A year of growing and sharing food together in Newsome - at our community allotment, at Stirley Farm and in lots of other places across our community.

1. Growing Food Together
2013

2. Winter snow
January

3. Winter veg at Stirley Farm
survives the snow
February

4. The Cre8 Barn...
...a work in progress
February

5. How many seed potatoes can you fit in
a car boot? We’re about to find out...
February

6. Potato Day stampede...
...blink and you’ll miss the Pink Fir Apples
March

7. Having fun with potatoes
(the grown-ups had fun
putting them in baskets)
March

8. When will Winter be over then?
Woolley hats required for shallot planting at Stirley
March

9. It’s the last day of March and we really want
to dig (there’s earth under here somewhere)
March

10. What a difference a week makes
March / April

11. Stirley Farm has its first twin calves!
April

12. 8th April
April
28th April

13. Honley Explorer Scouts build
new bee-friendly beds at Stirley
April

14. Eggs from our allotment neighbour
April

15. Making wild garlic pesto, with Rob adjusting
our seasoning via text message from Canada
May

16. Plant Swap the Growing
Newsome elves
have been busy
May

17. Tomatoes and
more tomatoes
and random brassicas
May

18. Nobody gets out of here without at least two strawberry
plants and some advice about bees - them’s the rules
May

19. Yum
May

20. John builds raised beds at the allotment
May

21. A sunny day foraging with Taste the Wild at Stirley
May

22. Looking at things near and far
May

23. Many hands make
Newsome village
planters
June

24. Kirklees College build a new wall
at Berry Brow Rec...
June
...and Cummins
put up new signs

25. Treats for Berry Brow Carnival - scrummy
rhubarb cake and runny raspberry mousse
June

26. Doing our market stall thing
June

27. Little helpers at the community allotment
June

28. New Stirley Farm access road and signs complete
June

29. Planting out courgettes, squashes and pumpkins
June

30. Stirley Farm’s Orchard
and Forest Garden are
flourishing
July

31. Capturing the Summer in jars and bottles...
...first up, elderflower cordial and redcurrant jelly
July

32. The ‘Plant it, Grow it, Eat it’
volunteers visit us in Newsome
July

33. Picking from David’s infinite gooseberry bush
July

34. There should always be time for tea
July

35. Stirley Farm Kids’ Club has a summer of sunshine
August

36. Open day at the community allotment also our first Growing Newsome AGM
August

37. Our accidental pea and sweet pea combo,
and things lurking in the undergrowth
August

38. The Farm House re-roofed by Cummins Turbo Technologies
and currently being renovated by volunteers
on Tuesdays
August

39. Pet potato of the year
‘The’ carrot
August

40. The CPRE kindly donated money for a
new seating area at the farm...
...made from old timbers
from the barn
September

41. The third annual Stirley Open
Day is a huge success...
September

42. ...and the Cre8 Barn is open for
its first home grown lunch!
September

43. September

44. Mikron Theatre’s ‘Beyond the Veil’ play...
...with advice
about growing
bee-friendly
plants and a
local lunch
September

45. The veg beds had a
brilliant year in their
third growing season!
September

46. Allotment delicacies - pumpkin leaves (Beatrice’s
favourite) and yellow beetroot (Diane’s favourite)
September

47. Carole and Cherry help to make the
first chutney in the Cre8 Barn...
...and Windybank Gardening
Club make soup
October

48. Autumn Gathering
Who made all that jam?
October

49. Fun for all ages making bird feeders and plant markers...
...and David, our resident
garlic expert, talks
hardnecks and softnecks
October

50. A beautiful cake, baked by Pat and iced by Jan...
...and awarded to Janet D for correctly guessing
the weight of our biggest allotment pumpkin.
October

51. Stirley and Growing Newsome volunteers
take produce to the Green Valley Grocer...
.... and visit the Golcar
Food Co-operative
November

52. Brewing up and planting a blackcurrant from Jacqui
November

53. Christmas craft fairs - jamtastic
November

54. Winner of the community allotment’s
‘most exciting moment of 2013’...
...the arrival of 3 tonnes of manure
November

55. The last of this year’s tomatoes
November

56. The UK storm, unkind to sheds...
...our roof stayed on (after a
fashion), and we gained bits
of somebody else’s
December

57. Stirley Community Farm offers its first Christmas
veg bags for sale....
...and plans are made to sell
Stirley beef in Autumn 2014
December

58. A last bit of harvesting for our Christmas Gathering
December

59. Welcome Robin Arthur Shumsky,
born 15th December 2013
December

60. to growing friends
old and new...
see you in 2014