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Growing Newsome Seed Swap & Huddersfield Potato Day – Saturday 2nd March 2024

Posted on February 6, 2024 by dianesims

Get your growing year off to a great start with our bumper early Spring event…

Seed Swap and Potato Day

Saturday 2nd March 2024
10am to 1pm

Venue: Newsome Scout Hall, Newsome Road South, Huddersfield HD4 6JJ

Huddersfield Potato Day

Choose from 26 different types of seed potato, including popular easy-to-grow varieties and some more unusual types. All seed potatoes are £2 per dozen (pick and mix) or 20p each. Our varieties are:

First earlies

Caledonian Pearl, Casablanca, Colleen (Organic), Foremost, Jazzy, Maris Bard, Red Duke of York, Rocket, Winston

Second earlies

Bambino (Organic), Charlotte (Organic), Kestrel, Maris Peer (Organic), Ratte, Sarpo Una (Organic)

Mains

Belle de Fontenay, Cara (Organic), Carolous (Organic), Desiree, Gatsby (Organic), Heidi Red (Organic), Picasso, Pink Fir Apple, Sarpo Axona (Organic), Sarpo Blue Danube, Sarpo Mira (Organic)

More info about our varieties:
Potato picker list 2024 (PDF)
Popular potato picks 2024

Seed Swap

Seeds galore – We’ll have lots of vegetables, salads and other seeds. You can either bring something in to swap, or pick up some seeds in exchange for a small donation. Try our seed starter packs – ideal for growing in small spaces. Onion sets and shallots are also available to buy on the day.

Activities – Enjoy seed planting activities with our Growing Newsome volunteers.

Local food on sale – Jam and other preserves made from fruit and veg grown in Newsome..

Plant protection materials – protect your homegrown crops.

Books – Book stall with all sorts of books.

Refreshments – Tea, coffee and home made cakes available.

Help with growing – Please ask for advice.

Plant pot & jam jar amnesty – Bring along your spare small plant pots or small jam jars. Please note that we can only use 1Ib jam jars or smaller, which will fit a standard 63mm screw top lid.

Bouquet from Poppy's flowers, a Bee on a Honeycomb and the Lychgate outside the Newsome Centre

Meet local organisations

Huddersfield Raw Honey – local honey and beekeeping info from Ryad Alsous.

Poppy’s Flowers / Roebuck Home and Garden – enter our competition on the day for a chance to win a beautiful flower arrangement, hand-crafted by our local florist.

Newsome Centre team – find out what’s happening with plans for our new community centre and how you can get involved.

Take part – If you’d like to come along promote your group or run an activity, or add your leaflets to our local information table, please get in touch soon.
Email: growingnewsome@gmail.com

Join us for lunch

served 12 noon to 1pm

Enjoy a warming, two-course cooked lunch, featuring some local ingredients.

Free admission. All welcome. And please tell all your friends!

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.

Print our poster
Help us to promote the event:
Huddersfield Potato Day 2024 (PDF)

Stalls

If your local group or organisation are interested in having a stall at one of our events, please get in touch: growingnewsome@gmail.com

Organised by Growing Newsome

With our special thanks to the
West Yorkshire Organic Group
for supporting our Potato Day.

Filed under: Activities | Tagged: grow your own, Growing Newsome, Huddersfield Potato Day, Newsome, Potato, Potato Day, potatoes, seed potatoes, seed swap, seeds | Leave a comment »

Potato varieties on sale in 2024

Posted on January 21, 2024 by dianesims

If you’d like some seed potatoes to plant this spring, have a look at our list of over two dozen potato varieties we have available this year. We have our regular favourites and some more unusual potatoes, including organic, heritage and blight resistant varieties.

All our potatoes are £2 per dozen, pick and mix (or 20p each). You can choose just what you need – and you’ll be supporting our food growing community at the same time. We’ll also have shallots, onions and lots of other vegetable seeds available this spring.

You can pick up your seed potatoes from our Huddersfield Potato Day and Seed Swap on Saturday 2nd March 2024 from 10am to 1pm at Newsome Scout Hall, Newsome, Huddersfield HD4 6JJ.

If you have any questions, you can email us at: GrowingNewsome@gmail.com

Our full list of potato varieties

First earlies

Caledonian Pearl, Casablanca, Colleen (Organic), Foremost, Jazzy, Maris Bard, Red Duke of York, Rocket, Winston

Second earlies

Bambino (Organic), Charlotte (Organic), Kestrel, Maris Peer (Organic), Ratte, Sarpo Una (Organic)

Mains

Belle de Fontenay, Cara (Organic), Carolous (Organic), Desiree, Gatsby (Organic), Heidi Red (Organic), Picasso, Pink Fir Apple, Sarpo Axona (Organic), Sarpo Blue Danube, Sarpo Mira (Organic)

Potato picker 2024 – full details of all our varieties (PDF)

Popular potato picks

rocket Rocket – first early

Rocket is well named, because it grows really quickly. It’s among the first potato varieties to crop and produces large quantities of uniform, round tubers. It’s also well suited to growing at home in containers or potato bags.

