Join in this series of informal growing workshops, designed to give you confidence to grow your own fruit and veg, with your available time and energy.
Tuesday evenings from 6.30pm to 8.30pm:
5th July Growing mediums and composting
12th July Growing winter salads and undercover growing
19th July Pests, diseases and organic methods of prevention
26th July Perennial fruit, herbs and vegetables
Combining theory with practical hands-on growing, we will look at the best use of growing space, soil management and tool use in every session. We encourage participants to ask questions and let us know your interests.
Gardening clothes, gloves and boots required (there is some steep and uneven ground). Notebook useful. Tea provided – please bring a mug!
Book your free place
These activities are funded by Growing Newsome. Places are limited and booking is essential.
To help us plan our future activities, please tell us about any activities or events you’d like to take part in (and any other ways we can help you to grow your own food) here:
Come and take your pick from hundreds of plants and seedlings at our popular annual plant swap – great for food growers and friends. You can choose from: Vegetables, Salads, Herbs, Fruit and Wildlife-friendly flowers.
You’re very welcome to bring along plants, seedlings, cuttings or seeds to swap.
Our top tips for plant swappers
It’s really helpful to other growers if you can label your plants.
You might like to bring along a trug, basket or tray to carry your plants home in.
We advise hanging around to see what else appears during the morning.
Don’t worry if you don’t have anything to swap – you don’t need to bring something to be able to take something. You can make a donation to Growing Newsome in exchange for your plants.
We also accept donations of plants ahead of the event – just email us if you have something to share: growingnewsome@gmail.com
Lots more to enjoy…
Seed Swap – vegetables and other seeds to swap or buy.
Huddersfield Raw Honey – with local honey available to buy
Growing Works – with an activity or two for you to try
Join us for lunch
Served 12 noon to 1pm
Enjoy a healthy lunch at Newsome Scout Hall – with recipes for you to take home. We’ll be serving a selection of tasty salads from our Spring salad bar with pasta and roasted vegetables, plus a fruit pudding.
We ask for a small donation to cover the costs of making your lunch.
Want to help?
Volunteer We’re looking for volunteers to help out with our events and activities. Contact us at growingnewsome@gmail.com to find out more, or ask on the day.
If your local group or organisation are interested in having a stall at one of our events or you’d like to bring some local information to share on the day, please get in touch: growingnewsome@gmail.com
What happens at the Plant Swap? Here’s a short film about Growing Newsome’s Plant Swap, made by Alistair I Macdonald at Curlew Films for Plant it Grow it Eat it.
Freshly picked vegetables from Yorkshire Wildlife Trust Stirley Farm.
Book stall with all sorts of books.
Information about local volunteering, events and activities.
Got something to share? You can bring along spare fruit or vegetables, seeds, recipes or anything you’d like to share.
Jam jar amnesty – clean, small jam jars (1 Ib or less) that fit a 63mm lid are welcome.
Autumn planting:
Autumn planting vegetables for you to take home – including a selection of garlic bulbs, onions, seeds, overwintering leaf crops and anything else we can rustle up. You can also let us know what kind of seed potatoes you’d like us to have available in 2022.
Enjoy some seasonal soup for lunch at the Scout Hall, made with some locally grown vegetables and served with a selection of fresh breads, followed by a hot Autumn pudding made with some local fruit.
Our Autumn planting vegetables this year will include six different varieties of garlic. Pick up your garlic from our Autumn Gathering event on Saturday 16th October from 10am to 1pm at Newsome Scout Hall, Newsome Road South, Newsome, Huddersfield HD4 6JJ.
Garlic needs a month or more in the ground at a temperature of 10C or less, and Autumn planting gives you the best chance for this. So you can get planting yours soon – all you need to do is decide what sort to grow.
