Grow your own and Crop for the Shop

1942 Poster

Grow your own is growing in popularity. Even the government are now telling us to Grow our own to avert food shortages.

In these austere times should we all start growing our own to save money? Or is growing food more about enjoying the satisfaction of planting a seed and slowly watching it turn in to delicious food?

At this time of year asparagus is the god of fresh vegetables and a shining example of how quickly a food can spoil as time passes after picking. Sweetcorn is the same, my friend Nick insists that his wife has the water boiling before picking his corn, and removing the husk as he runs back to the kitchen!

Really fresh sweet corn

This is the kind of passion and enthusiasm we Brits need to feel about our food, and I am sure that growing food helps. Certainly the project we ran with a primary school proved this, with kids who said they hated vegetables munching on raw carrots they had grown. Click here for the video.

At BigBarn we are keen for everyone to have a go at growing food and even start trading it locally with our Crop for the shop scheme. All part of our mission to build a social, LOCAL, food industry, as an alternative to the anti-social national one, that gives neither producers, or consumers, a good deal.

There is no doubt that by cooking and eating fresh fruit and veg, half this country’s population would become more healthy, and save money. Seasonal vegetables are normally very reasonably priced compared to a ready meal, or imported food, especially if sourced locally.

A home baked potato could cost around 5p compared to a McCane ready made one, in a box, for 50p. Likewise a soup made from chopped mixed veg and some stock cubes will be a fraction of the cost of tinned soup and much more nutritious.

BigBarn Local food map with icons & rosette flag

Growing veg can also kindle some artistic flair like my bean pole wigwam made from willow poles pruned from a local overgrown willow tree.

So there are now 4 reasons to grow your own; save money, get healthy, get enthused and artistic accolade, and, make money by selling your veg through local shops.

To find these shops look for icons marked with a rosette on BigBarn, if your local food shop is not flagged with a rosette, or not on BigBarn, please tell them all about us.

Time to grow your own to avoid horse meat

Family Farm Shop

The recent horse meat scandal has made most people realise that the only food you can really trust is local or home grown. Local because the producer will tell the truth about the food they have grown, because their local reputation is at stake. And home grown because you have watched it grow and waited patiently for that, just right, day when you can proudly show the family the fruits of your labour.

So now is the time to get organised for this year’s crops, and even make money on any excess produce through BigBarn’s Crop for The Shop scheme.

Most green fingered veggie growers will already have their veggie patch dug over with rotted down compost adding nutrients to the soil. They will have seed trays in the green house, or window sill, sprouting tiny plants ready to plant out after the last frost has gone.

As an amateur grower my seed trays are sprouting mixed lettuce, beetroot, coriander and chard and getting a bit spindly on the floor of my office as they search for the sun.

This year I have opted to make life a bit easier by using Growrings, a ‘cheats’, raised bed. The rings arrived in the post as a flat pack and assembled by simply clicking together. I put some well rotted compost at the bottom and added some soil improver that was free from my local recycling depot then adding good fertile bought compost on top. This means I have a sterile, weed free soil to grow my veggies and can harvest without bending my back so far.

I have also opted for a green house Growring to help my plants get a head start and protect them from frost and pests. I also have some Poshcloches on my weed infested veggie patch to encourage some early asparagus and protect my chard from rabbits.

Now I just have to wait and hope the last frost is early this year, unlike 2012 when most of by beans were killed.

The BigBarn local food map

I also hope that my crops will be so successful that I will be able to sell some through a local ‘Crop for the shop‘ shop. To find them look for a rosette on icons on our local food map.

If anyone has some top tips to share please add them below. My tips are:

You can see a video and buy Growrings in our MarketPlace by clicking here. And Posh Cloches here;

For old, unusual, taste not shelf life, varieties of seeds here

And to learn about veg growing try You Tube videos

Are we the selfish generation?

Campaignschools.org

We are all annoyed with the money grabbing bankers for the current triple dip recession. Will future generations look at us and think we had a similar selfish attitude as we plunder the world’s resources?

