 years now.In the last year we have expanded to a trio of buff orpington ducks,raising our own fattening chickens and our biggest venture of 2008 and a fullfilled ambition was to fatten four weaners for our own pork.

We buy these at 10 weeks old ,we mill our own feed and when it comes to slaughter day we have to walk them from the bottom of the garden over their electric fence through our passage down the path and onto our trailer in all a journey of about 250 yds past the duck pond,chickens,veg plot,trampoline,patio and back door no mean task.We butcher these ourselves making sausages,parma ham,bacon and ham, recipes from a well known source !!!

Everything has to be wheelbarrowed,carried or taken through the house to get to our rear garden many miles walked.In 2009 we hope to add geese and sheep to our list.Thank you for reading.

Feb 11, 2009
at 07:25 AM

Well - i've never done anything like this before in my nelly puff but i've just watched the chicken program and have to say good on you Hugh tiddlyumpumpum (that's what we call you up here).

Anyway better introduce ourselves. the glamarous photo you see is of me (Chirstie) and my better half (Callum).

We are new entrants into Agriculture (for our sins), and just got a tenancy off of a very renowned estate owner in Britain. Basically the returns in conventional farming are crap and to get started up in this business is virtually impossible if you had to rely on the fluctuating and often depressing "open" market for our produce. We "young farmers" also don't receive the same subsidies as our pre decessor (old farmers) so not only are we expected to compete with our produce in the open market (and supply people like Tesco) but we don't even get a level playing field within the agricultural industry to compete on (i.e a farmer receiving SFP against a farmer not receiving SFP).

ANYWAYS i'm here to talk about food - not that nonsense. So what did Callum & I decide to do about it. Well firstly i went to learn to butcher - traditonally i might add - by a master butcher! and Callum decided to go and buy some Pure Galloway cows & Blackface sheep. The result of this has been our tenancy & our own company - A Taste of Galloway.

Basically we attend farmers markets & events throughout the South of Scotland and the central belt selling our Pure Galloway Beef, Blackface Lamb & saddleback Pork. It is sold under the premise that the breeds are indicative to the region - Dumfries & Galloway (well the beef and lamb are anyway, the pigs were given to us as an engagement present and we couldn't bear to let them go!). ALL of our meat is reared by ourselves on our farm, it is all allowed to grow naturally mainly from grass, not pushed, and is all butchered & processed by our own hands on our small on farm butchery.

Not only that, we have started going to large events - such as the homecoming that was held in Dumfries recenlty and catering with our Galloway beef steak burgers and Blackface lamb burgers. Now - there we were in amoungst all the catering vans with our wee gazebo (a fine buy from Argos it was) with all our banners plastered all over it with our logo, local produce, galloway beef etc - cooking away - and let me ask you............WHO HAD THE BIGGEST QUEUE BY A LONG SHOT?...........Oh i think that might have been us!!!!!!! WHY........because people want to buy GOOD FOOD, they want to know where it comes from, they want to know it was reared in the proper conditions that any animal should deserve (unlike those poor hens and the poor farmers made to rear animals in that way - that would be soooo depressing i'd like to add), they want to know that the food has good quality ingredients in it and not a load of trashy mechanical meat and they like it to be LOCAL. So watch this space, we are hoping to be attending some fairly large festivals this year, jooking about selling good quality steak & lamb burgers and hog roasts - but with a major difference - it literally came to you from farm to plate!

Anyway log onto our web site www.atasteofgalloway.co.uk and have a read about us. I will apologise now for the fact that it is a little out of date. Our web site lady is currently building us new pages and making us a new on line ordering facility - so bear with us on that one.

Hope to hear from lots of passionate foody's AND i hope you all like the pictures of our cows.

Chirstie xx

Feb 11, 2009
at 09:13 PM

hi i would like to tell you about my boyfriend hugh, who is working really hard making orgain sheep's milk greek style yogurt and cheese on his family farm in cornwall. he started making it in a kettle and in now supplying a number of farm shops and health food shop in devon and cornwall. it is very cool and i know a lot of lactose intolerent people who thihnk he is a bit of a hero.
cheers sara X

Feb 12, 2009
at 03:04 PM

Hi all

just thought i would tell you about myself and what i have been upto.

