Family Workshop Spring Leaves – Harvest Workers Co-op

Welcome to the Spring Leaves Family Workshop

Thank you for calling by our second online family workshop. We hope you are all keeping well. We’re normally in Okehampton’s wonderful EcoHub every month but we can’t so we’re here on the internet!

Here is what the Wild Garlic we used in last month’s pesto looks like now.

We went off foraging again. This time VERY carefully! We were collecting nettle leaves to make into crisps. Don’t worry the sting disappears when the leaves are cooked.

Cooking : Nettle Crisps

Always pick stinging nettles with an adult and wear gloves! Avoid areas where there is dog walking or spraying with chemicals.

Cut the top leaves of the nettle. Wear gloves if you want.

Mix in the nettle leaves make sure that they are covered.

Lay them out on a baking tray. No overlaps!

Bake for 25 min on 130 degrees in the oven.

Cooking : Potato and Herb Fritters

Ingredients (makes 6 Fritters)

1 Large Potato
3 Tbsp Flour( we used Marrowfat Pea flour)
3 Tbsp Spring Onion, Chives and Dill
3 Tbsp Milk of your choice (you may need a little more milk)
Black Pepper to your taste
You can also add an Egg but we didn’t this time
Oil of your choice for frying

Grate the potato (with the skin on-optional)

Add all the ingredients into a bowl and mix. Add a little more milk if needed.

Leave for a few minutes to help it bind together

Preheat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Spoon the mixture into the pan and flatten to about half a cm thick

Fry until golden brown, flip over and fry the other side.

You are ready to serve! Eat as they are or add a dash of vinegar and/or some yogurt and cucumber sprinkled with chives and dill. Also lovely with wild garlic flowers if you know where to find some!

Leaf Hunt

Do you know what tree these leaves come from?
If you go for a walk look out for them and pick one leaf from each different tree and use it to make a leaf relief. Move your mouse over the image to see what they are.

Hazel

Rowan

Hawthorn (or May)

Elder

Willow

Oak

Beech

Alder

Making : Leaf Relief

Use a rolling pin to roll it into an oval shape

Place a leaf onto the clay and gently roll over it

With a pencil make a hole in the top and write the name of leaf underneath.

Planting : Potatoes in Sacks

Once there was a little dog who lived in great wide open plains of America. One day a fierce whirling tornado blew him and his little girl Dorothy far far away. When they landed she looked at the great yellow road stretching in front of them and turned to him and said “Oh Pototo I don’t think we are in Kansas anymore!”

Well done if you recognise the movie!

Pototo has now sprouted!

We are using potatoes that have started to sprout or chit to plant and make new potatoes.

Growing : In the Polytunnel

We’ve been growing some seeds in our homemade polytunnel! We used bamboo from our garden and some plastic sheets from our neighbour. Can you guess which vegetables they are growing into? Move your mouse over the image to see what they are.

Leek

Dazzling Kale

French Bean

Pea

Tomato

Broad Bean

Growing : In the Garden

There are signs that fruit will coming on these plants. Do you know what each plant will grow into? Move your mouse over the image to see what they are.

Rowan

Hawthorn (or May)

Apple

Raspberry

Blackcurrant

Strawberry

Storytime : Jamie and the Giant Potato

Leprechaun : the fairy shoe maker and hoarder of golden coins

Lazy : prefers thinking about doing gardening rather than doing it

In the story the villagers have to cook up the giant potato. How many different ways can you think of to cook potatoes? Let us know your ideas by sending us an email

The Great Okehampton Sunflower Grow Off!

Please join our sunflower challenge to celebrate 50 years of Earth Day and to provide food for bees, birds and other
wildlife.

Sow anytime from now to May 8th in a pot about 10cm diameter. When the plant is about 10cm tall plant in a larger pot or in the garden in a sunny place.

Make sure you water the plant well and check for slugs! We’ll do the same and show you how ours are doing next month. When the heads finally come out take a photo to show us how big the head is, where its been planted, how tall it is, what colour it is etc and email it to us or bring into the shop and we’ll make a sunflower gallery.

If you don’t have a sunflower seed and one person in your family is able to come to the shop the please come and get one. If you can’t get to the shop and you normally come to our family workshop then let us know and we’ll post you one.

Did you know that Sunflowers have medicinal properties? Some people dry the leaves to make tea that is good for helping treat high fevers and problems with lungs and breathing.

Happy Growing

We hope you have enjoyed the family workshop. Look out for the next workshop.

TECHNICAL NOTES :

You may have spotted we have discovered how to do … FLIPBOXES! Do let us know if there any other tricks we could try out.

We are sorry that the video is rather poor quality. We had a few technical hitches.

Thank you to Learn Devon for funding the Family Workshops and Growing Plot Project

Thank you to Okehampton United Charities for funding our education and community program of activity