Like the bankers, successive world governments seem the think they should exploit whatever resources are available and not worry about the future. The attitude seems to be, if oil, minerals and fish are available why not take them? In time we will find a replacement.

The replacement for oil seems to be solar, wind, nuclear, and fusion? Minerals? And for fish, apparently the only ‘edible’ thing in the sea will be jellyfish. Jellyfish finger anyone!

Jellyfish fingers and chips, yum!

A recent article covered a new scare, Ocean acidification caused by climate change is making it harder for creatures from clams to sea urchins to grow their shells.

A thinning of the protective cases of mussels, oysters, lobsters and crabs is likely to disrupt marine food chains by making the creatures more vulnerable to predators, which could reduce human sources of seafood.

Scientist have also predicted that unless we change, fish stocks will continue to deplete to the point of extinction by 2048, leaving consumers little option but to eat jellyfish or the small bony species left behind at the bottom of the ocean.

We have plundered the ocean for fish now we are ruining what’s left.

It is heartbreaking to see such selfishness. We humans have been here for 5,000 years and used, what could be, half the worlds oil in just 100 years, 3 generations! What gives us the right to do this? And are we slowing down?

If governments used the tax on fuel to subsidise renewables and green energy we really shouldn’t complain. The trouble is governments are more interested in gaining votes than what is right.

BigBarn Local food map with icons & rosette flag

So we must be greener and have a clear conscience when talking to our grand children. Get on our bikes, insulate, etc. And easiest, most enjoyable, and tasty; buy local food and even join the food industry by growing our own and selling to locals. Local food means, less food miles, fresher, tastier, healthier, cheaper, food, and a self sufficient sustainable community.

For more on this visit our Crop for the Shop pages, find local food using our map and watch out for icons with rosettes meaning places that will sell your produce if it reaches their standards!

Will the cloud of the coming Food Price Crisis have a silver lining?

The threat of the coming Food Price Crisis increased as further bad news broke concerning the drought in America.

As covered in our previous article Food Prices rises may help to change consumer habits and raise awareness to the failings of the modern, big is best, food industry. In some cases expensive food, or empty shelves may change a whole culture with dramatic positive outcomes.

When the USSR stopped supplying Cuba with fertilizer, fuel and chemicals, the whole population started growing food organically with incredible results. Here is a very good video with the whole story:

This ‘forced’ change, to farmers and consumers, has been a huge inspiration for organic farming and proved to many that the world could feed itself without oil, chemicals and fertilizer, from small farms, and improve diet and a sense of community.

Food growing is becoming a very popular way of building communities and food security. A recent initiative in New York has a ‘tripple bottom line’, increasing availability of fresh food, giving problem kids a purpose and away from crime, and improving diet.

Again a great, and shorter, video, to watch here. You will love the fast talking teacher!

Photo:. unlikeschool.com

At BigBarn we have been working with a school in Leicester building mini allotments outside 2 primary school classrooms. Funded by the Lottery our team has taught the kids all about growing, cooking and eating the produce. And any left over produce will be sold through local shops opting in to our Crop for the Shop initiative.

The project has been a huge success with incredible enthusiasm from all the children. Case studies are being written up for other schools to follow, and we hope to see all those involved leave school with the knowledge of, how to grow food, make healthy meals at very low cost and make money from selling the ‘crop’ as well as perhaps the foods they have cooked! Another tripple bottom line?

So if the Food Price Crisis gets people to read about, value and implement, these projects and ideas, and government to change there food policy from, ‘big is best’ to ‘small is beautiful’, there will be a big silver lining.

How can we protect ourselves from the coming Food Price crisis?

A new Food price crisis is feared as erratic weather wreaks havoc on crops in the USA and around the world. Here are some ways we can protect ourselves from price hikes.

Experts are already predicting a large rise in food prices as rain in this country has caused fungal disease in wheat crops, and in America, drought has reduced Corn yields leading to a sharp rise in all grain prices.