Last year i hit the big 40 and its true what they say about life begins then!

up until last year i was running my own retail business (deli and wine merchants in sussex). it had been running successfully for 10years when our local tesco expanded into one of those horrid Tesco Extra stores. I suddenly found i lost over 30% of my trade and with my lease up for renewal and my landlord putting the rent up by 100% i decided to close it down (its like losing a child).

after this i worked for a couple of retail businesses as an employee and found that a real stuggle. while i was working for one i was invited by a friend who worked as a head of a local Pru to come in and do a days cooking with the children.

I was really nervous coming into a school as i had never enjoyed school when i was there. when i arrived the pupils and staff all made me feel really welcome and i had such a superb day working with the kids. On the day we cooked 3 different curries, 2 different rices, breads and different raitas, which everyone then sat down and ate. Im not religous but it was like an ephiani (sorry bout the spelling). the next day i went back to my normal job, that i really didnt like and at the end of the day went home and called my friend to talk about the day before. she said there was a job available for a TA working at the Pru, and i decided thats what i had to do.

I have now been here for about 5months, and im as happy now as i was when i was running my business. you never know what the next day will bring. i was taken on as a general TA and after a little while was asked my the head of area if i would be interested in taking over the cooking classes for the kids and also doing horticulture with them.

we now are in the process of setting up a large allotment which the kids will look after and then cook what they grow. we are even talking about getting chickens for them to look after. it is fanstastic working with these kids, they have all been excluded from mainstream schools and have lots of issues.

they love the cooking and the ones that know about the gardening are really interested and want to help, they are even suggesting growing foods that i wouldnt have thought they would like (given me great ideas for cooking).

Its so great to see the kids enjoying school when they have had such a bad time at mainstream.

any way i must go for now as im due to be back in class now.

bye for now

Feb 12, 2009
at 07:29 PM

Hi

I've set our blog up - we produce all our own galloway beef, blackface lamb, mutton & saddleback pork from our own farm, we butcher it all ourselves as well. On the 22nd on Feb i am doing a sausage making demonstration at the Drumlanrig Castle Farmers Market in Dumfries and Galloway - so everybody come along and support the market and buy some local produce :o)

Feb 14, 2009
at 03:14 PM

wow there are some stories on this page - Hugh and team you will have quite a job chosing your heroes!!!!!
Here's my turn
I live in East London about 5 mins from 2012 Olympic Park, so lots of building and buildings around!!Typical London I suppose - just get used to it although do dream of garden for flat veggie plot with plants in the ground not in pots....
Have a small patio (see blog) and
(amazingly)grew some veggies last year in a variety of pots (tomatoes, strawberries, salads, peas, beans and a variety of herbs!) -
the plan for 2009 is to get organised and produce more, to grow seeds indoors and then plant out at the correct time!! kept getting it late last year.
Have already got cucumbers, celery, peppars, lettuces and tomatoes in seed trays growing well (the test being when they go outside).
People I meet are always amazed that veggies can be grown in such a small space - not impossible as long as you remember to water the pots seem to dry out so quickly.
See blog for progress....

Feb 16, 2009
at 03:35 PM

Not sure this is quite what you're after but we've been very impressed with our local butcher in Coulsdon (Jct 7 of the M25). So many people whinge that they can't find good suppliers when they live in London or Greater London but this chap and his staff are brilliant and show that you CAN get good food regardless of where you live (it's ten minutes on the train from the depths of Croydon).

Very open about which farms his animals come from (they quite often have pictures of the relevant herd in the window). Also does a variety of game birds , rabbits etc. depending on what gets shot. Their sausages win prizes and he's not averse to providing something unusual and often has things such as tongues and offal out on display (ox heart can make a fabulous lasagne by the way). His pork scratchings are fabulous (if fattening).

