Building Creative Communities
We look forward to welcoming you to this much anticipates workshop this Saturday! Just a reminder, the workshop is free, just bring toppings to share. Dough, tomato sauce and squash will be available on the day. Be prepared to get a little muddy as we’ll be potting up basil and chilli plants before we get into cooking pizzas.
See you there!!
Set among the greenery of our community garden, we explored the world of herbal teas, beginning with a wander through the beds to pick fresh plants including mint, lemon balm, and catnip.
Our recent Grow Your Own Tea workshop was a joyful blend of hands-on learning, delicious homemade treats, and storytelling magic.
Participants of all ages joined in as we harvested fragrant leaves, learning how to identify the herbs and understand their traditional uses. We discussed how to properly dry herbs for storage, and everyone had the chance to create their own tea blends using the dried leaves. We even made our own tea bags — simple, sustainable, and satisfying!
New Connections
Attendees left not only with their own hand-blended herbal teas and decorated gift bags, but also with new friendships and a renewed sense of connection to nature, wellbeing, and each other.
Each blend came with its own story. Mint for refreshment, lemon balm for calm, and catnip — the surprise favourite — for its gentle soothing qualities, especially for our feline friends! The children especially loved this one, carefully preparing little pouches of dried catnip to take home for their pets.
Adding to the charm of the day, storyteller Suzanne Arnold wove tales between sips of tea and slices of homemade cake. Her warm and captivating stories added an extra layer of magic, drawing smiles and laughter from everyone gathered.
Participant Comment
“It’s not often that we get to sit and relax as adults, and listening to a story with a home made cup of tea was a wonderful treat“
KEY FEEDBACK
Suggestions included:
Afternoon workshops
Cooking with home grown produce
Sunflower growing competition
Composting workshop
TEA WORKSHOP – MAY 2025
Thanks to funding from the Sustainable Communities Food Fund, we’ve been able to add 12 brand new raised growing beds to our site—an incredible boost to our capacity to grow fresh, healthy food for the community.
Take a look at the before and after photos to see just how far we’ve come. It’s been a real transformation, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our amazing volunteers. They’ve put in countless hours digging, building, and planting—and it really shows. We’re so proud of what’s been achieved!
What a brilliant day we had at our very first Plant & Seed Swap! We were thrilled to welcome 23 people who came along to share seeds, plants, and plenty of gardening enthusiasm. There was a real sense of community as people exchanged tips, stories, and ideas for growing their own food and flowers.
We were also delighted to have Bev from The Shelf join us for the event! She had a great time chatting with everyone and is looking forward to sharing spare seeds and plants at The Shelf, helping more people get involved in growing their own food. Later in the year, she’s also excited to share fresh produce from the community garden, making healthy, homegrown food more accessible to those who need it. It’s fantastic to see these connections growing! 🌿✨
Even better, the rain held off until the very end, giving us the perfect window for a successful event. We all came away with lots of different chilli and tomato varieties to grow, as well as plenty of broad beans to get started. And we’re all looking forward to seeing cosmos flowers pop up later in the year, adding a splash of colour to our gardens!
The good news is, we’ll be doing it all again in May! If you’d like to be the first to know about the next swap, please get in touch and we’ll add you to the list.
A huge thank you to everyone who came along, contributed, and helped make the day such a success. We can’t wait to do it again! 🌱✨
As the weather finally begins to warm, we can at last start thinking about growing this year’s cops. A good one to start the year off with are broad beans. Broad beans are a hardy and rewarding crop, offering sweet and tender beans that can be enjoyed in various dishes, or even just eat them raw! Here’s a quick guide to help you grow your own broad beans:
1. Sowing Time:
2. Selecting Varieties:
3. Sowing Seeds:
4. Soil Preparation:
5. Plant Care:
6. Harvesting:
7. Post-Harvest:
By following these steps, you can enjoy a bountiful harvest of broad beans, enriching your meals and your garden soil alike. See rhs.org.uk for more helpful growing tips!
Today, I’ve been out planting broad beans, getting everything ready for our first big workshop in a couple of weeks! It’s always exciting to see the first seeds go into the soil, knowing they’ll soon be sprouting into strong, healthy plants. With it being the official first day of spring today, now is the perfect time to start thinking about what we can grow together.
Our upcoming Seed Swap & Plant Giveaway on the 22nd of March will be a fantastic chance for people to come together, share seeds, and take home seedlings and planting guides to kickstart their own growing journey. Whether you’re an experienced gardener or a complete beginner, you’ll be welcome to join us.
🌱 What to Expect at the Workshop 🌱
I’d love to see as many people as possible join us for this event. It’s a great way to get outdoors, learn something new, and take home something to grow. Even if you don’t have a garden, there are plenty of ways to grow food in small spaces, and we’re happy to share ideas on how to make the most of whatever space you have.