Charlotte – second early (Organic)

Charlotte is a popular, easy to grow, waxy salad variety. You can grow fresh flavoured potatoes which taste great either hot or cold. Ideal for salads and your crop will store until Christmas. Good disease resistance and high yielding.

Kestrel – second early

Kestrel is one of our ever-popular early potato varieties. It has a unique purple blush, a naturally occurring trait which is passed on from the parent variety, the Cara potato. Kestrel has a delicious, slightly-sweet flavour and is great for baking, roasting and chips. It also has good disease resistance and was recommended by Joe Maiden.

Desiree – early main crop

Desiree is a very popular choice for food growers. The tasty white and creamy flesh has a lovely, fluffy texture when cooked. Great whether baked, roasted or mashed. It’s very versatile and easy to grow.

Sarpo Mira – late main crop (Organic)

Sarpo potatoes are grown by the Sarvari Research Trust in North Wales. These potatoes have excellent resistance to blight, so they are ideal for organic growers. Our participants have had great success with Sarpo Mira in particular and we always grow these ourselves. Or you might like to try sister varieties Sarpo Axona, Sarpo Una or the more unusual Sarpo Blue Danube.

Pink Fir Apple – late main crop (Heritage)

Pink Fir Apple potatoes are always in high demand here – and rightly so. They’re one of our all time favourites, great tasting both hot and cold. You can cook them whole in their skins, so don’t worry about peeling this unusual shaped spud. To make sure that you don’t miss out on this firm favourite, we keep lots of them in stock. Enjoy!

WYOG

Organised by Growing Newsome

Our special thanks to the
West Yorkshire Organic Group
for supporting our Potato Day.

Filed under: Activities | Tagged: Growing Newsome, Huddersfield, Huddersfield Potato Day, Newsome, Potato, Potato Day, potatoes, seed potatoes, seeds | Leave a comment »

Garlic bulbs available in 2023

Posted on October 1, 2023 by dianesims

Our Autumn planting vegetables this year will include seven different varieties of garlic. Pick up your garlic from our Autumn event on Saturday 21st 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…

Carcassone Wight

Exceptional hardneck garlic with pink cloves
Great strength of flavour
Good skin cover
Has great vigour in the UK climate
Can be planted in autumn or spring
This variety was probably brought to Carcassonne by pilgrims travelling east

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

Maddock Wight

Excellent all round softneck garlic with large cloves.
Large fat white bulbs with purple stripes.
Premium Iberian garlic, from south west Spain.
Grows well in the UK and was probably grown here by the Romans.
Purple when grown close to the surface.
Best planted October to December.

Picardy Wight

Originally from the fields of Picardy, growing around the battllefields of the Somme
Hardneck variety which 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

Printanor (organic)

A French heirloom softneck variety.
Excellent taste and stores well.
White bulbs – the cloves have a pink blush.
Suitable for planting in the autumn.
Can also be planted from January to March for a July harvest.

Thermidrome (organic)

A traditional variety producing large white heads with a hint of pink, and large white cloves
Very hardy so ideal even in harsh conditions
A non-flowering, softneck variety which can be strung or plaited
Plant in October or November
Harvest in July – the bulbs should then keep until the December following harvesting

You can pick up your garlic bulbs from our Autumn event on Saturday 21st October from 10am to 1pm at Newsome Scout Hall.

Although seed costs have increased again considerably for us this year, we’re keeping our prices at just £2 per bulb, to help cover some of our costs whilst supporting local growers.

We’ll have several varieties of onions, some shallots, vegetable seeds and plants available 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.

Filed under: Activities | Tagged: Autumn, Autumn planting, garlic, grow your own, growing, Growing Newsome, Newsome, seeds | Leave a comment »

Autumn event – Saturday 21st October 2023

Posted on October 1, 2023 by dianesims

Love local food? There’s lots for you to enjoy at this event…

Autumn event

Saturday 21st October 2023
10am to 1pm

Newsome Scout Hall
Newsome Road South
Huddersfield HD4 6JJ

Get together with other food growers, neighbours and friends.

Autumn-planting vegetables to grow at home or on your allotment.

Tea, coffee and homemade cakes available.

Lots of jam and preserves made from fruit and vegetables grown in Newsome

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 seeds and plants you’d like us to have available in 2023.

Garlic bulbs available at our Autumn event

Meet our guest local organisations including:

Huddersfield Raw Honey – with local honey on sale.

Yorkshire Dama Cheese – with Squeaky cheese on sale

Growing Works – who are helping out on the day.

And there’s more to enjoy from Growing Newsome:

Book stall with all sorts of books.

Children’s craft activities.

Information about local events, activities and volunteering.

Look after your winter crops – plant protection fleece on sale.

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 (8oz, 120z or 1lb) that fit a 63mm lid are welcome.

Hot homegrown lunch: served from 12 noon to 1pm

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 local fruit.