Just in case anybody's wondering, I have no connection to the butcher apart from being really keen for him to get lots of customers so that we continue to have a first rate butcher on our doorstep.

Feb 19, 2009
at 01:25 PM

Where do I start.

Well, back in November 2008, I attended, alone, my local parish council meeting, and asked them what they were doing in regards to allotment provision. Not alot was the response I got.

I decided after the meeting to take some direct action. I placed posters on lamp posts around the village asking people to call me if they were interested in allotments.

I got quite afew phone calls and by December 2008 had persuaded 6 other people to come along to the parish council meeting with me. This time they took more notice of me, after slating me for wrongly defacing lamp posts with posters !!

They reffered my request for allotments onto a project called the Parish Plan - GREAT!! It might never happen. Anyway, I was happy to go along with it for now, seeing as I was only just getting use to all the procedures and protocols of the parish council.

Nothing seemed to happen. So I got a local radio interveiw and put out a call for the local people in Weston, Cheshire to contact me to assist in lobbying the parish council to act.

I spoke to the legal consultant of the NSALG who provided me with some legal documents stating that as my parish has no allotment provision, if I get 6 people to sign a formal request and pass to the council they have a legal duty to act, Ive got more than 6 people signed up.

At the last parish council meeting in February, no progress had been made in relation to allotments, alothough the local radio station has asked the Chairman for a comment on what I'd said. They are aware that I am serious and the fact im only 25 seems to have them perplexed. The majoirty of the councillors look ready for the grave.

Anyway, should I go to the next parish council meeting and hand them the signed formal requests for allotments? I believe they have the power to compulsory hire/lease land. Should I take this direct approach or should I carry on in the hope they might actually act without the pressure.
Thanks
Paul.

Feb 19, 2009
at 04:27 PM

I think he's worthy of being your hero....

I am training to become a chef and Hugh is a complete inspiration to me and my familys country life style! We currently have one of his recipes baking in the oven! [Honey and Ginger cake - yummy]

So i have come onto the website and seen the advertisement about Hugh looking for heroes and i have someone in mind.

I never thought i would consider this person as a friend or a family member, let alone a hero!

My big brother is 22 years old [4years older than me] and it has been a rocky road for as long as i can remember. He decided to go down the line of drugs and as his younger sister this has always had a big impact on me and my other siblings and even more so on my mum and dad. Last year however it got as bad as Heroin and our worst nightmares had come true. I haven't accepted him as my brother since i was about 12 years old and he was 16, when he use to come home after a session with his friends and be extremely abusive and scary.

My parents finaly found help suitable for Ricky and we all tried extremely hard to support him through it. One year on and he is living on his own with his dog Billy in the middle of the countryside manning his own allotment!!! It's amazing to see him feeling passionate and determined about growing produce successfully!

He regularly walks around the countryside foridging for his own food, catching animals and finding vegetables and fruit. He has come so far since his drug addictions and although i feel personaly there is a long way to go before i can get on with him, he is doing ever so well and his passion for natures food is really impressing me!

Feb 20, 2009
at 09:49 AM

Hugh - we're looking for some and advice and guidance - we'll provide the hardwork!!

We are an FE college in the south- west of Scotland, just moved into a brand new building with beautiful views over the hills of dumfries and Cumbria - we also have a lot of spare ground and I've got agreement from our Principal to have a small allotment which we will use for our learning support students, our catering students to grow organic produce for our learning kitchens and also to bring local primary schools in to see fresh vet (don't laugh!!)

Already our construction students are building the shed, the construction technology students will survey and set out the site, my electricians and plumbers will dig the trenches for the raised beds (we have rabbits....!) and put in water and power, solar panels and a wind turbine no less......the joiners will build the beds and we even have a dry stane dyker ready to work with students to make some form of seating.....- they are so focussed on this project, but my one stumbling block is.... I'M NOT A GARDENER......

Please, please could you help with some advice about how we approach this, or even better, come and show us - it would make great television.....

I'm not going to tell you how much I love your programmes, but I do, and its as a result of your landshare, allotment push that this has happened.

