Planning is underway for the next edition of this popular catalogue and Garden Organic are delighted to invite Master Gardeners, mentored households and communities to have their say to help fellow growers next year.

We love to have feedback from gardeners who have used seeds and products from the catalogue. Is there a variety you have grown, or product you have used, that has been particularly successful (or not?).

Are there things that you think we should include in the 2013 catalogue?

Click image to visit website

Please send your feedback to Pauline Pears:

Post: Garden Organic, Ryton Gardens Coventry, CV8 3LG

Email: pmpears@gardenorganic.org.uk, with 2012 catalogue in the subject line.

If you can supply an appropriate photo that would be even better.

It’s a bit early in the season for feedback on this year’s growing; comments later in the year are also welcome.

Further thoughts

The Organic Gardening Catalogue is the official catalogue of Garden Organic and a joint venture with Chase Organics in Hersham, Surrey, UK who have been suppliers to organic gardeners for over 80 years.

Fans of Grow Your Own magazine, which has a readership of around 143,000, have voted the Organic Gardening Catalogue as ‘The Best Mail Order Gardening Company’.

You don’t have to be a Garden Organic member to order from the Organic Gardening Catalogue, however, Garden Organic members receive a 10% discount on all goods. Click here for membership details.

Each purchase from the catalogue supports the charitable work of Garden Organic, so remember every order counts.

Click here for further details

Click here to visit the Organic Gardening Catalogue

Our keen Master Gardeners have donated over 10,000 hours since May 2010. Many, many thanks.

All these hours have helped people and communities grow their own fruit and veg in Warwickshire, Norfolk, and central London boroughs; our Local Food funded networks.

We’re just as stunned in Lincolnshire with our NHS partners – nearly 800 hours since March 2011!

Local Food networks: May 2010 to Feb 2012

All in a smile...

• 10,312 recorded volunteer hours helping people grow fruit and veg
• 84% (259) of trained Master Gardeners volunteering
• 2,822 people in 1,298 mentored households (907 under 16) receiving food growing advice and support from their local volunteer
• 30,037 food growing conversations. Each one counts
• 380 community groups/events supported

Lincolnshire: March 2011 to March 2012

Encouragement

• 737 recorded volunteer hours
• 100% (67) volunteer retention
• 339 people in 94 mentored households (77 under 16)
• 3,871 food growing conversations
  
• 39 Master Gardeners helping new community gardens
  
• 17 local events supported

Advice and support

Behind the numbers: case studies

• Local stories – please click here
• Local photos – visit our Flickr collection
• Health, social, environmental study with Coventry University. Early indications show large and wide-ranging impacts… More details to be announced.
  Please click here for interim details…
  

The future

Welcome to our new volunteers. We’ve nearly finished training almost 100 lovely new Master Gardeners in all networks – and they’re looking for people to help grow food. Click here

Huge thanks to our team: Kate, Kate, Fiona, Gabbie, Rick and Susan. Together with all the enthusiastic folk at Garden Organic.

We’re now looking for funding partners to help us continue and expand the impact of this programme in 2013 and beyond in new and specialist areas. Please click here to read more about future areas.

Read more about Garden Organic here.

With many thanks,

Philip Turvil

Project Manager,
Master Gardener Programme, Garden Organic

Master Gardener Jo graduates on her birthday!

New Master Gardeners! Ready to get out and about locally

Our spring 2012 'household events'; nearly 500 people across five days to swap growing tips and celebrate local food growing. Seed bomb making pictured during an especially busy moment!

Master Gardeners become London 2012 Local Leaders

Train the trainer training...

Master Gardener Adam on the BBC attracting would-be food growers

The personal touch: Master Gardener Paul with pub landlord Neil

Master Gardener Joe and friends

We’re inviting volunteers from across the country to share top-tips for supporting communities to grow their own food and make lovely compost.

View the Masters Conference flyer (links opens PDF)

Read about the National Masters Conference 2011

NEW for Garden Organic Master Gardeners

Please click here to reserve your place with your local co-ordinator.

