OUR GROWING

At Grounded we try to use as many natural methods as possible in our growing. Whilst poly tunnels and greenhouses are not natural environments, in our climate these enable growth for longer periods and of different varieties.

We grow wild flowers and edible flowers, we plant hanging baskets of different flowers to create diverse habitats and attract bees for pollination. We use no chemicals and try to keep in sync with natural cycles and seasons.

We also like to experiment with different methods such as:

  • No Dig
  • Hydroponics
  • Aquaponics
  • Vertical growing
  • Mulching
  • Hay bale
  • Growing in different objects.

To learn more about how to use some of these techniques in your own growing, join us at a workshop.

Some of the things we grow

Apples, artichokes, beetroots, borage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, dill, endive, edible flowers, fennel, gourds haricot beans , iceberg lettuce, jerusalem artichoke, kale, lemon basil, marrows, mushrooms, mustard greens, nasturtiums, oregano, onions, pears, peas, peppers, potatoes, rainbow chard, radishes, raspberries, rhubarb, squash, sage, tomatoes, turnips, water melons, zucchini…

Our compost is a mix of organic food waste from raw sources (avoiding meat substances), card, straw, chicken manure, organic coffee grounds, Remin Rock dust and some green manure. Wherever possible we use rain water harvesting and solar irrigation to water our gardens. We are developing systems of recycling our water waste, through our ‘off grid’ shack, our kitchen and compost toilet. We mineralise our soil and feed it, which feeds you.

We use Remin Rock Dust (Volcanic Ash) compost accelerator to mineralise our soil. Remin rock dust contains all the basic macro and micro nutrients as well as 40 other elements. Contact us if you would like to use this product.

When our fruiting plants need it, we add seaweed fertilizer and sometimes our own compost tea made of nettles, borage and comfrey.

Healthy soil contains all of the minerals that our bodies need to survive and stay healthy. The soil is also home to a universe of microscopic organisms, or microbes. Microbes make minerals available for fruit and veg plants to absorb. That’s how vitamins appear in fresh, quality food.

If soil is damaged and lacks either minerals or soil life, then plants will be lacking, and so will our food. Our modern farming system is destroying healthy soil through use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides, weedkillers, digging and compaction by heavy machinery. Our planet has lost half of its healthy topsoil in the last 150 years. And it’s not only humans that are losing out – the health of almost all land-based life depends on healthy soil (sea life pays the price of our chemical usage too, but that’s another story!)

This is why it’s so important to regenerate soil locally, and promote practices that can be used all over the world to so the same.

The quicker you eat food from picking, the better.

Consuming fresh food as quickly as possible after picking is the healthiest way to eat. Vegetables lose their nutrients from the minute you pick them. Once two weeks have passed, there won’t be much nutrition left unless the veg is frozen.

We are reliant on a mass food system which is very vulnerable. Transport systems moving food from long distances can collapse. Trade with other countries can change. The supply of our fresh food needs help. Buying local, fresh, seasonal organic and non-processed foods is a good start. Less air miles, chemicals and packaging.

There are hundreds of minerals but it only takes three minerals to grow most veg : Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), .

The minerals needed for plants growth are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sulfur (S), chlorine (Cl), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), boron (B), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), oxygen (O), carbon (C) and hydrogen (H).