Newsome Voices

This summer the Newsome Voices team asked you to share your experiences of life in Newsome and your hopes for the future of our area. This included thinking about our climate, our wildlife and green spaces, our local heritage, our voice and influence, and our connections with each other. Over 300 people have taken part. Come along to our Autumn Event to get a first look at the results and find out how you can get involved in what happens next.

Newsome Voices – part of Local Democracy Week 2023 in Kirklees.

How you can help

Bring something for the cake stall.
Display our poster:
Autumn event 2023 poster (PDF)
Bring along the rest of the family or bring a friend.
We’re looking for volunteers.
Please get in touch if you’d like to help.

Organised by Growing Newsome

Local organisations who are interested in taking part in our events are welcome to contact us.

Filed under: Activities | Tagged: Autumn, Autumn planting, beekeeping, bees, food, garlic, growing, Growing Newsome, harvest, jams, local food, Newsome, preserves, recipes, seeds, sharing | Leave a comment »

Spring seed sowing and growing workshops 2023

Posted on March 3, 2023 by dianesims

Spring seed sowing and growing workshops

Venue: Ashenhurst Avenue Allotments

Join in this series of informal growing workshops, designed to give you confidence to grow your own food from seed, with your available time and energy.

Wednesday mornings from 10am to 12 noon

22nd March – Seed sowing and perennials propagation, including
growing mediums.
29th March – Frost protection, pest control, temperature and watering
tips for strong seedlings.
19th April – Bed preparation composting and general maintenance.
26th April – Pricking out, potting on and more tips for strong seedlings.

Combining theory with practical hands-on growing, we will look at the best use of growing space 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 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.

Book online now:

Book your free place for our Wednesday sessions

Questions? Contact us…

Contact Sue Brown: 07444 390071
or email: sue.brown@greenandbrown.org.uk

Spring seed sowing and growing leaflet (PDF)

Looking for something different?

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).

Email us at: GrowingNewsome@gmail.com

Filed under: Activities, Learning | Tagged: compost, composting, food, fruit, growing, Growing Newsome, herbs, Newsome, organic, perennials, pests, plants, salads, seed sowing, seeds, vegetables, workshops | Leave a comment »

Growing Newsome Seed Swap & Huddersfield Potato Day – Saturday 4th March 2023

Posted on February 15, 2023 by dianesims

Get your growing year off to a great start with our bumper early Spring event…

Seed Swap and Potato Day

Saturday 4th March 2023
10am to 1pm

Venue: Newsome Scout Hall, Newsome Road South, Huddersfield HD4 6JJ

Pink Fir Apple, British Queen and Sarpo Blue Danube

Huddersfield Potato Day

Choose from 30 different types of seed potato, including popular easy-to-grow varieties and some more unusual types. All seed potatoes are £2 per dozen (pick and mix) or 20p each. Our varieties are:

First earlies

Casablanca (Organic), Colleen (Organic), Lady Christl, Maris Bard (Organic), Red Duke of York, Rocket, Sharpe’s Express, Winston

Second earlies

Bambino (Organic), Charlotte (Organic), Kestrel, Maris Peer (Organic), Nicola, Ratte, Sarpo Una (Organic)

Mains

Ambo (Organic), Belle de Fontenay, Cara (Organic), Carolous (Organic), Desiree, Heidi Red (Organic), Highland Burgundy Red, International Kidney, Java, Orla (Organic), Picasso, Pink Fir Apple, Salad Blue (Organic), Sarpo Kifli, Sarpo Mira (Organic)

More info about our varieties:
Potato picker list 2023 (PDF)
Popular potato picks 2023

Seed Swap

Seeds galore – We’ll also have vegetable and salad seeds, lots of onion sets and shallots on offer. You can either swap, or pick up some seeds in exchange for a small donation. Try our seed starter packs – ideal for growing in small spaces.

Activities – Enjoy seed planting and crafts for kids with our Growing Newsome volunteers.

Local food on sale – Jam and other preserves made from fruit and veg grown in Newsome..

Plant protection materials – protect your homegrown crops.

Books – Book stall with all sorts of books.

Refreshments – Tea, coffee and home made cakes available.

Help with growing – Please ask for advice.

Plant pot & jam jar amnesty – Bring along your spare small plant pots or small jam jars (we can only use 1Ib jam jars or smaller, which will fit a standard 63mm screw top lid).

Meet local organisations

Huddersfield Raw Honey – local honey and beekeeping info from Ryad Alsous.

Kirklees Badger Protection Group – learn about badgers and find out how you can help them.

The Newsome Centre – find out more about plans to set up a new Community Centre, Cafe & Event Space in the former St John’s Church in Newsome village, and learn how you can help.

Local information – Come and promote your group or activity.

Join us for lunch

served 12 noon to 1pm

Enjoy a warming, two-course cooked lunch, featuring some local ingredients.

Free admission. All welcome. And please tell all your friends!

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.

Print our poster
Help us to promote the event:
Huddersfield Potato Day 2023 (PDF)