We’ll then send you a booking form with details and for you to choose your workshop preferences. We’ll also be arranging shared transport to Ryton Gardens.

When? Saturday 30th June 2012.

Where? The beautiful Ryton Gardens in Warwickshire, home to the UK’s leading organic growing charity, Garden Organic.

What? Leading UK speakers, unique workshops, expert guides, and much more with over 200 volunteers expected. This is your conference. Please get in touch here to share your ideas.

Who? Master Gardeners, Master Composters, Compost Gurus, Gardening Champions, and any other volunteer involved in promoting gardening or composting

How much?

Places are FREE for Master Gardeners for the all day event including lunch and refreshments.

£44 + VAT for friends and family. £84 + VAT for CPD places.
Please contact us for exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities.

Come for the cake!

See photos from our National Masters conference 2011

Find out who won the Master Gardener Awards…

See latest news from Ryton Gardens

What else is Garden Organic doing…?

Our volunteers joined fellow community champions who have signed up free as Local Leaders to help people and communities create their own Game celebrations.

Top of the list is ‘Garden for the Games’! People are getting together to grow gold flowers to welcome the Olympic torch, or harvest London 2012 coloured veg for shared salads and BBQs during the opening and closing ceremonies.

More details…

London 2012 Mascot!

Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School and President Kennedy School joined the launch to plant red, white and blue flowering plants for a patriotic windowbox display. Keen students also shared their ideas for planting displays inspired by the Olympic Ring or Paralympic logos.

Already 8,500 people have signed up as Local Leaders around the UK to help celebrate the Games locally.

Huge thanks to London 2012, the Ryton Garden’s team, and all the wonderfully enthusiastic volunteers that led the West Midlands launch of this exciting campaign.

Special thanks also to Smith’s Nurseries where Mick Smith kindly donated bedding plants for our windowbox displays.

Read more…

• Garden Organic encourages 1,000 Master Gardeners and Master Composters to become Local Leaders
• Become a Local Leader. Download inspiring advice for veg and flowers growing

President Kennedy School celebrate!

Community volunteers gather to plant London 2012 themed plants

Red, white and blue flowers donated by Smith's Nurseries

BBC Midlands Today film for their evening broadcast…

Smile! West Midlands London 2012 chair David Moorcroft, pupils from Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School and President Kennedy School, and Philip Turvil

Local Master Gardeners!

BBC Coventry and Warwickshire radio's, Keith Wedgbury interviews Local Leader and Master Gardener project manager, Philip Turvil

Extract from growing advice available from London 2012's Local Leader website

See more photos…

• Visit Garden Organic’s Flickr stream
• Visit President Kennedy School’s photo album
  (click here for their news story)

Local press coverage

• London 2012: Coventry gardener encourages Olympics volunteers
• Local Leaders get set to celebrate London 2012 Games in communities across West Midlands

But May is the time for catching up with sowing seeds and planting out your favourite fruit and veg.

Remember there’s still time to prepare quick growing harvest for your ‘Big Jubilee Lunch’ on the 3rd June 2012.

Also crops for shared salads and BBQs for London 2012 celebrations… Please click here to read how Master Gardeners are getting involved with the Games.

Seeds to sow in May

Sow these cold-hardy crops direct into your soil – or for more comfort if a little cold and wet, sow seeds in pots and trays instead. Tuck these away indoors or in a sheltered sunny corner to transplant later.

The following links open PDF growing instructions by Garden Organic:

Annual Spinach, Beetroot, Sprouting Broccoli, Pea, Radish, Rocket, Salad Onion, Pot Marigold, Parsnip, Lettuce,  Carrot, Celery, Cauliflower, Kale, Kohl Rabi, (deep breath), Leaf Beet, Turnip, Swede, Spring and Summer Salad, and others…

You can also transplant energetic plants started off in March and April, moving them to their final growing space outdoors. This works well with Brussels Sprouts, Leek, Cauliflower, Calabrese, Summer Cabbage, and Sprouting Broccoli. Don’t worry if you haven’t sown these crops yet! There’s still time to sow and get large plants for transplanting in June or early July instead.

