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Germination: is the process of a seed bursting open and sprouting into a plant. Most seeds take warmth as a sign to begin germinating. When you feel warm sun on your skin, think of your seeds. Whether they are in pots on windowsills or in the ground outside, they will be feeling the warmth too. Here’s Rudi Radishes tips on germinating indoors and outdoors…
Paper pots ready to plant the broad beans
Germinating indoors:
1. Use a propagator will keep the soil warm and moist, the perfect conditions for germinating seeds into seedlings.
2. Homemade propagator, from upcycled packaging.
3. Paperpots are cheap and easy to make.
Home-made cloche's
Germinating outdoors:
1. Before you plant your seeds, warm the soil by laying black polythene over the area you are planning to plant.
2. When you plant your seeds, keep them warm and protected from hungry bugs by making a cloche or a mini-greenhouse. Here’s how to upcycle a plastic bottle into a mini-greenhouse.
Radishes take 8-10 weeks bo grow ready to eat
Hello Seed Agents! Have you read my storybook, Bong, Bong, Bongity, Bong? It’s perfect for Spring, because I really know what it means to have a spring in my step, because I’ve got rhythm. My storybook comes with secret seeds to grow radishes! So you could be pulling bright pink radishes like these out of your veg patch this year.
The ultimate Starter Kit ; storybook and seeds of your chosen vegetable and funky windowsill propagator. The propagator is colourful, re-usable and made from recycled plastic in the UK.
This is a beautifully crafted tool for keen young gardeners or those with smaller hands. Made in Holland to last a life-time. Combine with Story & Seed Packs for the complete Secret Seed Society experience.
These tools will last a lifetime. A spade, mattock and rake with long handles will cover most of the gardening jobs. Great for raised beds. The tools will now arrive in the New Year, so we will send a Secret Seed Gift card to your lucky recipient for Xmas to let them know their tolls will arrive shortly.
SPECIAL OFFER FREE POSTAGE ON ALL XMAS ORDERS
Get in touch if you have any questions about our products or would like to have Secret Seed Society at your Xmas Fayre, we can offer you a retailer discount if you’d like to sell them for your fundraiser.
We have started collecting news items that interest us from the internet. There are links to sustainability ideas, seasonal growing and cooking. This is this weeks collection….subscribe to be reminded each time it comes out.
Any idea when courgettes come into season? How about cucumbers? No? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Research shows that most people aren’t sure when most British fruit and vegetables are in season which is a real shame as it means they’re missing out on when they’re at their absolute best.
While it’s easy to enjoy blueberries with your breakfast in winter, being accustomed to buying whatever we want, whenever we want it means we are increasingly becoming disconnected from our food and its relationship with nature. Eating with the seasons means getting back in touch with nature’s rhythms and eating the right thing at the right time. What could be more delicious than a crisp salad when it’s hot and sunny a wholesome stew when it’s cold? Ask any chef and they’ll tell you that fruit and veg are at their best when they’ve just been picked, so why settle for sickly looking strawberries in Winter or unappetising asparagus in Autumn?
Reasons to eat seasonably:
1. Fruit and veg are at their freshest and tastiest when they are first picked
2. Eating seasonably is a great way of eating more sustainably
Growing fruit and veg in season requires lower levels of artificial inputs like heating, lighting, pesticides and fertilisers than at other times of the year and so has a lower environmental impact.
3. Grocery bills are cheaper due in part by reduced transportation and production costs for growers. Everybody wins!
Get the whole family involved! Try cooking and eating seasonably to experience the joy of eating fruit and vegetables at their peak of perfection: fresher, tastier, better value and better for the environment. For more info check out our ‘Eat the Seasons’ page, and also our recipes page.
Our friends at Eat Seasonably also have a great interactive calendar that will keep you in the know all year through, click here to view.
Secret Seed Society, child-friendly recipes and tips for growing and cooking with kids for a healthier, happier future.
Great news! Thanks to a group of very talented final year film students from the University of Northampton you can hear the story behind the creation of the world’s only underground club for kids – Secret Seed Society.