So, mark your calendars and spread the word—let’s grow something amazing together! 🌿💚
At Grow East Anglia, the growing season has only just begin for 2025, and we’re excited to announce that we’ve started chitting our first early potatoes: the Casablanca variety. These versatile and delicious potatoes are known for their smooth skin, creamy texture, and fantastic flavour—perfect for an early crop of new potatoes!
In 12 weeks or so, The Casablanca potatoes will be available at The Shelf, the Community Supermarket at Citizens Advice in Diss. The Shelf provides affordable, fresh produce to the local community, and we’re thrilled to play a part in supporting this vital initiative.
Chitting is the process of encouraging seed potatoes to sprout before planting them in the ground. It gives the potatoes a head start, helping them grow more quickly once they’re in the soil.
Here’s how to chit your own potatoes:
Once the Casablanca potatoes are ready, our wonderful volunteers will plant and care for them at the community allotment. From watering and weeding to keeping an eye out for pests, every step is done with care to ensure a healthy, abundant crop.
By early summer, we hope to harvest a bumper crop of new potatoes that will be delivered straight to The Shelf. These fresh, locally grown spuds will be available to the community, providing nutritious and delicious meals for those who need them most.
If you’re interested in learning more about gardening or want to lend a hand, we’d love to have you join our volunteer team. Whether you’re an experienced grower or just curious about getting your hands dirty, there’s a place for you here.
Follow us for updates as we nurture this season’s crop from seed to plate. Together, we can make a difference!
#potatoes #growyourown
Today was a hive of activity at the Grow East Anglia’s community allotment as our amazing volunteers rolled up their sleeves to clear and tidy the poly tunnel space. The team worked tirelessly to prepare the plot for this year’s growing season, ensuring everything is ready to support The Shelf at Citizens Advice in Diss.
The Shelf is a fantastic initiative, providing free fresh produce to those in need, and we’re proud to contribute by growing a variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs. With the hard work and dedication of our volunteers, the allotment is now a blank canvas, ready to be filled with life and colour over the coming months.
From pulling up weeds to recycling old broken plant pots, every task completed today was a step towards making fresh, local produce more accessible to our community. But the work doesn’t stop here! Once the weather warms up, we’ll be planting, watering, and nurturing the crops to ensure a plentiful harvest.
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us today. Your efforts make a real difference and are a vital part of building a stronger, more sustainable community.
If you’d like to get involved, whether you have green fingers or are a complete beginner, we’d love to welcome you to the team. Together, we can grow something truly special.
Stay tuned for updates as our allotment transforms and grows throughout the season!
For more information about volunteering or supporting The Shelf at Citizens Advice in Diss, please contact us at melody.norman@gmail.com.
Let’s grow together! 🌿
#CommunityAllotment #Volunteering #TheShelf #CitizensAdviceDiss
Check out this before and after!
We’re thrilled to share some wonderful news from the Grow East Anglia allotment—our first batch of yellow courgettes has grown and is now ready to be donated to The Shelf, the Community Supermarket at Citizens Advice in Diss!
These vibrant yellow courgettes are as nutritious as they are beautiful, and they’re sure to brighten up the meals of those who rely on The Shelf. Packed with vitamins and flavour, they’re a versatile ingredient that can be used in everything from salads and stir-fries to soups and baked dishes.
This milestone wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our amazing volunteers. From planting seeds to watering, weeding, and keeping an eye on pests, every task has been carried out with care and commitment. Your efforts have helped transform tiny seeds into a bountiful crop that will make a real difference to our community.
Yellow courgettes are not just a feast for the eyes—they’re also:
The Shelf is a vital resource, providing fresh, affordable produce to those in need. By growing and donating these courgettes, we’re proud to contribute to this important initiative and support the local community.
Would you like to be part of this rewarding journey? Whether you’re a gardening enthusiast or a complete beginner, we’re always looking for volunteers to help out at the allotment. It’s a fantastic way to learn new skills, meet new people, and make a real difference.
Thank you again to our wonderful volunteers for your dedication and hard work. And to our community—enjoy the yellow courgettes! We can’t wait to see what delicious dishes you create.
#YellowCourgettes #TheShelfDiss #CommunitySupermarket #FreshProduceForAll #ThankYouVolunteers 🌱
We’re holding another walk this Sunday the 26th of November 2023. Our last walk was popular, so book your place now to join us this Sunday. totally free, this walk is sponsored by AtoBetter, working to reduce car journeys in Harleston.
All ages welcome!
Dogs welcome!
Grow East Anglia