Monthly Archives: February 2025

Growing Tomatoes, Chilies, and Herbs: Fresh Salsa Ingredients

This season, we’re growing a variety of salsa ingredients in our Community Garden, including plum tomatoes, basil, sweet peppers, coriander, chili peppers, and onions. To ensure the best harvest, sow seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before the last frost or directly outdoors when the soil warms. Use well-draining soil and keep plants in a sunny spot. Basil and tomatoes thrive in warmth, while coriander and onions prefer cooler conditions. Start your seeds in small pots or trays with drainage and watch your garden flourish with vibrant, homegrown ingredients perfect for fresh salsa all season long!

Join Our Gardening Club: Hands-On Wednesdays and Saturdays

Looking to deepen your gardening skills, grow your own food, or connect with others passionate about sustainability? Join our Gardening Club! We meet every Wednesday and Saturday from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM to explore everything from composting and propagation to companion planting and no-dig gardening. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced gardener, our site leaders will guide you through eco-friendly practices, irrigation methods, and sustainable gardening techniques. Sign up today and become part of a vibrant community, share tips, and enjoy hands-on learning in a fun and welcoming environment. Let’s grow together!

Wood Firing: Unique Handcrafted Pottery Update

At Meadow Orchard, we’re excited to harvest our yellow London Clay for pottery, perfect for low-temperature wood-fired ceramics. The site, once tennis courts, is rich in clay and ideal for sustainable, locally sourced materials. Our permaculture ethos aligns with using local sustainable materials. We’ve built a clay roundhouse, a natural puddled clay pond, a clay oven, a clay rocket stove and now pottery feels like the next step. In spring, we’ll begin harvesting and testing the clay with local artists and ceramicists. Early test results are promising, and we can’t wait to share the process. Get in touch if you’d like to join us on this creative journey!

A Guide to Open Fires: Choosing the Right Fire Lay

A Guide to Open Fires: Choosing the Right Fire Lay

When building an open fire, selecting the right fire lay is crucial. Here are four popular types: Teepee, Pyramid, Lean-to, and Log Cabin. The Teepee method is ideal for quick, hot fires, while the Pyramid provides a steady, controlled burn. The Lean-to is great for windy conditions, and the Log Cabin ensures a long-lasting fire. Each method has its unique benefits depending on your environment and available materials. Consider factors like kindling, fuel wood, and airflow to maximize fire efficiency. Experimenting with these fire lays will help you optimize your open fire for cooking, warmth, and more.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Start a Fire in our Fire Pit

In our previous post, we discussed the Fire Triangle—Heat, Oxygen, and Fuel. To make fire in practice, you need tinder, kindling, and firewood. Tinder is dry, small materials (wood shavings, grass, or paper) that catch fire easily. Kindling consists of small twigs or sticks that help the fire grow once the tinder ignites. Firewood (larger branches) keeps the fire burning. Remember, splitting wood can be satisfying, but smaller wood burns faster. Choose the right wood size depending on your fire’s purpose, and ensure a good supply of tinder and kindling to keep the flames alive.

Easy Roasted Pumpkin Soup: Warm & creamy comfort food

This roasted pumpkin soup recipe is a comforting, flavourful dish perfect for lunch or dinner. Begin by roasting a Crown Prince pumpkin with onions, carrots, and garlic, seasoned with nutmeg, oregano, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Once tender, combine the vegetables with vegetable stock and simmer to meld the flavors. Blend the mixture until smooth, then serve with a swirl of cream or coconut cream. Garnish with pan-fried pumpkin seeds and fresh parsley for an extra touch of flavour. This warm, creamy soup pairs wonderfully with crusty bread or sandwiches, making it an ideal meal for any season.

The Fire Triangle

Cooking on open fires Meadow Orchard site is off-grid, which means we don’t have mains gas or electricity. To cook at Meadow Orchard we use bottled gas (Butane or Butane / Propane mixed gas), Paraffin, Meths or Firewood. We have a number of different types of stoves and methods of cooking, Kelly Kettles, Rocket Stoves,Continue reading “The Fire Triangle”

Homes for Solitary Bees

Solitary Bees and How to Create Habitat for Them

Did you know there are around 250 species of solitary bees in the UK? Unlike honeybees, solitary bees do not produce honey but play a crucial role in pollination. These fascinating bees build nests in hollow plant stems or small cracks in trees, laying eggs and providing food for their larvae. You can support solitary bee populations by creating ideal habitats, such as bundles of hollow reeds, bamboo, or drilled logs, placed in sheltered, sunny spots. By setting up these bee hotels or bug houses, you’ll encourage solitary bees to nest, enhancing your garden’s biodiversity. Learn more about how to build a bee-friendly environment and attract these essential pollinators!

Off-Grid Kitchen: Solutions for Outdoor Cooking

Learn how we built our practical off-grid kitchen. A simple two-burner gas hob and using reclaimed materials like a stainless steel sink and polycarbonate roofing, we’re keeping things functional and sustainable. Our volunteers have been busy finding ways to reuse materials, salvaging wood for the construction and creating a habitat wall for bees. With no mains water, we use collected rainwater and eco-friendly products to minimize waste. This kitchen shows how small changes can make a big impact on living more sustainably.