We also have the engineers ready to make metal screens

PLEASE, PLEASE HELP (I want to have pigs and chickens this time next year, but haven't told the principal that yet!....

Feb 24, 2009
at 09:42 PM

Hi,
Breifly, we will shortly have held our farm for a year, 40 acres of decidous woodland, arable 12.5 acres and 13 acres of pasture, some of it lovely old untouched stuff.
Last year was a semmingly endless toil fencing, taming the wilderness as the farm had been let go and recently hedge planting.
Live stock are Pigs foremost of different crosses, Jacobs Sheep and Beef Shorthorn's.
We are not organic but farm without fertilisers or sprays, ( there is some special wild life on the land some of which i have not seen since childhood) and i am awarwe of the delecate balance needed to preserve this. I am endlessly experimenting to see what is the best formula and ways to farm naturally without Diesel or at worst an absolute minimum. For example i only have a Quad Bike with a set of chain harrows, the pigs are my rotorvators and i tidy behind them with the bike and my seed spinner.
We have decided to plant the allotments in the wood with our seed this year after deliberatring about where to put a veg plot. Makes sense really as the pigs have cleared waist deep brambles, tilled the soil and fertilised it for us.
This is truly farming from scrach, i'm not a farmer by the way, in spite of an O level in it! We have planning permission for a house and buildings on site but i am in negotiations with the planners about an Eco house, and want to use our streams for Hydro and the rain water for the stock, so pleanty to do.
We have sold through Farmers Markets in the past but have stopped this as of Christmas and it is strictly small scale to order now 1/2 or a whole butchered how you want it.
We dont feed pellets to the pigs , they are topped up with our own wheat as i said organically grown but not certified and operate a strict non GM policy. The ethos is to produce as much as possible on farm, (diesel efficient) grown without sprays and artificial. The cows are eating our pure organic Vetch and our own Straw running outside in part of the big wood, with their own rain shelter strung between the trees to provide a dry bed for them.
I can talk endlessly about a miriad of subjects , but this is enough for now- i've a hedge to plant tommorrow.

Mar 02, 2009
at 07:35 PM

If I was going to be honest, there probably are a lot of people out their more deserving of being called a hero. But for everything he's down, Dave Allham who runs our University Allotment shouldn't be overlooked.

He set up the site two years ago, no help from the university, and having had practically none since. And despite being diabetic, half blind and now 50, he's managed to run that place near single handed. Students have come and been, like the photo's he's got show. But most of it was Dave.

You may think, so what, he runs an allotment. What's special though is the fact the university allotment is essentially 5 plots put together. meaning 5 times the work. And now as he hopes to go self managing, breaking away from council control, he's working harder than ever.

He busts his a** down there week after week, whilst teaching the "grow your own" ideals to each person that comes down, whether student or staff. And has spent what I can only imagine is thousands of his own money on that place.

No matter what happens, I'm sure that the rest of the Smallholders Society at the Uni, and most of the other allotment keepers believe Dave to be a real Hero.

Mar 03, 2009
at 05:00 PM

Hi, we are the Green P's, a group of students at a Northumberland High School, and we are growing vegetables in a local allotment in an attempt to educate the local community about the potential for grow your own.

http://community.rivercottage.net/users/MRS%20Poulter/blog/green-ps

This is our blog here on the river cottage website - feel free to have a look and reply if you have any questions for the group.

We would love it if anyone from the river cottage team would like to come to visit and see the scale of the task we have undertaken and the progress we have made.

Mar 03, 2009
at 09:59 PM

Hi,

Thought I would drop by and mention our project to set up a new allotment to reduce our councils 110 people waiting list. I'll blog it shortly, we are in Crowborough in East Sussex and are currently trying to set up an allotment on a 16 acre site bought by the town council - we have great plans, trying to encourage organic, possible composting toilets, ecological planting to encourage wildlife, apiary and the list goes on. Checkout the blog and take a look at http://www.owlsburycommunity.org

Graham

Mar 05, 2009
at 04:30 PM

Hi. I work for Barnardos as the team leader for the Play Ranger Project in Bournemouth and Poole. We ahave secured a grant from the council to create a community garden project on a housing estate in Bournemouth. The garden is to be led and worked on by the young people who live on the estate and we are trying to establish a mentoring programme with the local allotment comitee. The estate does not offer much for young people or the residents as yet however we are hoping that the chance to grow their own veg, hold a bbq party and give young people the chance to work within a budgett alongside the council will help to create positive activities for the young people and the residents.