These rises will soon increase the price of bread and cereals and then meat, as the grain to feed animals rises.

I think it is extremely irresponsible of governments around the world not to stockpile grain for times like these. Grain stocks will be at the lowest since 2007 with only enough for 72 days consumption.

So after you have told your local MP to store more grain, here are some ideas on how we can protect ourselves from global price increases.

Walsingham Farm Shop

1. Buy local seasonal food
You need to avoid buying any food that will be affected by global commodity prices. Unfortunately any animals fed grain (chickens, pigs, some cattle, some sheep) will also see prices rise. So find meat from animals fed on grass, which will have more flavour and have a great deal less dangerous fats. For more on the dangers of grain fed beef click here.

Other products like potatoes and seasonal veg should be the same as usual, so significant savings can be made.

2. Make your own bread
Bread prices will rise as the cost of wheat rises. The price of a loaf however will rise my much more than the flour ingredient. You will also be able to avoid all the additives in bread. For more on Real Bread click here.

Or to buy flour in our MarketPlace here

No Cows, No countryside

3. Eat less meat or cheaper cuts
To buy grass fed meat and cover the extra costs of food you may not be able to do without, like pasta, cut down on the amount of meat you buy, or get cheaper cuts. A grass fed, well hung, topside of beef from your local farmer or butcher will be cheaper and much better than a supermarket sirloin joint, that was mooing in an intensive stock shed the day before. To find you local meat producer or butcher type you post code in to our local food map

4. Grow your own
This is really cheap food and a possible earner when you sell your excess via our Crop for the Shop scheme.

5. Buy in bulk
Buying in bulk will often mean a wholesale price 50% of retail. Why not get some friends organised and share your bulk purchases.

6. Cook
Anyone who can read, or even watch a video, can cook. ‘Cook’ means converting cheap, fresh, local, season, healthy, ingredients in to great meals. I made 10 times the quantity of vegetable soup for the same price as one can of soup yesterday. And ended up with a healthier meal.

Ready meals in the supermarket might look cheap but are NOT. For a video recipe see our KIS (Keep it Simple) Cookery video section. Or perhaps, be discovered, and become the next famous chef by adding your own video!

If you have any thoughts or ideas to add to this list please comment below.

Farm Shops. According to BigBarn.

Farm shops come in all shapes and sizes, from farmers selling their own produce from a shed, to a mini zoo with super-duper small warehouse full of products from all over the world. One thing, we at BigBarn, hope they all have in common is, a reasonable quantity of local food and the ability and enthusiasm to tell the ‘story’ of that food.

The ‘story’ means reconnecting consumers with the production of their food, how it has been produced, where, and by whom. Really important if the shop wants add value, display a real difference to the supermarket and to win customers.

Fiona at the Loch Arthur Farm Shop

Farm shops started when farmers realised that they were only getting a small percentage of the retail price if they sold their produce through the existing supply chain. My family for instance get around £100/ton for onions, marked up to around, the equivalent of, £800/ton on the supermarket shelf.

The first farm shop must have started when a farmer with shed beside a busy road put a sign out and people dropped in to buy, the rest is history.

Since then the planners have restricted many shops from being set up, normally insisting that new farm shops must stock a very high percentage of produce from the farm or local radius. In time however shops can appeal and the percentage be reduced by arguing that customers will be lost, if a wider range of goods are not available. Hence the small warehouses.

So what does the perfect farm shop look like? And this is where I perhaps upset a few farm shops on our map!

First of all a farm shop must live up to its name and be farm centric completely differentiating itself from the supermarkets. If it is based around a farm and local produce many seasonal products should be cheaper than the supermarket because the supply chain is shorter.

Prices can be kept low by inviting local consumers to Crop for the Shop with really fresh and perhaps unusual fruit & veg. There could be a special section of home grown local produce. Prices can be set 25% less than the supermarket and still give the shop and grower a good return.

