March 26th 2012

Mon 7:30pm

The Importance of Worms in the Garden

Friends Meeting House, Upper Goat Lane, Norwich, NR2 1EW

Notice the lowly earthworm, squirming away, going about its everyday business. Simple creatures you may think, but they have quite an important use in the garden. Did you know the earthworms are nature’s first gardeners? They don’t exist just for children to eat or fishermen to use as bait. So fascinating that Charles Darwin studied them for over 40 years.

Chris Wright from Roots and Shoots – Growing for the Future will be exploring the life and works of the worm. He will also answer questions on wormeries and home composting.

Feb 27th 2012

Mon 7:30pm

"WILD FRUIT" - What, Why and Where to Grow

Friends Meeting House, Upper Goat Lane, Norwich, NR2 1EW

Mark will be talking about fruits which have not been heavily cultivated (such as amelanchier, aronia, rubus and morus species) and as such are not only hugely tasty, but are healthier and much more disease resistant plants than most cultivated fruit plants. He shall also be addressing what is forest gardening and how these "wild fruits" fit into such a garden and the benefits of growing them e.g. the harvest and also the benefits for the garden as a whole such as nitrogen fixing, etc.

Finally he will talk about how to use these plants visually in the garden - creating a stunning, edible space.

www.thefruitnursery.co.uk

Feb 11th 2012

Sat 9:30am-1:30pm

Potato Day

Mid-Suffolk Showground Stonham Barns, Stonham Aspal, Nr Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 6AT

Potato Day Website

East Anglia Potato Day is an annual event run by volunteers, with over 100 different potato varieties on offer - it is an exceptional event, and an occasion you won’t forget! Alan Romans, author of 'The Potato Book’, is coming all the way from Edinburgh with his seeds, potatoes and advice. Chips and mash will be on offer, so you can try different varieties, and a score board will keep track of which are most popular!

There will also be stalls offering tools, seeds and seed swaps, and lots of information, as well as some very interesting people to talk to. It’s a very popular day, so don’t miss out! Volunteers needed: If you feel you could volunteer to help, either with setting up the day before, or on the day itself, please email chair@norfolkorganic.org.uk

Jan 30th 2012

Mon 7:30pm

"Planning for year round vegetable consumption” A talk by the Elliotts of Bikeways

Friends Meeting House, Upper Goat Lane, Norwich, NR2 1EW

Graham and Nicky, are probably the most organised and efficient people I have ever come across when it comes to being self sufficient. They have brilliant spread sheets that show exactly how thought out the process is for them. I can guarantee most of us don’t get round to planning enough and waste time and energy with space in the ground left bare. This talk could possibly make a huge difference to the amount of produce you get. Check them out www.bikeways.org.uk.

Nov 24th 2011

Thurs 7:30pm

Bob Flowerdew Talk: 'Tropical Indulgences or Carbon Footprint?'

President of the Norfolk Organic Group, Bob Flowerdew, will speak at our forthcoming meeting on Thursday, 24th November (please note the change of day from our usual Monday) at 7.30pm at the Friends' Meeting House in Norwich.

Nov 19 2011

Sat 2pm

Third Annual Organic Seed Swap

The third annual organic seed swap will be held at 2pm in the Grow Our Own allotment hut. Entrance is free.

Grow Our Own is situated on the Bluebell South allotments. The entrance is where 82 The Avenues would be, down a narrow lane immediately after George Borrow Road on the way out of the city.

For more information on the venue see grow-our-own.co.uk/. For more information, contact Erik at www.tinyurl.com/contacterik.

Nov 5 2011

Sat 2pm - 5pm

Elliott's Course

Vegetable storage, drying apples, wood as fuel, pruning soft fruit. £12 per session.
For more details, see www.bikeways.org.uk or 01502 714661 or email graham@bikeways.org.uk.

Oct 31 2011

Mon 7:30pm

Talks

A talk by Trish le Gal about her book ‘Grow Your Own For The Hungry Gap’

Trish’s beautiful new book is full of great advice and covers crop protection over winter, seed saving, growing heritage seeds, storing produce, etc. It’s a personal book covering her experiences with things she has grown illustrated with exceptional photographs. In Trish’s  words:

‘I wrote the book because I was fed up with trying to plan for a spring harvest from half a dozen books at a time and coordinate this with the right varieties from the seed catalogues. It was quite difficult to learn that timing was crucial and that you have to plan for space for things to grow slowly over the winter. It is so tempting to fill the allotment up with summer crops that grow quickly and end up with a glut. What surprised me, once I'd started, was to find that there are over 30 vegetables you can eat fresh or stored in March, April and May and around 20 herbs. Why aren't they in the shops? Some of them are, but we by no means reach our potential in this department. Most of them are grown outside, or under a little cover (shade netting, plastic or glass)’.

7.30pm Friends Meeting House, Upper Goat Lane, Norwich, NR2 1EW Non-members welcome. £1 entrance

Oct 8 2011

Sat 2pm - 5pm

Elliott's Course

Apples, storage, juice and cider-making, chutneys. £12 per session. For more details, see www.bikeways.org.uk or 01502 714661 or email graham@bikeways.org.uk

Sept 26 2011

Mon 7:30pm

Talk

Autumn Talks

Our first Autumn talk of this year in which Norfolk Organic Group member Chris Wright will be talking about his project 'Roots and Shoots', a Victorian walled garden where he works with special needs children, teaching them how to garden with wildlife in mind. See visit above for more information.

7.30pm Friends Meeting House, Upper Goat Lane, Norwich, NR2 1EW Non-members welcome. £1 entrance.

Sept 25 2011

Sun 10am

Visits

Visit to Roots and Shoots project at Holt Hall

Starting with a fungay foray with Dr Tony Leech and a fry up of wild mushrooms. Following which, Norfolk Organic Group member Chris Wright will show us around the walled kitchen garden he works on.

10.00am start. Holt Hall, Kelling Road, Holt, NR25 7DU (http://www.schools.norfolk.gov.uk/go/rootsandshoots/)
Members and guests only please. The Roots and shoots project – with its polytunnels, wormeries and chickens - is both visually stimulating and very practical about attracting wildlife into the garden.

Sept 18 2011

Sun 10:30am - 5pm

Events Attended

Organic Open Garden Day at Wolterton

We will be there with a stall. Tour the biodynamic kitchen garden with grower David Barker. Also, birds of prey, wormery demos, children's corner, pond dipping. Wolterton Hall entry £5, garden only £2.

Sept 10 2011

Sat 2pm - 5pm

Elliott's Course

Winemaking, seed saving. £12 per session. For more details, see www.bikeways.org.uk or 01502 714661 or email graham@bikeways.org.uk