National Allotments Week
Celebrating our Market Garden and seasonal produce…
With National Allotments Week almost over, we wanted to reflect on the importance of growing produce in ways which benefit and support natural ecosystems, working with nature instead of against it. Our Market Garden is a perfect example of this; our team using natural processes to their advantage to help grow their yield of delicious, organic produce.
What is National Allotments Week?
National Allotments Week is an initiative created by the National Allotment Society, celebrating all things allotment and raising awareness of the role they play in helping people to live more healthily and grow their own food; as well as forming friendships and bolstering local communities.
This year the theme of National Allotments Week is bugs, bees and broccoli, acknowledging the importance of gardening with nature in mind. In urban areas, allotments provide a safe haven for wildlife to thrive in, and in turn, insects aid the healthy functioning of them, pollinating plants, controlling pest populations and even improving soil quality for better growing.
Our Market Garden
The team at our Market Garden are fully aware of the benefits natural ecosystems bring to the garden, working with them to maximise the yield of produce. We’ve had so much success with the Market Garden recently, that not only does it supply freshly picked organic produce to our farm shops and restaurants, a selection of produce is also available to purchase online. This includes: Mixed Salad, Little Gem Lettuces, Rainbow Chard and a variety of herbs.
The Market Garden also utilises growing seasonally to keep a good supply of organic fruit and vegetables available to us all year round.
Eating Seasonally
Seasonal produce only grows and can only be harvested at certain times of year. Choosing to eat seasonal, local produce has various benefits for you and the environment. To start with it doesn’t have to travel as far to reach your plate than food imported from overseas. This means the produce has gone through less preservative measures, making it a lot fresher, more flavourful and fuller of the nutrients and vitamins our bodies require.
Another benefit of it not travelling as far are reduced food miles, making eating locally and seasonally much better for the planet. Growing seasonally also means that less artificial inputs such as heating, lighting, pesticides and fertilisers are required, reducing the environmental impact.
All our seasonal produce can be found on our shop, where you can purchase products individually or opt for one of our Pre-selected Boxes, brimming with seasonal organic fruit and veg.
Our top picks for seasonal veg this month are Garden Peas, Broad Beans and Salad Potatoes, which can be incorporated into some delicious summer recipes that we've linked below:
Pea, Spring Onion and Mint Tart
Broad Bean, Mint and Feta Dunk