The farm shop should make every effort to label where everything comes from including local farmers names and pictures. I would also like to see many of the farmers at the shop once a month to answer questions and talk about their produce, like a farmers market.

If possible the shop should have animals around the shop and car park to attract children and raise awareness to where meat comes from. Likewise an area should be available for Pick Your Own fruit and veg and perhaps a community supported agricultural scheme where locals are encouraged to join in and learn how to grow food.

Likewise most farm shops have a cafe that could be made available for cookery demonstrations or classes, to help locals move away from expensive salty ready meals, to fresh home made food from inexpensive local ingredients.

I would also love to see farm shops celebrating the seasons with open days, tastings and demonstrations. Asparagus day, or Apple day, where locals can bring their windfalls to be juiced or made in to cider. Perhaps Sausage day, Winter warmer Soup day, and Turkey collection day!

Farm shops should become the centre of the food community, reconnecting people with food and encouraging locals to get involved with growing and cooking. There is no reason why they can’t also be the centre of food swaps of home cooked meals.

Family Farm Shop

A BIG problem at the moment is that farm shops suffer from a Catch 22 position. Not enough people are using their local farm shop for it to grow into the perfect shop, above. And until they grow, people think there is not enough produce available for a one stop shop, like the dreaded supermarket!

So please catalyse the process and find and support your local farm shop and tell them about the ideas above. And tell your friends, if we all change our habits, to local for our weekly food shop, and the big shop once a month, we can build a more sustainable, healthier LOCAL food industry.

Big Beans Meanz Prizes

BigBarn has teamed up with Secret Seed Society to promote the BIG Bean competition to get kids growing and eating fresh veg for a healthier happier life.

All you have to do is be 12 and under, or team up with someone who is, and grow a big runner bean. Big beanz mean prizes.

To get you started, you can even get a free runner bean seed from participating Farm Shops and delis on the BigBarn map. Simply type in your post code and look for icons with a rosette.

If by chance your local shop is not flagged and would like to join the promotion please tell them to call us to opt in.

Or if the shop marked knows nothing about BIG beans please tell them why they should rush out and get some bean seeds!

Like our Crop for the Shop initiative we hope the BIG Bean competition will get kids interested in fresh food and cooking. And realise that fresh runner beans are tasty and not stringy like the week old overcooked beans kids taste and reject along with most other vegetables.

The competition will be promoted country wide and be a great way to raise awareness to growing veg. We hope it will help local shops attract new customers and make them regulars, especially if they encourage locals to grow veg, Crop for the Shop and become the centre of the local food community.

For more on how to grow a BIG bean and the competition click here Or to buy old varieties of seed grown for flavour rather than shelf life click here.

New look, fresh-faced BigBarn!

As you may have noticed, BigBarn is looking rather fresh-faced this week!

We’re very excited with our new look website, that went live yesterday.

Taking on board your feedback, and eager as ever to make it super simple for you to find, shop and cook your local, fabulously fresh produce, we’ve now made the process even simpler.

On the new homepage, you can now easily…

1. Find & trade… pop in your postcode and search our map to find local food & trade your own, homegrown produce
2. Buy online… search & shop the 10,000+ products available direct from our local producers & retailers (check out our deals of the day & discounts here too)
3. Cook… find meal inspiration by searching for a recipe name or ingredient in our ‘KIS’ (keep it simple!) video library.  Or add your own video and perhaps be discovered and become the next famous chef.

Let us know what you think…

We’d love to hear your feedback on your new, fresh-faced website – why not post a comment below and share your thoughts!

How you can help build a new LOCAL food industry

We need a LOCAL food industry to replace the anti-social national food industry where supermarkets are charging consumers too much for food, but giving farmers too little to stay in business.

A local food industry will reconnect producer with consumer and encourage trade and communication. More people will eat seasonal produce and in so doing encourage further production. By cutting out the middle men and supply chain, food becomes cheaper and all the revenue stays in the local economy.