Behind the scenes Secret Seed Society HQ
Stumbling Goat Productions went behind the scenes of Secret Seed Publications to see a Social Enterprise in action. With the help of Bright Horizons Nursery and Caroline Chisholm School, they were also able to follow the team spread their love for vegetables through gardening projects and their interactive theatre production ‘What’s the Big Secret?’. We all had lots of fun filming together, especially the children who became film stars for the day!
The government would like all schools to be sustainable by 2020, and has produced guidance within an eight-doorway framework. SSS adheres to two of these doorways in particular; food and drink, and purchasing and waste. Schools can be sustainable through being model suppliers of healthy, sustainable food and drink; showing strong commitments to the environment; and maximising their use of local suppliers. SSS achieves this through increasing children’s awareness of where food comes from, food chains, and the processes used in growing, harvesting and food preparation.
SSS connects to the purchasing and waste doorway by carefully sourcing goods and services of high environmental and ethical standards that have been obtained from local sources where practicable. All of SSS’s materials for each book and accompanying pack compliment these principles.
2. Healthy Schools
In ten years the National Healthy Schools programme has become one of the country’s most widely embraced initiatives in schools. Schools need to satisfy criteria in the four core themes within the programme: Healthy eating, physical activity, PSHE, and emotional health and well-being.
SSS promotes inclusion through bringing together cross-curricular learning through an interactive approach. Children initially engage in a written and visual text, and have close links to ICT through the website extras. Connecting the imaginative seed-based characters with further learning opportunities brings an extra ‘real and meaningful’ experience to learning, and allows for children’s individual learning styles.
Activities such as growing seeds, or making recipes supports all areas of Healthy Schools and promotes positive emotional health and wellbeing so children can understand and express their feelings, build their confidence and emotional resilience, and therefore their capacity to learn.
3. Every Child Matters Agenda
Every Child Matters: Change for Children is a comprehensive approach to the well-being of children and young people from birth to age 19. The five outcomes for children and young people are: Be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve through learning, make a positive contribution to society, and achieve economic well-being.
SSS encourages children to work together in more integrated and effective ways through growing, harvesting and cookery based activities that link with the central imaginative narratives of the stories. Children are learning and reflecting on their environment through a variety of creative and exciting cross-curricular links, and our fulfilling of outcomes of the Every Child Matters agenda.
4. Growing Schools Initiative
Growing schools promotes learning outside the classroom and has been founded in response to the government’s needs for children to have the chance to learn in new, more relevant and exciting ways. By having direct experiences of growing within the natural environment, this has been shown to be particularly effective in benefiting those who find classroom learning difficult.
SSS connects directly with this principle through developing children’s understanding of where food comes from and the role of farmers and growers, the interdependence of the urban and rural environments, and how and why we should care for the natural world.
The team from Secret Seed Society HQ went down to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show last week with Peter Parsnip & Co for the chance in indulge in all things green and wonderful!
There were all sorts of creative gardens on display blooming with an array of beautiful plants from all around the globe! There were tin houses, stone houses and even a little wooden house, all of which were surrounded by various plants of all shapes and sizes. We particularly liked the look of the mud house, a little bit rough round the edges but that’s what makes it such a winner! . . .
A new craze also showcased at Chelsea was growing plants vertically! Now you ask, how on earth can this be done?! Well, with the likes of Writtle College and Boskke it really is possible, and what’s more it is being taken to a whole new level! . . .
After a busy couple of days seeing all that Chelsea had to offer it is no wonder that Peter resorted to putting his feet up in the corner somewhere.
To find out which events Secret Seed Society are heading to next click here!
What did Amy recommend to plant in Timeout’s urban kitchen garden? It’s all edible, colourful, structural and aimed to give a tasty crop even for first time gardeners! Read more
Aiming to get children growing and loving veg www.secretseedsociety.com.
In the Summer we visit shows and festivals telling stories and singing songs.
