Tag Archives: our yard

Our Yard at Clitterhouse Farm

News from Anika at Our Yard at Clitterhouse Farm:

It’s been a busy summer at the farm garden with a great crop of tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers, potatoes, etc.

Even though we are lacking the space, we desperately wanted to grow different varieties of pumpkins and squashes this year. The most obvious solution was to create an additional veg plot in the park, next to the Herb Garden: a Hügelbed – which is a no-dig raised bed, built with layers of wooden logs, branches, wood chips, horse manure (we went on a field trip to College Farm in Finchley 😊) covered with a mixture of compost and top soil.

There are many advantages to Hügelbeds:

  • They don’t need constant watering.
  • The buried wood stores rainwater and releases it slowly during drier times.
  • As the wood decays, it generates heat which could extend the growing season.
  • And no fertilizing is needed for years to come!

… Amazing!

Back in spring we were lucky enough to receive generous funding from the North London Waste Authority to roll out our Community Composting Project.

Thank you to everyone who has been dropping off their vegetable scraps with us over the last few months. It’s made a massive difference. We are currently collecting more than 60 kg of food waste each week.

We all know that food rotting in landfills is a major contributor to climate change. Composting waste is a simple way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving the quality of soil at the same time.

If you would like to know more, please get in touch. Just email garden@clitterhouse.com or simply swing by on a Thursday or Saturday (between 11 am and 3 pm).

Last but not least, you might know that we celebrated our 10th Anniversary at Clitterhouse Farm a few weeks ago. It was a very special day filled with live music, delicious food, creative workshops and great community spirit.

A big thank you to our volunteers and to everyone who has supported us over the years. It means a lot. ❤️

Our Yard at Clitterhouse Farm

An update from Anika …

Spring has sprung at Clitterhouse Farm at last! The days are getting warmer, the tulips are blooming beautifully … and the weeds are growing. There is so much to do at this time of year, and we would love extra help. The garden is open for Community Gardening sessions on Thursdays and Saturdays. With or without green fingers, pop in and give us a hand with weeding, watering, potting on or just pass by to say hello.

This year’s plant sale kicked off at the beginning of March. We have a good range of annuals and perennials available, all organically grown in peat free compost. Tomato seedlings will be for sale from next week.

Join us for a holler and a sing! The Yardbirds Choir meets on Thursdays, 6:30 pm – 8 pm. Everyone can join, no experience needed, no sheet music, no auditions, no pressure! Let’s just have fun! £7.50/session, coffee and tea provided.

“Mindfulness through Art”, “Introduction to Watercolour Painting” and “Hatha Yoga” sessions are happening throughout the month. Please check our website for more details.

Sunday, 7th May: Boozy Brunch! We are excited to be collaborating once again with our resident chef duo, Sean and Megan of Sean’s Loaf, who are both professionally trained Michelin chefs. We will bring you a great selection of brunch options and classic cocktails. Please visit our website to have a look at the menu and to book your seats.

Saturday, 13th May from 4pm: Night Market! Our Yard Night Markets are back every second Saturday of each month. Expect delicious food stalls, drinks, live music, arts & crafts to create on the day or to take away, plant sale, pressed flowers, pottery, handmade jewellery, art workshops, face painting, wood craft and much, much more.

Friday, 16th June: We are pleased to announce that the touring theatre company Shakespeare in the Squares will perform Twelfth Night, Shakespeare’s glorious romantic comedy of mistaken identity in Clitterhouse Playing Fields. Tickets are on sale here now!

Our Yard at Clitterhouse Farm

Anika writes …

The garden is now slowly re-awakening after its winter slumber and the first daffodils and hyacinths are poking their heads out of the ground. Over the last few weeks, the garden team has been busy pruning berries and fruit trees and has made a start sowing broad beans, chillies and sweet peas.

We are very excited to introduce Sean & Meagan and Hannah, our new tenants. Sean and Meagan moved their bakery to the farm and are now selling their freshly baked bread and delicious pastries at the café (which is now open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm) and via their website www.seansloaf.co.uk. Why don’t you pop by and find out more?

Hannah Milson (#potterspocket22), an inspiring local artist, opened her pottery studio at the Farm last October. Hannah is running regular workshops for children and adults throughout the year.

In addition to our weekly community gardening sessions, lots of other workshops are now in full swing: outdoor adventures with Kreative Play (see more below) and Little Critters; Mindfulness through art sessions creating watercolour floral artworks and bamboo sumi-e paintings; and a Hatha Yoga session. You will find all the information on our website www.ouryard.org.

A big thank you to everyone who helped with the building of the wooden planters in Pennine Parade and at the Purbeck Drive park entrance last year. We moved mountains of soil and gravel on the day and planted evergreens, pollinator-friendly perennials and spring bulbs to brighten up the neighbourhood. Feel free to water the plants when you are passing by! The “Planters of Hope” project is a collaboration between Our Yard at Clitterhouse and GGERA, funded by the BXT Community Fund.

What’s coming up?

Help us to fight food waste and join our new Community Composting Project! A big thank you to the North London Waste Authority for funding this exciting project.

If you would like to get involved, please contact Anika at garden@clitterhouse.com.

Our Yard at Clitterhouse Farm

A reminder that Our Yard at Clitterhouse Farm is open at the following times:

Farm Café

  • Thursdays, 10 am – 5 pm
  • Fridays, 12 – 5 pm
  • Saturdays, 11 am – 3 pm

Delicious home baked cakes, toasties and hot drinks — plus live music played by The Loose Bohemians (Saturdays only).

Grub Club on Saturdays from 11am: Tasty “pay what you feel” meals, all created with surplus food to help fight food waste.

Little Critters Play ‘n’ Stay, 1st and 3rd Thursday of every month. 10 am – 12 pm. Nature play and outdoor fun, £5/child, incl. hot drink.

Farm Garden (& Plant Sale from 30th April)

  • Thursdays, 11 am – 1 pm
  • Saturdays, 10 am – 3 pm

A great selection of annuals and perennials, herbs and vegetables, all organically grown in peat free compost. Many of the plants are grown from seeds or cuttings with extra TLC from our amazing volunteers.

Workshops

Our Yard also offers a variety of workshops throughout the year.

  • Watercolour sessions (every other Saturday)
  • Junior (5+) and Senior (14+) Theatre group (Fridays)
  • Women’s Drawing Night (once a month)
  • “Kidscycle” Free cycling sessions (1st Saturday of very month)

To find out more, visit ouryard.org.

North West London Social Action Hub

Sophia Acton from OneStoneGrove Community Trust in partnership with Our Yard at Clitterhouse Farm contacted us to introduce the North West London Social Action Hub which will be offering accredited Community Organising Training to local residents.

Thanks to generous funding, the training is being offered at a commitment fee of £10 for local residents (but that can be waived if necessary). The training will introduce residents to the skills they need to empower change within their communities, building upon what already exists and co-operating with others.

“Our mission is to build and support a resilient and sustainable community of active citizens who take action around their common concerns and overcome social injustice.”

Please see more details on the website, https://sct.london/north-west-london-social-action-hub/.