Green Futures

Month: May 2014

  • Whats in a box?

    We get asked this question all the time and the truth is it varies each week depending on the season and what is available.

    To give you an idea however here is the contents of each box week of 12.05.14

    To give you an idea of what the other boxes contain. Boxes will have some variety depending on season, weights and sizes.

    The £6 Veg box contains

    Potatoes (800g)

    0nions (400g)

    Mushrooms (250g)

    A Cauliflower

    A Pepper

    Broccoli

    Cucumber

    Tomatoes (400g)

    The £10 Veg box contains

    Potatoes (2k)

    Onions(600g)

    Mushrooms (250g)

    A cauliflower

    Parsnips (800g)

    2 Peppers

    Large Broccoli

    Cucumber

    Tomatoes(500g)

    Calvero Nero Kale

    Beetroot

    The Salad Box contains

    A Pepper

    Bunch Spring Onions

    Beetroot (cooked)

    Cucumber

    Lettuce

    Celery

    Tomatoes (600g)

    The Fruit box contains

    Bananas (1kilo)

    Oranges (4-6)

    Apples (4-5)

    Pears 4

    Kiwi Fruit 4

  • Veg Box News 12.05.14

    Some of our customers have been asking about getting bigger boxes as they realise now that we are often much cheaper than the supermarkets. Also our veg tends to stay fresher for longer as its journey from field to your house is usually shorter than supermarkets can manage. To help people plan we give this week the differences between the boxes. Hope you don’t miss the recipe too much!

    Last week we were delighted that we got a little more funding enabling us to employ two part time staff on the horticultural team and as part of the veg box scheme. Both people have been previously involved with us as placements, so it is really nice to be able to offer them paid work after giving up their time for free. Welcome Nick and Jeanette! This sort of thing really demonstrates our commitment to using the landscape in a way that helps local people. We offer a place for people to come and volunteer and enjoy nature, tend plants, grow food and often develop many skills to help them with life and employment.

    On the landscape the much needed rain and sun means the plants, veg and weeds are all growing well. Looking forward to harvesting already! We have plenty of opportunities for people to come and help us with weeding 🙂 Its one of the joys of not using any sprays or weed killers, hand weeding is the only way!

    We are still in the Food Gap so we couldn’t get any English carrots this week, we’ve had to top up with salad items to try and keep as much English stuff in your box as possible. Hope that is OK!

    We’ve been looking at the facts and figures and we really need a few more people to start ordering some of the extra things we sell like pasta rice, nuts etc, eco cleaning products healthy snacks etc. Without more orders then this part of our service won’t be viable and we will have to stop it. 🙁 Don’t forget you can order these tasty goodies to be delivered with your veg box and often it is items that you probably buy from supermarkets. Every penny you spend with us helps us survive and means you are spending your money in a more ethical way and supporting the local economy. You can ask us for the latest printed list of products if you cant get online to look at our website.

    We have back in stock a number of local preserves and pickles. Please ask the delivery team.

    If you have time please come and visit our site, we have some great produce for sale and its a lovely place to spend a bit of time too.

    Thanks for your continued support, Sean,Kylie, Jeanette and the Veg box team.

    PS As always the large free range eggs are 6 for £1.50.

  • Baked, Melted Crispy Mushrooms

    4 large flat mushrooms

    1 bunch spring onions, trimmed and sliced

    1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped

    a few sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked

    250g cheese, thinly sliced

    2 thick slices bread, made into breadcrumbs

    1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

    4 handfuls rocket, washed and dried

    juice of 1 lemon

    extra virgin olive oil

    Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Lay the mushrooms on a large baking tray and sprinkle with the onions, garlic and thyme. Top the mushrooms with the slices of cheese.

     

    Toss together the breadcrumbs and the parsley and sprinkle over the mushrooms. 

    Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven until breadcrumbs are brown and the mushrooms are cooked through. Meanwhile, dress the rocket with the lemon juice and some olive oil. Serve the mushrooms with the dressed rocket. 

     

  • Veg Box News 05.05.14

    In the past week we have been working hard to prepare the ground on the back field ready for planting our spring and summer crops.

    Work has also been under-way to get the second poly-tunnel skinned, prepped and ready for planting as this summer we are hoping for a bumper crop. As the weather is nice (at the time of going to print) this is the ideal time to get the skin on.

    Last Saturday the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust ‘Turnstiles’ children’s group ran an activity on-site all about bugs and insects, the weather was lovely and the children (and parents) had a great time hunting for a variety of creepy crawlies. The group was also exceptionally lucky to be visited by Snowy the owl, the children stroked him and talked to his owner about what he eats and where he lives etc so thanks to Paul Hamilton for bringing him.

    Our new volunteers have quickly settled in and Carol is working with VANEL to review the referral process so that we can take as many new volunteers as possible at this busy time of year. We have a new person called Brad starting this week on a ‘traineeship’ in partnership with Franklin College.

    Elaine has been busy preparing the ‘Grimsby in Bloom’ planters (there’s a lot of them) which are due to be positioned around the town at the beginning of June.

    The hanging baskets are also being planted,we will have general summer hanging baskets to order for £10 which should be ready for the end of May and edible ones with lettuce & nasturtiums etc for £3.50 each (available now).

    The salad boxes and fruit boxes are proving to be very much sought after, please ring the office on 870609 to either change your veg box to a salad box or add additional items to your order.

    We now have a range of plants available to purchase so please feel free to visit site and have a look round Monday to Friday between 9:00 – 4:00. We currently have a variety of herbs, grasses, lavender, heather, trees and shrubs as well as:

    Sweet peas £1.00 for a six pack or 2 packs for £1.50

    Sunflowers 3 for £1.00

    Fushia £3 each

    Forget me not’s £1 each

    Hosta plants £3 each

    Perennials from £1.50 – £3.00

    As always the free range eggs are ½ dozen for £1.50.