SEEDLINGS: Introduction

Growing a sustainable future starts with a single seed . . .

SOW-GROW-SHARE-REPEAT

This exciting food growing project is running across 9 parish areas from Cartmel Fell to Humphrey Head and Haverthwaite to Ulpha beginning in March 2021. From the beginner to the professional, young to old; anyone and everyone is encouraged to help us achieve our dream to become known as the peninsula of home grown food.

▶ WHAT DO YOU NEED

Your wonderful enthusiasm and any size of growing space from a window ledge or tiny outdoor space just enough for a single pot to a full allotment site, productive garden or greenhouse - everyone is welcome to grow something they can eat or share with others. We hope you might grow together in small groups - perhaps a family, local friends or neighbours who can work together to support each other.

▶ WHAT DO WE HAVE TO OFFER?

We have just over 20,000 beautiful organic food seeds we've bought from Tamar Organics to share with anyone who would like to sow and grow on seeds to seedlings for sharing (and keep some too), or to receive seedlings to nurture to provide food for your table. We also need non-growers - can you knit our jute twine into slug guards, or decorate stones for plant labels - it all helps! We'll host zoom meetings starting in mid March to share ideas, knowledge, skills, thoughts to encourage anyone who is taking part. Hopefully later in the year we can meet up in person too! 

▶ GROWING CHOICES

1. SOW ME: Get together as a small group and receive seeds, sow and grow to seedlings. Keep some to nurture yourself and share some with family, friends and neighbours. 

2. GROW ME: Receive seedlings and nurture them to provide food for your table

Click to find out more about our seed types.


▶ OTHER WAYS TO GET INVOLVED:

3. LABEL ME: It's always good to know what you are growing and we're thinking of having painted stones as seed labels - perhaps children would love to get involved?

4. KNIT ME: We'd love to have some knitted slug guards - how are your knitting (or crochet) skills? We have reels of jute twine and we're working up a pattern - fancy having a go to help keep the slugs at bay?  


▶ REGISTER TO TAKE PART

Register your interest by completing the online form HERE and see where you can collect by looking HERE. 

Thanks for your interest!

The PEAT SEEDLINGS Growing Team

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▶ EXTRA LINKS

FUNDING: With huge thanks to: PEAT members, Light Up Lives and South Lakeland District Council for helping up make this happen.

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BACKGROUND (the roots of our project)

This is how we pitched our project to the group and funders ...

At the beginning of lockdown some PEAT group members began growing their own food; some for the first time, some returning with renewed vigour and some as they followed the familiar cycles of the growing season, as they always had. Compost was turned, more was purchased, pots cleaned and seeds planted. When shoots and roots appeared there was great delight and our socially distanced conversations often turned to excitement at developing plants, buds, flowers, leaves; evidence of potential for a future addition to a meal. 

... it's this excitement that we want to share. We'd love to grow everyone's food growing potential, encouraging more people to 'have a go', however small their growing space is, even if it's just a single pot on a window ledge or a tub in a sunny spot - every home grown contribution to a meal is a step towards a more sustainable future for our planet. 

We'll start small, with tiny seeds and ideas that will grow community connections between beginners and old hands, first sowers and keen growers, nurturers and knowledge holders, foragers and foresters, allotmenteers and volunteers, keepers of bees and savers of seeds, composters and food waste heroes. From the beginner to the professional, young to old; anyone and everyone who wants to take part is encouraged to find out more and join us in our dream to make this the growing peninsula.

We've put our money where are mouths are so to speak and through members generous donations we have money to begin to shape this dream with small steps. We're also really delighted to have been successful in our application to Light Up Lives for extra funding - we can't wait to get growing. 

... and it all starts with a single seed.

If you'd like to know more or get involved then please email us: peatseedlings@gmail.com.