Nearly frost free…

There’s a collective horticultural rush during May. The South of England should be frost-free by the end of the month and soon after for the North and exposed sites.

So, now is the time to sow your cold-tender crops that like to be kept warm, such as Pumpkin and Squashes, Sweetcorn, Courgette and Marrow, French Bean, and Runner Bean. Start off these plants indoors on a clean, warm windowsill or in a greenhouse or polytunnel. Then plant outside after the last frost.

You can also move crops started off earlier in the year destined for a summer inside a greenhouse or polytunnel, moving your lovely Aubergine, Cucumber, Okra, Pepper, and Tomato. Although if growing these sensitive crops outdoors during summer, wait until after the last frost before transplanting.

Did you know that Garden Organic publishes a wondrous array of growing tips?

Click here to discover unusual crops (opens ‘Sowing New Seed’ project website)

Step by step growing activities…

Become a Garden Organic member…

What to do in the garden in May

Local growing blogs by volunteer Master Gardeners:
Warwickshire, North London, South London, Norfolk, and Lincolnshire

Article by Philip Turvil

“Sowing seeds is like bingo: eyes down for a full-house!” Steve Penny

“When planting seeds with children, I recommend two seeds per hole to avoid those disappointed little faces.”
Helen Bronstein

	Seed packets always describe perfect conditions for producing the best looking and biggest crops, but seeds can still grow perfectly well without matching these requirements and will give good yields at less than the recommended spacing.” Derek Miller
	“I sow in modular trays, pots or plugs as it is much easier to look after my seedlings when they are not sown in situ.” Keith Wellsted
	Seed packets often contain far more seeds than you use, so why not swap your spares with others to get a wider range of varieties? Also remember that as seeds get older, less will germinate, so sow larger quantities than you did when the seeds were fresh.” Paul Sanders
	“A good rule of thumb for how deep to sow: make a hole twice as deep as your seed.” Alex Collings
	“Sow some beetroot in groups and others spaced out. When they grow, you can choose a bunch of small beetroot or individual bigger ones.” Terry Patterson
	“Create a propagator with a takeaway container as a base and another plastic container as the roof. Place it in front of the telly to remember to keep the compost damp.” Mike Wohl
	“To grow scotch bonnet chillies, I use the seeds from fruit that I have purchased from a market or grocer. Wash the seeds in a plastic tea strainer, allow them to dry on kitchen paper; then germinate them on moist cotton wool covered in cling film. Pot up the sprouted seeds in compost and put on a windowsill to grow on.” Phil Bannister

More top tips from Master Gardeners

• “Sow peas early in the greenhouse in a length of guttering. You can then slide the peas into your trench without disturbing the roots.” Helen Kelly
• “A heated propagator is a cheap and worthwhile investment, but pots on windowsills covered with cling film work well, provided you take this off once seeds sprout.” Adam Lee
• “How about germinating seeds in the nice, warm environment of an airing cupboard? I tried it with aubergine seeds and it worked a treat!” Rosie Humphreys
• “Only sow seeds when the soil is warm. Cover the soil with horticulture fleece or bubble wrap for a few days prior to sowing.” Ray Price
• “For peas and sweet peas, soak the seed overnight and then sow them in paper pots which are particularly easy to plant out.” Maria Elena Brady

“Warm your filled seed trays in advance. Either in a propagator, airing cupboard, greenhouse, or on a windowsill. Then talk to them nicely after sowing! Grow seeds, grow” Ashleigh Rinchey

“Sow little and often. For vegetables that need to be harvested when they reach maturity like lettuce and cauliflower, sow small numbers but do sow regularly; two to three week intervals.” Paul Sanders