WANTED
Volunteers with some of the following:-
• Out-going personalities
• Willing to work week-ends
• Empathy with children
• Understanding of healthy eating and sustainability
• Lots of initiative and energy
• Confident talking with/selling to the public
And in particular:-
• A musician with instrument to play familiar children’s tunes
What you will gain:-
• Wide-ranging work experience
• Confidence building and Knowledge
• Visits to festivals and garden shows
• Detailed references confirming your experiences and abilities
“I started work for Secret Seed Society as an intern and have really enjoyed being part of Seed City, visiting events and wearing the wonderful vegetable hats!” Emma West
Diarmuid Gavin loves to get digging with his daughter Eppie when he returns to Ireland but now when she drops into bed exhausted by the gardening she can read all about Seed City and dream about those mischievous vegie-beings.
Diarmuid was keen to pinch the cabbage crown from Shena when they met at the Edible Garden Show.
Or did he want the Carrot hat?
He certainly loved Secret Seed Society’s fun ideas for engaging children and gave us a front page promotion in The Mirror!
The first day Secret Seed Society could be found promoting organic gardening to children whilst the grown-ups signed up at The Soil Association.
Do you know what Chrissie Cress and Peter Parsnip like to play? well they certainly got everyone playing at the show. Take a look here.
The sun is shining, the sky is blue, nature is bursting into life again and so must you. Yes, that’s right. It is now time for us to start thinking about climbing out of hibernation and springing back into action in the garden. This may sound easier said than done but there could never be a better time for taking such steps. And for those of you who aren’t quite ready to part with your winter warmers then perhaps looking at the possibilities available with indoor gardening may be the perfect way to get you going. Not only this, it is also a brilliant way to introduce children to gardening and the wonders of nature.
In helping you and your family get into the spirit of gardening again, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and his team of expert gardeners have organised an event next weekend on Saturday 26th March 2011 at River Cottage in Dorset. The ‘Get Growing in Spring’ Festival is intended to provide all the latest tips and advice on how easy it can be to grow your own fruit and vegetables, both indoors and outdoors, and also the benefits of becoming more green fingered.
Most importantly, we at Secret Seed Society will be making an appearance accompanied by our ‘Seed City Museum’ where the children will be able to create their own famous vegetable beings and hang them up in the Gallery along the likes of Julius Caesar Salad, Tina Turnip, Jamie Olive and Napoli-onion! The Secret Seed Society story and seed packs will also be available on the day to show just how much fun it can be for children to grow their own fruit and vegetables. It is a wonderful day out that is enjoyable for all the family. We look forward to seeing you there!
Important Event Information
When?
Saturday 26th March 2011
Where?
River Cottage HQ,
Park Farm,
Trinity Hill Road,
Axminster,
EX13 8TB
Time?
10:30am – 4:00pm
Admission Charges?
£14.50 (Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult and do NOT require a ticket)
According to new research released by the Royal Horticultural Society, children who garden are more engaged with their learning and do better at school.
At the Secret Seed Society we believe gardens are full of stories, mystery, adventure, and surprises, keeping young childrens’ minds playful and curious.
On the back of this research the Financial Times suggests: “If you want to help your children make the grade this summer, scrap the extra maths-with-Japanese coaching and get them to do the gardening!”
Little Jessica says: “Every night we go to our allotments at the bottom of our garden to see if there are caterpillars on the cabbages and then we tell our dad when he gets home.”
Carla Carrot star of ‘What Will I Be?’ the fourth Seed City Tale has a great time down at the opening of the Seed City’s new museum. She learns about such famous seedizens such as Tutankha Mung, Parsley Bussell and Florence Nightingkale.
This has started Peter and his friends at HQ thinking up names of more famous seedizens they would like to see in the museum. Why don’t you join in the fun? But be warned once you start its difficult to stop! And if you’re feeling especially creative, a quick sketch embodying the vegetable would be even better! We are hoping to create a gallery soon!
To get you going here’s just a few suggested by friends over the week-end…..none of them in their veggie bodies yet!
In the fourth Seed City tale, ‘What Will I Be?’, Carla Carrot is on a journey of self-discovery and finds herself in the Seed City Museum being inspired by great vegetable-beings of the past including Tutankha Mung, Parsley Bussell, Florence Nightingkale, and Socarrotes.