Mar 09, 2009
at 11:19 AM

Greetings to all,

This year is going to be somewhat different to most others, I have decided to leave London at last and head back to Sussex, From May I will be relocating to a beautiful woodland with a river nearby and start building my new home: a Tree house.

I will be living in the treehouse for 6 months, surviving off mainly wild food (my only meat source) and a small yet productive veg patch which I am digging this week.

The tree house will be built from a mix of recycled/reclaimed/natural materials and I will have a central heating unit/wood burning stove put together from an old steel drum.

Having studied Archaeology at University, got up to a wealth of survivally goodness over the years (including 3 months on a lovely desert island as a survival expert for chaneel 4) and cut me teeth in some interesting kitchens across the capital, its time to see if we can still live the hunter-gatherer lifestyle (with a little of the neolithic thrown in) in 21st century Britain.

To follow my progress and for more info on the project, please visit: www.huntergathercook.typepad.com

Nick.

Mar 09, 2009
at 07:19 PM

hey i live in taunton in a school where my dad is a house master
i keep two garden hens and i am hoping to get some quails (im also hoping to get some more hens)
we have started growing veg this year in the small space we have by fencing it off from the hens

will free
freew@queenscollege.org.uk

Mar 28, 2009
at 02:41 PM

Bonjour! Callum Train here in France for the year running http://www.chateaulebreuil.com not far from Bordeaux. Despite the oppulent surroundings I am paradoxically living the Good life Tom and Barbara style and will be spending the year here without any income or wages; sustaining myself by way of raising chickens and living off a vegetable patch within the grounds (planting all the usual suspects as well as artichoke, the famous Marmande tomato and anything unusual I can find). I have already made tea, coffee and confitures from forraged wild berries, I have a small rifle for shooting rabbit, squirrel, ragondin, pigeon etc and I also have access to plenty of dandelions, nettles, vines, brambles and a fig, apple, cherry and pear tree too. Whilst my 5-a-day is the main concern I also have access to an old barrel press so some home-brews are on the cards methinks! If things get dire then there's a couple of horses to be had ;-) but I'm hoping to pursuade the owner to let me keep a boar for the summer. I have plans to expand the chicken coup to include ducks, craft some kind of "frogery" in an adjacent stream and a "snailery" in the cellar too but whatever happens I plan to have some fun doing it all and I will be referring to River Cottage HQ for constant help.

On an altruistic note; I am a registered UN Volunteer but presently I am supporting the Homecoming Scotland concept and hoping to facilitate introductions between communities in Scotland and France this year. I am blogging for a couple of government initiative websites - one of which attracted 984,458 hits last month alone. I am therefore hoping to generate a lot of interest in the cultural exchange between Scottish and French Communities and being a Jersey born lad the next step will be Jersey, English, Irish and Welsh communities too. The icing on the cake would be the involvement of River Cottage so if the team fancies a trip to France I can put you up in the chateau (no charge of course!) Good luck to everyone - may your crops be bountiful. Salut!

Nov 09, 2009
at 03:28 PM

To a point, but sadly the Canteen takes up a lot of my time. I have recently acquired an allotment, which is still in a mess three months on. I just don't seem to have enough time for my mcse and mcsa, in fact I went down to water it yesterday and one of my neighbours has trimmed all the weeds back. I don't know whether to be glad mcts (I am obviously grateful) or ashamed that it got to the point where someone else had to get involved. Thank you, whoever it was!

Mar 09, 2010
at 05:45 AM

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'Hugh calls for River Cottage Heroes!'

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