• “Fill an empty cardboard egg box with compost. Put one runner bean in each compartment and spray with water. Close the box and look into it in three or four days. Monitor the moistness: not too wet, not dry. When you see the first shoots established, pot on or plant out.” Eulalia
• “Always read the seed packets carefully. Not all vegetable seeds are best sown into pots or trays, for example beetroot, carrots and parsnips are very hard to transplant, so it’s worth waiting until your soil warms up in the spring and then sow directly into their permanent positions.” Karen Webb
• “Jamaica Broad Leaf Callaloo: Sow in container and cover with cling film. Keep in warm conditions. When they reach 6cm, transplant to 7cm pots. When all risk of frost is gone, plant out 30cm apart.” Robert Samuda

For more tips and advice..

• ‘Growing From Seed’ (Garden Organic factsheet GS1)
• Sowing advice from Garden Organic (opens PDF)
• More growing tips from Master Gardeners

Article by the Master Gardeners, collated by Pauline Pears and Philip Turvil

Over 13,000 visitors came to Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire at the UK’s only national event for grow your own fruit and vegetables and home produce.

Warwickshire co-ordinator Kate Newman said: “It was really lively event! The Master Gardeners spoke to hundreds of visitors, helping them pot up lettuce and rocket plug plants in peat-free organic compost. With a mix of experienced and new growers, the Garden Organic stand was busy with growing questions and discussions.”

Kate continued: “The daily sessions held in ‘The Potting Shed’ were enjoyed by all, and people had a good go making a paper pot and sowing seeds. Master Gardeners, as always, had a great enthusiasm to talk about growing veg and a big thank you to them for being involved.”

Master Gardener Karen Webb said: “We had a wonderful time! Massive thanks to the team for setting up a space to be proud of.  I spoke to so many people I lost count!”

There were 24 lovely Master Gardeners as well as 12 delightful Master Composters. Even London and Lincolnshire Master Gardeners popped by to say hello, including husband and wife team Ian and Julie Cheverall and the charming Jim Barnes.

Diane and Milo potting with MG Rosemary

Find your nearest Master Gardener

Fancy becoming a Master Gardener?

Join the UK’s leading organic growing charity, Garden Organic

Visit the Edible Garden Show’s website

Read Philip Turvil’s show blog

Special thanks to Garden Organic’s Mark W, Mark H, Charlotte, David, Gaynor, Andy, Bob, Pauline, and many other fine folk from Ryton.

Master Gardeners Andy, Tom, Carla and Christine with keen growers at the Garden Organic stall

Grow Your Own, anyone? Shot from inside the first of two huge halls

Warwickshire Master Gardener co-ordinator Kate Newman in full flow! She's looking for more Master Gardeners...

Master Composter co-ordinator David (right) chatting compost, of course, as well as Garden Organic membership

As the UK’s leading organic growing charity, we use innovation and inspiration to get more people growing in the most sustainable way.

We’re engaging 1,000 of our local champions to celebrate the Games with their community. Some of our volunteers mentor a street’s worth of neighbours, while others transform landscapes in schools, shared gardens and housing estates.

Master Gardener project manager, Philip Turvil, has signed up as a Local Leader: “I’m excited by communities growing and sharing their tasty veg to celebrate the Games. From snug windowsills to shared gardens and allotments, there’s a space for London 2012 coloured veg to harvest for family events and communal feasts.”

Get involved today

1. Click here to tell us your idea for tempting your community
2. Sign up here to become a ‘Local Leader’ with Garden for the Games
   Free email registration with top-tips and updates from http://www.london2012.com/localleaders
3. Get in touch to share your photo stories from households and shared food growing.