Now we’re going to launch an online Seed City Museum Gallery with more seedizens. Who would you like to see there? Can you draw a veggie picture of them to upload to the gallery?** Email it to us at [email protected]
To give you some ideas, here are a few suggestions from our friends, but none of them are in their veggie forms yet!
Jamie Olive
Okra Winfrey
Christopher Cucumber
Tina Turnip
**Warning – once you start, its difficult to stop!
Spring is here! Yes, the warmer weather is virtually upon us, meaning that it’s an excellent time to get the little ones out into the garden. But as we all know, often that’s more easily said than done. With so many films and computer games grabbing our kids’ attention these days, getting those couch potatoes out and enjoying some much needed exercise and fresh air can really separate the wheat from the chaff. Thankfully, if you need a secret weapon, the Secret Seed Society is bound to have something to help amongst our exciting range of children’s gifts.
Our range of gardening gifts for children are specifically designed to encourage kids to enjoy what Mother Nature has to offer. There are so many reasons why spending time in the garden is good for your children and our activity books give you and the kids something fun to do together whilst you’re there. They can help take the strain off you by engaging imaginations and plus, the organic seeds and Seed Agent Kit that come with the illustrated story book can provide weeks of excitement even if the rain does decide to come down.
All of our story books are written by different authors, as we know how kids can get bored easily. Each book is a brand new, refreshing adventure ready to be enjoyed and plus, with our 100% post consumer recycled paper and vegetable oil based inks, you don’t have to renege on your eco-friendly principles for once.
Why not explore our website today to find out whether your little vegetables would benefit from one of our children’s gifts. Our website is packed full of information and articles designed to give you hints on healthy eating and tips on making the most of the sunshine this summer.
There’s been really bad news about bees recently. Billions of them have been dying!
Why is this happening?
Most scientists agree that the widespread overuse of pesticides is one of the main causes. These days there are around 120 different pesticides found inside bees, wax and pollen. “We believe that some subtle interactions between nutrition, pesticide exposure and other stressors are converging to kill colonies,” said Jeffery Pettis, of the ARS’s bee research laboratory. The Soil Association has been trying hard to alert us for years about this.
Why are bees so important?
Other than being sort of cute, bees are one of the most effective pollinators on the planet. The honeybee pollinates crops, fruits, vegetables.. everything from apples to nuts, sunflower, coffee, soya beans, carrots and alfafa (used in cattled feed). Turns out that 1/3 of everything we eat depends on bees. Without bees we will face the collapse of the food chain!
So what can we actually do?
Thankfully there are quite a few groups trying to tackle this problem head on. Here are our the ideas we liked best:
Clearest, punchiest, funniest talk we’ve seen in ages. Do you remember a time when hardly anything had more than one ingredient because it was an ingredient?! New York Times food writer Mark Bittman weighs in on what’s wrong with the way we eat now. He makes some great points on why we should be eating less meat, more plants, less fast food, and more home cooking. Our demand – not our need, but our wants – is putting our health and the entire planet at risk. The evidence is overwhelming.
Children absolutely love to create. Whether they’re sculpting works of art at the kitchen table with nothing but modelling clay and unrestrained creativity, or putting the finishing touches on an impressionist masterpiece bound for the dizzying heights of the fridge door; our little ones just love to make things themselves. If your kids are budding artists, why not take their imagination into the sun – filled garden this summer to grow their own veg with the help of our interactive children’s gifts? And after the green fingered fun, you can take the ripe results back indoors for some creative cooking!
You can bet that gardening is something all kids will love, once they get started. Without our help it’s perhaps not something that children would think to do. But in our range of gardening gifts for children you’ll find various activity books and accessories which you can use to get kids digging, potting and growing.
At the Secret Seed Society, it occurred to us that there’s nothing to lose and everything to gain from growing up outdoors. We looked at the wealth of research that shows the great value of sunshine and fresh air to all of us, not just kids. Children who enjoy gardening are more alert, perform better at school, and eat more vegetables. But we also believe that you don’t need statistics to know what’s good for you and your children. You can feel it too. A healthy dose of exercise in the garden can leave you feeling fresh and invigorated, just the way nature intended.