To help you choose, here are some notes…
Caulk Wight
Purple-striped bulbs which resist splitting
Hardneck variety from Eastern Europe
Grows well in the UK climate
Good flavour and easy to peel
Perfect for autumn planting
Harvest as early as June
Germidour (organic)
Fast growing French variety with high yields
A rich purple head with ivory clove skins – very attractive non-flowering variety
Can be strung or plaited
Winner of RHS Award of Gardening Merit
Plant October or November for harvest in June
Lift as soon as mature. Should keep until December following harvesting
Mersley Wight
Has the best keeping quality (up to 10 months)
Softneck variety well suited to UK growing
Classic silverskin garlic
Larger cloves and very vigorous
Plant in late winter or ideally early spring
Harvest in late July or early August
Picardy Wight
Originally from the fields of Picardy, growing around the battllefields of the Somme
Copes really well with cooler and wetter conditions – will grow where other varieties have struggled
Strong flavoured bulbs which store well
Plant from October to March
Harvest July to August
Rhapsody Wight
The first true garlic of the season
Large purple bulbs with wide leafy growth
Fresh flavour – perfect for salads
Softneck variety from France
Plant: October to January
Harvest: June
Thermidrome (organic)
A traditional variety producing large heads and cloves
Very hardy so ideal even in harsh conditions
White head with a hint of pink, and white clove skins
Plant in October or November for harvest in July
A non-flowering variety which can be strung or plaited
Should keep until the December following harvesting
You can pick up your garlic bulbs from our Autumn Gathering event on Saturday 16th October from 10am to 1pm at Newsome Scout Hall. We ask for £2 per bulb to cover our costs. This is ideal if you have a small garden or plot, as you don’t need to buy a whole pack. It’s also great if you fancy planting more than one variety and you just want one bulb of each – or if you want lots, but want to save some pennies (and avoid paying for postage). We’ll have some onions, vegetable seeds and plants too.
If you can’t make it to our Autumn event, we will offer any remaining stock afterwards. You can Join our email list for updates.
One of the best things about growing your own food is having something to share and enjoy with others. We are really missing having our usual events, where we can all get together to swap our plants, seeds and experiences. So although we haven’t been able to hold our annual Big Plant Swap this year, we’re pleased to say that we’ve come up with an alternative event.
Come along to our outdoor Pop up Plant Swap to take your pick from our wide selection of edible plants, and a few other things. Our plants will include:
Vegetables Salads Herbs Fruit Wildlife-friendly flowers
Got some seedlings or plants to share?
You’re very welcome to bring along plants, seedlings, cuttings or seeds to swap – but you don’t need to bring something to be able to take something (you can make a donation to Growing Newsome in exchange for your plants).
Some things that other growers have told us they are particularly looking for are:
Greenhouse veg is always popular, and people also like to pick up some flowering plants along with the edible plants. If you have a request to add, please email growingnewsome@gmail.com
Top tips for plant swapping
1. Please label your plants – it will really help our other growers. Or let us know what you’ve brought so that we can label your plants for you.
2. Bring along a trug, box or basket – anything handy to carry your plants home in.
3. See what appears – you’ll be amazed how many plants get shuffled on the day.
How you can visit safely and keep others safe
It’s safer for us to meet outdoors – so our Plant Swap will be outside the entrance to Newsome Scout Hall.
Please sanitise your hands when you arrive (we’re providing some hand sanitiser). We also recommend doing this before you leave.
If other people are already at the stall, please give each other room and wait for a safe space.
If you’d like to avoid handling cash, we will be accepting contactless card payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay and payments from other contactless smartphones and watches (but you can still pay with cash if you’d like).
Please be reassured that we’re following public health guidelines and keeping in touch with our ward councillors.
How you can help
We know it’s short notice for our Pop up event. We really hope you can make it on the day – and if you can help to let other people In the local area know it’s happening, we really appreciate it. You might want to offer to pick something up for others who are isolating. We also welcome donations of plants ahead of the day. If you’d like to buy something but can’t get here on the day, please let us know and between us we’ll do our best to help.
It’s Volunteers Week
A huge thank you to our organising group and to all our volunteers and friends, who make our events and activities happen. Want to join our friendly community of food growers? We’re looking for more volunteers to help look after our Community Allotment and to help organise our community events.
Please come along to our Pop up Plant Swap to meet other volunteers and find out how you can get involved.
What usually happens at our Plant Swap?
Here’s a short film about Growing Newsome’s Plant Swap, made by Alistair I Macdonald at Curlew Films for Plant it Grow it Eat it. Things are a bit different this year, but the plant swapping is still the same – and we all love it.
If you’d like to get your autumn-planting garlic and onions from us this year, or pick up some locally grown jam and other things to enjoy, you van visit our Pop up Growing Newsome stall:
Saturday 24th October from 10am to around 12 noon Outside St John’s Church, off Jackroyd Lane, in Newsome village
Look out for our pop up stall on the path through the church grounds.
