with “Blog”
In an extract from their new book; home schoolers Lehla and her husband, Anthony talk about their experiences when it comes to dealing with the sometimes disapproving reactions of others… Anthony says: Sometimes people get curious and want to know if our way of life works according to their framework. Some of our relatives sneak little tests in to reassure …
In this, the first of a new series aimed at showing the inspirational people behind the autism, proud mother, Jackie tells us about her son Bobby was diagnosed with Autism when he was four. I felt relief, I wasn’t a bad mother and he wasn’t a bad boy needing discipline (words that had been said to me many times even …
In this second blog for us, inspirational lady-farmer, Sam explains how much she enjoys working with local restaurants. There is no greater privilege for a smallholder like me than tasting your home-reared, much loved, rare breed produce on the menu of a well reputed restaurant. I recently enjoyed a spectacular 10 course taster menu exquisitely prepared by Director Chef Chris …
A lot of people still follow so-called traditional advice of ‘bedding the garden’ down for winter. This normally entails meticulously pulling out dead or spent crops and digging the ground over to expose it to the elements which is recommended as being ‘good ‘for the soil. It’s actually a terrible, I repeat terrible thing to do on so many levels. …
First – a bit about Sam Sam Gray works a five acre plot in the heart of Shropshire where she keeps British Lop pigs, rare breed chickens, Soay sheep and grows a lot of her own fruit and veg. A published writer and author of ‘Doing it in Wellies’ about her first years on the farm, she is becoming well …
Kim Stoddart gets up close and personal with all pollinators great and small… Have you ever stopped and listened to the musical sound a bee makes as it works a flower head? Or looked at a wasp as it chews tiny bits of wood off your fence or garden furniture? Wasps may have a somewhat chequered reputation but they are …
There are whole books on the subject of taking cuttings. Whole books about something that is in reality an incredibly easy thing to do. Equally baffling is the fact that most advice is also ridiculously overly-complicated and exacting. No wonder then that many people choose to buy in any extra plants needed, rather than giving it a go themselves. It’s …
I am part of The Growing Kitchen on the Wenlock Barn Estate in Hackney. We started in 2008 with a community garden on a disused piece of lawn. Since then we have expanded to create a foraging garden with a wild area and a community orchard on a separate site. We also have a pond that is teaming with life …
This summer solstice weekend saw the return of the Power of Food Festival to Edinburgh’s community gardens. Across the city, 16 gardens threw open their gates and welcomed in the public, to experience first-hand the magical spaces flourishing right under their noses. From Newhaven to Merchiston, Granton to Tollcross, each garden was unique, with its own original story. Visitors to …
Carol Plummer; engineer, entrepreneur and co-founder of Vivent tells us more about this fascinating subject… Recently there’s been lots of talk in the biology community about whether plants are intelligent. It is an interesting question to consider. What is intelligence? In plants? In people? Do you need a brain to be intelligent? If something is more intelligent than something else …