In truth, that’s why we’ve developed this range. We wanted to devise children’s gifts that made a difference. Starting from just £5.50, you’ll find our activity books well written and beautifully illustrated. If you’re concerned that your son or daughter hasn’t enough creative outlets in their life, our children’s gifts can engage creativity in an exciting new way.
Yesterday, the sun actually felt warm. This means the soil in your pots and garden will be getting some energy from the sun to get warm. It is important for the soil to be warm before you plant your seeds as seeds are a little like us in that they need warmth and care to grow well.
If you want to help the soil gather the sun’s energy more quickly you can do a couple of things. Firstly if you have some black polythene you can lay this on the soil and it will gather more of the sun’s energy and put it into the soil. Secondly if you have some clear polythene or a clear squash bottle you can make a little tent or cloche. This acts like a mini-greenhouse and captures the heat of the sun and prevents the soil losing heat at night.
A smart way to start is with a few seeds on the windowsill so that they are ready to plant out later in the month. A very good and easy seed to grow like this is Broad Beans. We roll up little tubes of newspaper and fill them with warm compost and put one bean in each tube. As the bean grows the newspaper disintegrates and we can plant the whole thing into the ground without disturbing the roots.
Another good thing to get growing now is radish. In the picture above you can see some of our finest from last year! And don’t forget if you want to become friendly with radish you might want to start by reading the story of Rudi Radish in Seed City! The pack comes with organic seeds, growing instructions and kit.
Following a recipe is certainly a worthwhile skill but children need the freedom to experiment with tastes and to learn how to use available foods to create tasty dishes and reduce food waste.
We believe the home is the perfect environment for kids to learn about cooking. Sometimes they may follow a recipe but for young children this is very restricting and reduces the fun of trying different taste combinations, and seeing the effect of different cooking methods. Secret Seed Society promotes growing and cooking food for the very young. We have designed recipes that are highly open ended for a cooking system we call ‘Creative Cookery’.
By working with your children they become aware of the different tastes and nutritional values of a variety of foods. Creating a meal with them from fresh produce, whether home-grown or bought, stretches the household budget and learning to use what is available in that season reduces the carbon ‘food print’.
Earlier in the office Shena Cooper (our seedy founder) was telling us “Last week I was at a meeting talking to a guy whose son had grown a single runner bean. Keen to support his interest in growing the bean was carved and shared between the whole family so they could all get a taste”. Brilliant but such is ‘grow-your-own’ and this highlights one of the main problems for veg growers. The first tasty courgette savoured by the whole family is soon followed by tons of courgette and no-one can bear the sight any more. Feast or famine that is the grow-your-own way but there is always someone to share your glut with.
Secret Seed Society wants to show young gardeners how to use the single bean or the tons of courgette to make healthy and tasty food. Their recipes guide them to make their own signature dish using spices and ingredients that their culture and diet allow.
The reasoning behind ‘Creative Cookery’ is not entirely to do with availability. The greatest chefs don’t follow a recipe, they concoct, devise, and experiment. Young children are the most able to do this, their thought processes are not restricted by rights and wrongs, weights and measures and fear of getting it wrong. They are eager to try things out. In Britain today there are more types of fruit, vegetable, spices and seasonings available than ever before. No doubt there will be some inedible dishes produced and we all ‘Love Food Hate Waste‘ but children will learn from these experiences. Enjoyment of food is about taste blends, texture, combinations and cooking techniques.
The Seed City tales from Secret Seed Society familiarise children with a range of vegetable characters who have lots of exciting adventures. Reading the books, growing the seeds, which are included in each pack, and then cooking them into a tasty meal encourages them to have a positive outlook towards their 5 a day. Secret Seed Society works towards engaging children in an active and healthy life-style which will ensure they have the best chance of avoiding diabetes and heart disease in later life, sustainable living for the individual and society.
Secret Seed Society encourages every-one to have fun learning to use food that is seasonal, local and available and often home grown and cooked up by the youngest member of the household (with a bit of help of course)!
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4. Growing Schools Initiative