How you can visit safely and keep others safe
Please arrive via the Lych gate (the covered gateway arch) at Newsome crossroads, at the corner of Jackroyd Lane and Newsome Road South.
If other people are already at the stall, please follow the distancing guidelines and wait for a safe space. We’re hoping to dodge the rain showers, but you might want to bring a brolley or shelter in the Lych gate if you need to wait a few minutes.
Please sanitise your hands when you get to the stall (we’re providing some hand sanitiser). We also recommend doing this before you leave.
If you’d like to avoid handling cash, we will be accepting contactless card payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay and payments from other contactless smartphones and watches (but you can still pay with cash if you’d like).
In case the government guidelines for Kirklees change in the next few days, please be reassured that we have consent from West Yorkshire Police to hold our outdoor stall, and we’re keeping in touch with our ward councillors.
Choose your garlic
If you’re coming along to buy some garlic bulbs, you can find information about the varieties that we have available on our web site
We’ll also have some onion sets, seeds and plants available.
How you can help
We know it’s short notice for our stall. We hope you can make it on Saturday – and if you can help to let other people In the local area know it’s happening, we really appreciate it. You might also want to offer to pick something up for others who have been shielding. If you’d like to buy something but can’t get there, please let us know and between us we’ll do our best to help.
Supported by our councillors
Our new contactless payments facility is funded by the Newsome councillors, from their community response Ward Project Budgets. This is extra funding available from Kirklees Council to help all kinds of organisations who are supporting people in our local places during Covid-19.
We’d like to say thank you to our councillors, and especially to Cllr Andrew Cooper for his continuing encouragement and personal support.
Thank you
We also wanted to say thank you to everyone who has shared some fruit or vegetables for our autumn preserves, and thank you to everyone who has helped us to organise the stall.
If you have any questions about the stall, you can contact us at: GrowingNewsome@gmail.com
Photo by Steve F, licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.
Our Autumn planting vegetables this year will include five different varieties of garlic. Pick up your garlic from our Pop up Growing Newsome stall on Saturday 24th October from 10am to around 12 noon outside St John’s Church in Newsome village.
Garlic needs a month or more in the ground at a temperature of 10C or less, and Autumn planting gives you the best chance for this. So you can get planting yours soon – all you need to do is decide what sort to grow.
To help you choose, here are some notes…
Solent Wight Extra Early
For early crops of tasty garlic
Hardneck variety originally from China, which has been developed in France
White skinned with crisp brilliant white flesh
Large, high quality bulbs
Plant in autumn or spring
Excellent keeping qualities
Caulk Wight
Purple-striped bulbs which resist splitting
Hardneck variety from Eastern Europe
Grows well in the UK climate
Good flavour and easy to peel
Perfect for autumn planting
Harvest as early as June
Iberian Wight
Good all-round garlic
Softneck variety from Cordoba in Spain
Large, flat bulbs
White skins, can be flecked with purple
Plant October to December
Stores well into winter
Carcassone Wight
Especially fragrant, with good flavour
Hardneck variety from the South of France
Pink cloves and good skin cover
Performs well in the UK
Plant in autumn or spring
Harvest in July
Mersley Wight
Has the best keeping quality
Softneck variety originally from France
Classic silverskin garlic
Larger cloves and very vigorous
Plant in late winter or spring
Harvest in late July
You can pick up your garlic bulbs from our Pop up Growing Newsome stall on Saturday 24th October from 10am to around 12 noon outside St John’s Church in Newsome village. We ask for £2 per bulb to cover our costs. This is ideal if you have a small garden or plot, as you don’t need to buy a whole pack. It’s also great if you fancy planting more than one variety and you just want one bulb of each – or if you want lots, but want to save some pennies (and avoid paying for postage). We’ll have some onions, vegetable seeds and plants too.
If you can’t make it to our Autumn pop up stall, we will offer any remaining stock afterwards. You can Join our email list for updates.
Kids crafts – get creative in our craft corner and make a collage or creature.
Book stall with all sorts of books.
Recipes and tasters – find out what you can make.
Got a glut? Please bring along spare fruit or vegetables to share.
Tea, coffee and home made cakes available.
Information about local volunteering, events and activities.
