Author Archives: Anais_b

Why grow green manures? Green manures (also known as cover crops) are plants that provide multiple benefits to the food garden by enhancing soil structure and fertility. In doing so, they can improve yields by up to 47%. As they cover bare soil, green manures also have the added benefit of suppressing weeds. How areContinue reading “Boosting crop yields with green manure”

Tired of finding limp vegetables lurking in the back of your fridge or cupboard? Research from the University of Otago reveals the best ways to store common vegetables in order to prolong their shelf life by up to 10 times. See below for what they found… Avocado halves Of the 17 methods the researchers tried,Continue reading “How to make vegetables last over twice as long”

Looking for a new way to use the odds and ends in your vegetable drawer? Turn them into mouth watering antipasti! You just have to roast them in the oven and then marinate them for a few hours. Together with a baguette, they make a quick and tasty dinner for two.  Ingredients 3-4 handfuls ofContinue reading “Leftover Veg Antipasti Recipe”

Home composting is an eco-friendly way to turn kitchen and garden waste into a valuable resource which can be used in your garden. Homemade compost is teeming with beneficial microorganisms and nutrients that enhance soil health and help garden plants thrive. There are many ways to make compost, and in this post we look atContinue reading “Hot and cold composting: what’s the difference?”

A no-fuss recipe for all the bits and bobs that need using up in your veggie drawer. It goes well with either rice or noodles. For two portions: 5 handfuls chopped vegetables e.g. chard, mushroom, broccoli, leek, carrot, cabbage, peppers and celery Fresh ginger, grated Fresh garlic to taste, minced 1 Tbsp sesame oil 1Continue reading “Recipe: any-veg stir fry”

This week is National Gardening Week, the country’s biggest annual gardening celebration. Led by the Royal Horticultural Society, this year’s campaign is focusing on the mental and physical benefits of gardening and is calling on people to get their daily dose of ‘vitamin G’. Research shows that gardening can boost health and wellbeing and isContinue reading “Get your gloves on – it’s National Gardening Week!”

Thanks to Sabine for sharing this recipe with us! We all have those overripe bananas lying around in our fruit bowl, and it is a shame when they get tossed out. Bananas are great for cake, as they work like eggs, binding everything together very well. Also they give cake a lovely, rich flavour. This recipe isContinue reading “Recipe: Banana and Cocoa Marble Cake”

Almost 70% of UK food waste happens at home. As well as costing the average household £720 a year on average, this wastage also contributes to climate change – eliminating food waste in UK households would reduce greenhouse gas emissions as much as taking 1 in 4 cars off of the road! Luckily, there are plenty of simple ways toContinue reading “Food Waste Action Week: 10 food saving tips”

Thanks to Sabine for sharing this recipe with us. It’s a great dish for using up all the tiny bits of root veg that lurk in the fridge, as well as for some old pieces of bread, and that tiny bit of parmesan that would otherwise get tossed. Pangrattato means ‘grated bread’ (i.e. breadcrumbs) inContinue reading “Recipe: veggie Bolognese with pangrattato”

Here are some of our favourite screen-free activities for teaching kids about the benefits of making the most of food and protecting the environment. Quick food waste facts: The average family throws away £720 of food a year. Eliminating food waste in UK households would reduce greenhouse gas emissions as much as taking a quarterContinue reading “Family Food Waste Activities”