Foragers

Peach harvest! Limited edition Peach ‚Äėn‚Äô Chilli Chutney coming soon. ūüćĎ ūüĆ∂ ūüćĎ ūüĆ∂ ūüćĎ ūüĆ∂ Stirling NeighbourFood Milngavie Food Hub. #peaches #localfood #polytunnel

A honeycomb from Lomond Bees hives sited in our orchard. DELICIOUS!!! ūüėč ūüćĮ ūüźĚ.

This is Back Dabinett, a distinctive variety. It’s a rather late maturing fruit, not ready for picking until well in to November. Hoping that more of these will be in fruit next year. Some don’t have any fruits this year. #apples #orchard #cider

They say that every cloud has a silver lining. Here at Foragers the recent summer rain has been great for the orchard. Here’s one of our cider varieties, Tremletts Bitter, on a young tree. #orchard #apples #cider

What is the definition of a garden? Another gardener once asked me if I was going to landscape around the pond when I had actually already done so. It's a wild pond garden created within an old hay meadow. We've added more grasses and flowers over time (all from scattered seed), but the garden responds each year to climatic dynamics so adjusts its look each year. Dandelions, buttercups, docks and nettles also punctuate both grasses and flowers, all offering a myriad of creatu...res their habitat essentials to life. Butterflies, bumblebees, honeybees, wasps, damselflies, hoverflies, ladybirds, spiders, moths, beetles, bats, birds and pond creatures appear to be flourishing.
This year we added a large bed on a sloping part of the garden by first laying landscape material, then pinned down sheep fleeces on top of it (to stop soil slipping and hold in moisture), finished with topsoil, and finally scattered seeds over the top. It's crammed with plants for the insects and birds. This is an inexpensive way of creating something beautiful to look at that primarily benefits nature. I mixed a packet of Nanny's Flowers for Birds Seed Mix with Molly's Cottage Garden Flower Seed Mixture, bought from www.victoriananursery.co.uk Victoriana Nursery Gardens
To the side of the bed we also planted a crabapple - Red Sentinel (with an MM106 rootstock) - a small tree that is perfect for any garden. We have also planted native crabapple hedging around the farm, as well as other varieties of crabapple trees of varying sizes. This provides fruit in the winter for birds and mammals, and crabapples for our Foragers Crab Apple & Chilli Jelly. British grown bareroot apple trees on an MM106 rootstock can be bought from www.adamsappletrees.co.uk. Adams Apples Hedges and larger trees can be purchased from www.ashridgetrees.co.uk. Ashridge Nurseries Bareroot planting is the best, easiest and cheapest way to plant trees, shrubs and hedges.
The rest of the farm is just one big meadow, intersected by native hedgerows and various trees. Muckheaps and compost heaps are topped up but never removed so that insects and mammals benefit. Our reward is the presence of hedgehogs. We also pile up windfall branches among the oak trees and hawthorns, and leave permanent stacks of logs dotted around the farm. We're still hoping to find newts one day. They may be there but we simply haven't seen them yet.
So what is the definition of a garden? For us it is a haven for wildlife first and foremost, as nature always intended. Beauty is not just about shape, form and colour of a space, but more about how it moves in the wind and how it lights up in the evening and glistens after rain. The knowledge that a garden is so much more when it matters to our fellow living creatures makes it even more beautiful when the challenge has been met. Being a gardener is just natural stewardship. BBC Springwatch #gardening #wildlife #hedgehogs #wildlifepond #compostheap #crabapple #hedges #trees
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BOLIVIA TO BE COMPLETELY FOOD INDEPENDENT IN 2020 BY INVESTING IN SMALL FARMERS...

Hello everyone
It's Wednesday, so you only have a couple of hours to order from Milngavie Food Hub before this week's local, online farmer's market closes at midnight tonight.
Have you downloaded our android app? It has made shopping from your local hub super-easy! Download it from Google Play here https://l.ead.me/theapp and to tempt you further here is a code to give you 10% off any order over £10 this week enter MILNAPP10 at the checkout! Alternatively you can follow this ...link to the market on the website https://l.ead.me/milngavie
This week we have organic veggies from Locavore...amazing, creamy milk, yoghurts and ice cream from Katy Rodger's Dairy (The Courtyard Cafe at Knockraich Farm) in Fintry...sustainable seafood from Alba Seafood in Oban... Scotia Spice from Balfron... fresh bread from Bavarian Bakehouse...craft beers from Jaw Brew....vegan cakes and treats from Laurianne's Raw Cakes in Killearn....delicious Spanish fayre from The Wee Honey Bee and Taste-Spain...the highest welfare meats from Ardunan Farm in Strathblane and Robert Alexander Butchers in Port Glasgow...wild game from Woodmill Game...fruity Kefir from Middle Way of Loch Lomond...coffee from Dear Green Coffee Roasters in Glasgow.. naturally sweetened soft drinks from Bon Accord Soft Drinks in Edinburgh...chilies from Foragers of Drymen...cakes and preserves from Chef Justin of Wild Fig Catering and Produce and much more!!!
Order online and either collect on Friday, 4-6pm from The Fraser Centre, anytime on Saturday from Ardunan Farm or have it delivered to your door on Friday evening or Saturday morning for just £3.
Buy local and keep 90% of what you spend in the LOCAL economy! ūüíö
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Introducing Foragers hand-crafted mobile planters available to buy on our website with FREE local delivery. Made with treated rough-sawn wood, then finished off with 4 handy swivel castors and our signature hessian-rope handles. Choose between a 'Paint Your Own' planter, or a ‚ÄėShabby-chic‚Äô planter with a unique and colourful, original contemporary design using quality Protek Products. Just click on the photo slide show below to take you to our secure Foragers e-commerce shop. ūüćÖūüĒ®ūüĆŅūüĆĻūüŹīů†Āßů†ĀĘů†Ā≥ů†Ā£ů†Āīů †ĀŅ. #gardenplanters #madeinscotland #growyourownwithstyle #garden #protekwoodstain #artinthegarden #contemporarydesign #originaldesigns #uniquegardenplanters

Look what’s growing in the polytunnel...

When a young orchard bears significant fruit for the first time it goes against all instincts to remove fruitlets in order to increase long term yield. For this cooker variety, Lanes Prince Albert, I’m thinning to one apple per spur and removing about 75% of the fruitlets. Sounds drastic but this should help ensure larger, healthier apples with less stress on the young branches. #orchard #apples

We like overgrown paths here at Foragers.

This season‚Äôs young chilli plants have now graduated into the big polytunnel. We‚Äôve added some Jalape√Īo to our regular Palivec & Ohnivec varieties. Harvesting starts late July or maybe early August depending on our Scottish summer this year. Watch this space... #chillies #localfoods #madeinscotland

Never tried this combination. Must buy an aubergine ūüćÜ + ūüĆ∂ = ūüėč

Technology meets local. Great work guys!

Come along to Milngavie Food Hub's taster event this Friday and sample some wonderful products including our very own Relish Products. #milgavieweek #milngavie

Looking forward to finding out about the "Alive with Local Food" strategy this afternoon at Stirling NeighbourFood.