Jam jar amnesty – clean, small jam jars (1 Ib or less) that fit a 63mm lid are welcome.
Autumn Planting:
Autumn planting vegetables for you to take home – including a selection of garlic bulbs, onions, seeds, overwintering leaf crops, strawberry plants and anything else we can rustle up. We’ll also be taking advance orders for our 2020 seed potatoes.
Enjoy a choice of seasonal soups for lunch at the Scout Hall, made with local vegetables and served with a selection of fresh breads, followed by a hot Autumn pudding made with local fruit.
Garlic needs a month or more in the ground at a temperature of 10C or less, and Autumn planting gives you the best chance for this. So you can get planting yours soon – all you need to do is decide what sort to grow.
To help you choose, here are some notes…
Germidour (organic)
Fast growing French variety with high yields.
Plant in October or November for harvest in June.
A rich purple head with ivory clove skins – very attractive.
A non-flowering variety which can be strung or plaited.
Winner of RHS Award of Gardening Merit 2004.
Lift as soon as mature. Should keep until December following harvesting.
Mikulov Wight
Violet coloured bulbs with very large cloves.
From the beautiful, southern Moravian town of Mikulov.
The strong flavour is described by the locals as ‘noble’.
This garlic keeps well, autumn planting is preferred.
The plant has large leaves that stand straight and strong.
A hardneck variety that naturally produces edible flower stalks called a scapes.
Printanor (organic)
Large white bulbs filled with plump tasty cloves.
Suitable for planting in the autumn.
Can also be planted from January to March for July harvest.
12-18 pinkish cloves per bulb.
Keeps well. Virus free.
Red Duke
A beautiful hardneck variety with red cloves and white skins.
Has good strength of flavour and scent.
Can be planted 15-18cm apart from October through to January.
Produces bulbs typically over 60mm at harvest.
From Moravia, Czech Republic.
A durable garlic in the UK climate.
Solent Wight Extra Early
For early crops of garlic.
Large, high quality bulbs.
Versatile for autumn or spring planting.
White skinned with crisp brilliant white flesh.
Developed in France.
Excellent keeping qualities.
Thermidrome (organic)
A traditional variety producing large heads and cloves.
Very hardy so ideal even in harsh conditions.
White head with a hint of pink, and white clove skins.
Plant in October or November for harvest in July.
A non-flowering variety which can be strung or plaited.
Should keep until the December following harvesting.
You can pick up your garlic bulbs at our Autumn Gathering event on 12th October 2019, 10am to 1pm at Newsome Scout Hall. We ask for £2 per bulb to cover our costs. This is ideal if you have a small garden or plot, as you don’t need to buy a whole pack. It’s also great if you fancy planting more than one variety and you just want one bulb of each – or if you want lots, but want to save some pennies (and avoid paying for postage).
Look out for onions, shallots, vegetable seeds and some plants too – all suitable for Autumn growing.
If you can’t make it to our Autumn event, we will offer any remaining stock afterwards. You can Join our email list for updates.
Take your pick from hundreds of plants – great for growers, super for sharers.
You can choose from:
Vegetables Salads
Herbs
Fruit
Wildlife-friendly flowers
You’re very welcome to bring along plants, seedlings, cuttings or seeds to swap – but you don’t need to bring something to be able to take something (you can make a donation to Growing Newsome in exchange for your plants).
Enjoy a healthy lunch at Newsome Scout Hall – with recipes for you to take home. We’ll be serving a selection of tasty salads (including warm salads) from our Spring salad bar, plus a fruit pudding.
We ask for a small donation to cover the costs of making your lunch.
Print our poster for your venue – or share with a friend:
Want to join our friendly community of food growers? We’re looking for volunteers to help look after our Community Allotment and to help organise our community events. Please come along to our Plant Swap to meet other volunteers, find out how you can get involved, and celebrate 10 years of Growing Newsome.
What happens at the Plant Swap? Here’s a short film about Growing Newsome’s Plant Swap, made by Alistair I Macdonald at Curlew Films for Plant it Grow it Eat it.
Germidour (organic)
Mikulov Wight
Printanor (organic)
Red Duke
Thermidrome (organic)
Take your pick from hundreds of plants – great for growers, super for sharers.
Beekeeping advice and demonstration hive from the 
Growing Newsome 