Read Local Leader case studies

Tips for Local Leaders on how they might ‘Garden for the Games’

Grow edible golden marigolds
Perfect for when the Olympic Torch Relay comes to your street or town.
Add yellow chard, golden lettuce, or tasty pot marigolds (links open PDFs)

Grow a champions’ feast for a London 2012 party
Swap seeds and plants with friends, family and communities to grow and share varieties with just the right colours…

Grow flowers!
Plant in team colours to support your athletes or teams training in your area. Plant your own Olympic Rings or Paralympic Agitos in your garden

Grow a colourful wildflower meadow
Small strip in your garden or a large patch in a community area – which doubles as a haven for bees and other wildlife, like the golden meadows around the Olympic Stadium

Share moments
Support a communal event or invite your mentored households for a cup of tea, salad, or BBQ!
How about a carrot-relay or ‘onion and spoon race’…
18 May – 27 July: line the streets as the flame is coming to a town near you.
27 July: show-time with the opening ceremony
4 August: record breaking weekend with ‘Super Saturday’
9 September: celebrate the summer with the last day of the games.

The Master Gardener and Master Composter programmes are grant funded managed by Garden Organic. Participation for all involved is free. Please click here to contact Philip Turvil with questions.

The ‘Local Leaders’ programme invites people across the UK to create their own Games celebrations. Please visit  http://www.london2012.com/localleaders for details and the Local Leader charter.
Local Leaders imagery on this webpage courtesy of London 2012. All rights reserved.

Get your plate ready for quick growing crops harvested from last spring – ideal for your ‘Big Jubilee Lunch’ on the 3rd June 2012.

Or keep the BBQ hot for summer harvests – ideal for London 2012 celebrations! Please click here to read how Master Gardeners are getting involved with the Games…

Hardy favourites

My seed-draw unleashed a flurry of hardy crops this month.

Sow these chaps direct into the soil – or if slugs are watching you, sow seed in snug pots or modular trays instead, placing indoors or in a sheltered corner.

The following links open PDF growing instructions by Garden Organic:

Annual spinach, Beetroot, Broad Bean, Brussels Sprouts, Leek, Pea, Radish, Rocket, Salad Onion, Summer Cabbage, Pot Marigold, bulb onion, Parsnip, Lettuce, Potato, Calabrese, Carrot, Cauliflower, Celery, and others…

Tender favourites

Seeds of tender crops are just as keen this month.

Start these off indoors on a clean, warm windowsill or in a frost-free greenhouse/polytunnel.

These chaps will be ready for transplanting into their final location indoors once larger enough, or outdoors after the last frost. This last frost is usually mid May in the south of England and London; into June further north.

The following links open PDF growing instructions by Garden Organic:

Aubergine, Cucumber, Okra, Pepper, Tomato, Pumpkin and Squashes, Sweetcorn, spring and summer salad, and others…

Click here to discover unusual crops (opens ‘Sowing New Seed’ project website)

Did you know that Garden Organic publishes a wondrous array of growing tips?

Step by step growing activities…

What to do in the garden in March

Local growing blogs by volunteer Master Gardeners:
Warwickshire, North London, South London, Norfolk, and Lincolnshire

Article by Philip Turvil

We’re working with Coventry University to monitor and evaluate the health, social and environmental impacts of the programme.

It’s very exciting with intriguing questions – and already intriguing findings from our autumn research.

More details coming soon…

Look out for your questionnaire in the post if:

• You’re a householder registered by your Master Gardener between November 2010 to April 2011.
• A Master Gardener trained in spring 2011.

Please return by the 12th March 2012.

We’re planning interviews and focus groups during March and April 2012.

More questionnaires planned for autumn 2012.

Alona and Susan planting apple trees in Mayow Park

Find out more -
Autumn research and the pilot findings with Coventry University.

Get involved -
Register for your 12 months free growing advice or become a Master Gardener

Read latest numbers and case studies

Who’s who?

	Master Gardeners Volunteers recruited, trained, and supported by Garden Organic to mentor registered ‘householders’ – individuals, couples and families wanting to start growing food or grow more at home and on communal land.
	Garden Organic We’re the UK’s leading organic growing charity, dedicated to promoting organic gardening in homes, communities and schools.
	Coventry University Researchers in the health, environmental and social impact of local food systems at the Applied Research Centre in Sustainable Regeneration (SURGE) and the Centre for Agroecology and Food Security (CAFS).