Being London growers — Surviving and thriving on the land!
Your invite to an event hosted by Organiclea to launch this Spring!
Sunday 25 March, 2-5pm: A more formal afternoon of shared ideas and project practicalities with OrganicLea on ‘being London growers’ and Rebecca Laughton on, ‘surviving and thriving on the land’ .. full details below:
At the start of the 2012 growing season, OrganicLea is happy to welcome Rebecca Laughton to our Hawkwood growing site. Her highly acclaimed book, ‘Surviving and Thriving on the Land’, offers key insight for food growing projects seeking longer-term sustainability with an understanding of human communities, as well as plants – bringing new insights into what can make our projects tick. Alongside Rebecca, OrganicLea will share influences in the development of our growing plans, organising work and food-growing activities. This is an event for those with inspiration and aspiration to make their growing Work.
There will be a presentation at 2pm followed by workshops and a guided site tour. This afternoon event is free and together, we hope to share insights on the strategies required to be growers — particularly London growers!
Getting to Hawkwood:
Meet-up plan: Special for Sunday 25th March, there will be a meet at Chingford station at 1.20pm. (Meeting the 12.48 train from Liverpool Street), with a walking guide to the site through Epping Forest in time for the 2pm start. (This train line comes out of Liverpool Street via Bethnal Green, Clapton, Walthamstow Central and other stations). For map and other transport information click here.
As well as the discussions and learning, throughout the day, Hawkwood growers can help explain our Bespoke ‘grow to order’ service!: Growing hand-raised plants for your specific project’s needs based on your pre-order. We use the passive heat of the glasshouse, certified organic composts, growing enthusiasm and human-powered watering rhythms from the site’s enormous rain-harvest tanks to grow to your specifications! This includes seedling plugs (new for 2012), and more established food-plants. Contact plants@organiclea.org.uk for order sheet for 2012 — or look out for details on this site.
We have supplied plants to a range of community garden projects over the last 2 years since taking on the Hawkwood site.
We look forward to welcoming Spring and you to the Hawkwood site on March 25th. Please let us know if you’re planning to come along – plants@organiclea.org.uk
Background notes!
Reviews of ‘Surviving and Thriving on the Land’ by Rebecca Laughton
“Rebecca is one of those rare people who combines direct personal experience of her subject with the ability to take a balanced overview. You can feel the soil under her fingernails as she writes, but she never claims to have all the answers herself. She allows the people from the 28 smallholdings she surveyed to speak for themselves, revealing the diversity of their personalities, aims and circumstances. The conclusions which emerge are gold-dust for prospective and actual smallholders … a fascinating insight to a way of life which will become increasingly important in the future.” Patrick Whitefield
Also reviewed Transition Network News here
Recent article about Organiclea on Stir to Action
“OrganicLea stands out as an inspiring urban food project that grows everything: food and communities. Organic Lea’s vision to create jobs provides a practical transition from hobby radicals to “professional radicals”. If the food sector and organics are not automatically a promotion of equality, inclusion, mutual aid, and cooperation, then OrganicLea definitely is.”
On getting seedlings through Organiclea’s pre-order plants scheme
“We’ve loved getting our seedlings and plants from Organiclea – from the friendly and convenient delivery to the variety and vigour of the plants, the service and the product have been excellent and I have recommended them to all the growers I know. This has saved us a lot of time and space which has been put to use on the people involved and the plants we already have. On top of that, it’s exciting to await their arrival, plus, if you are really keen you can even go and visit them growing up at Hawkwood. Importantly, we like to know that we are supporting a local cooperatively managed organisation.”
Alex Collings – gardening at Somerford and Shacklewell Estate, Hackney. Along with many other accolades, this site was the winner of Capital Growth’s Edible Estate competition in 2010.
Themes that will be raised throughout the afternoon will include:
*importance of understanding human energy in food growing projects;
*growing plants and people – from the ground upwards!
*wise tool use – insights into how to ensure we’re making the most of our energy when using daily tools in the garden.
*tour of the Organiclea Hawkwood growing site – with particular focus on how planting plans match up with the outlets we supply.
*convergence with chance to share announcements about forthcoming activities.
