Our Partnership with Garden Organic - the National charity for Organic Growing

To celebrate the return of Organic September, we’re donating 5% of our eshop sales to Garden Organic – a charity that aims to educate people about the benefits of organic food and growing, as well as to encourage more people to get outside and grow organically themselves!

Over the past few years it’s become more apparent just how much damage we are doing to our planet, so Organic September has never been more relevant. The need for more education and awareness of the climate crisis we are in is exactly why we have partnered up with Garden Organic to promote the positive role that organic has to play in the fight for a brighter future.

Through every purchase on our online shop during September you’ll be contributing towards the fantastic work that Garden Organic do. We take a look at why their work is so important plus we’ve included some simple tips and tricks to help you get out there and grow!

Why Grow Organic?

Getting involved and growing your own organic produce at home can be really rewarding, even if it’s just a small patch of garden or perhaps even a window box or two. Whether your garden’s big or small, there are 15 million of them in the UK. When you look at the bigger picture, if all of these gardens were cared for organically, it would create a better environment – for our families, plants and wildlife. Plus, it’s cheap, practical and a sure way of knowing no nasty chemicals will be used in the food that you’ll be eating.

Interested? Here are some tips from Garden Organic to get you started:

• Plan and prepare your plot – clear any weeds and overgrown grass.
• Plan the crops you want – Garden Organic have a great resource of individual fruit and veg growing instructions, See here.
• Start with organic soil.
• Water wisely and keep an eye on pesky weeds.
• Encourage your neighbours – spread the word about how easy it is to grow your own! 

Educating Kids on the Importance of Organic

For over 20 years, Garden Organic have been bringing the benefits of gardening to schools in the UK. From educational visits and gardening projects to providing classroom resources; their work has had a tremendous impact. Just a few of these include…

• Improving the health and wellbeing of kids - eating the food they’ve grown and bringing healthier packed lunches.
• Acquiring skills and knowledge - planting, growing, composting and cooking.
• Understanding and appreciating the environment.
• Encouraging positive values and behaviours, including living more sustainably.
• Increasing participation in school and in the wider community. Eg. encouraging their families to grow and cook from scratch.

Looking after Communities

Gardening and growing is good for us all, not only physically but mentally too. It’s a great stress reliever and can help improve your mood. Garden Organic are involved in a number of community projects. From training staff to care for their gardens at multinational companies such as the HSBC, to working with low income families who are at risk of food poverty. What is clear to see is that there are no limitations as to who can grow organic.

Heritage Seed Library

One of our favourite things about Garden Organic is their Heritage Seed Library. A project that aims to conserve vegetable varieties that are not widely available. This comes from the need to protect plant heritage and diversity for future generations that are under threat from regulation and big business. They have a number of resources available on their website with how you can get involved, including seed saving and seed swapping.

If like us you’re inspired by Garden Organic to get growing and join the organic movement, make sure you visit their website where there is a wealth of free resources and information to help you on your journey to becoming an expert organic grower!

And don’t forget by purchasing our organic products through our online shop during September, you’ll be helping support this worthwhile cause.