Much better than the average 9p currently going to farmers for every £1 spent on food in the supermarket.

If you would like to help build your local food industry we have the tools and welcome your support.

BigBarn was set up 12 years ago with the mission to get people out the supermarket and build a local food industry.

We are a Community Interest Company, effectively owned by the Community of businesses on our map and the Community of consumers visiting our content. You.

To build a LOCAL Food Industry our strategy is to;

1. To have the definitive database of local producers and independent retailers
2. Give them all passwords to update their details regularly
3. Display them on post code specific maps and get the map and data on as many other websites as possible
4. Provide an e-commerse facility so each can set up an online shop and be within an Amazon type local food MarketPlace
5. Provide a long list of benefits and discounts on products and services to make each business more competitive
6. Set up initiatives like ‘Cheaper than the Supermarket’, ‘Crop for the Shop’, & ‘KIS Cookery‘ to encourage consumers to switch to local and get enthused about cooking.

So far we have 7,000 producer/retailer icons on our map, all with a password to update their page including; video, photos, online shop, etc.

We have 21,000 consumers receiving our postcode specific newsletter, and 440 producers in our online MarketPlace.

We also have around 90 other websites hosting our map and MarketPlace.

To see a partner website click here.

If you would like to help you can;
1. Type your post code in here and tell us if there are any errors or omissions on your local food map info@bigbarn.co.uk
2. Register for our free emailed newsletter to be kept up to date on national and local food news, including special offers added by your local producers/retailers.
3. If your local producer/retailers have not added a video, online shop, joined Crop for the Shop, or got a proper description. please tell them to call us on 01480 890 970 or about these benefits of joining up
4. Perhaps offer to do a quick video for your local producer/retailer
5. Try out our online MarketPlace where 450 icons have added 10,000+ products (you can use discount code BB1 on this page)
6. Add a recipe video to our KIS (Keep it Simple) video Cookery channel to help more people cook, you could even be discovered and become the next famous chef!
7. Start growing your own and sell any excess via your local Crop for the Shop outlet. If there isn’t one on your local map ask your local shop or post office to set up a table and print off our poster. They are then eligible to join BigBarn. (This concept has been a life saver for some small shops increasing their stock and becoming the centre of the community)
8. If you know any websites that would like to have our map, MarketPlace and KIS Cookery and earn through our affiliate scheme, please tell them to call us.
9. If you believe in what we are doing and would like to help financially you can donate here or call us about buying some shares.
9. Please TELL YOUR FRIENDS!! We can make this happen.

As usual we welcome your feedback below, and would like to know if a loyalty scheme would encourage you do any of the above?

New Year’s, food, resolution

Findwine.co.uk

A fantastic new year to everyone from us all at BigBarn. We hope that in the hard times to come you will still be able to eat great food and save money.

The best way to do this is to give up the supermarket and shop locally for seasonal foods that are nearly always cheaper. (You will also avoid the bogofs and DVDs you don’t need).

Buying local food means getting a bit more organised with your shopping list and dusting off a few recipe books to make the best of what is available.

And please don’t treat cooking as a chore, it can be a creation experience to be proud of and worth celebrating with family and friends.

It is always really worth while to get the kids involved, they are the future and should be much more creative than us oldies. They can even watch video recipes to feel more 21st century!

We also hope you, and the kids, can join our Crop for the Shop scheme and grow some fruit and veg to supply the dinning room table, as well as earn by selling through the local shop. Growing veg is a great way to get kids interested in proper foods and trying natural foods raw.

2012 should be a great year for BigBarn now that local food is cheaper, and better, than the supermarket. We will be making big changes, and adding more features to help reconnect consumers with producers and encourage local trade. The more trade the more food local farmers will produce, and the cheaper it will become.

We really hope you will get involved, grow and cook, and email us with any news, errors, or omissions relevant to our local food map.

HAPPY 2012 TO YOU ALL!