Nurturing our Community CIC

11/06/2026

🌱 NOC Growing Update 🌱
After what feels like a week of non-stop rain across much of the UK, the good news is that forecasts suggest warmer, sunnier weather could be returning.
🍽️ Christine's Community Kitchen
With the rain keeping many of us indoors this week, Christine thought it would be a good opportunity to share one of her favourite simple summer lunches.
"One of the things I love about this time of year is that meals don't need to be complicated. Some of the best dishes come from a few fresh ingredients picked straight from the garden. A couple of ripe tomatoes, a cucumber, a handful of fresh herbs and a drizzle of olive oil can create something delicious, healthy and affordable.
As the weather improves, our tomatoes, cucumbers and herbs will soon be growing faster than we can eat them. That's one of the joys of growing your own food. You spend weeks nurturing a plant, and then one day it rewards you with an abundance of fresh produce.
So if the sunshine does make a return, why not enjoy a simple garden salad, sit outside with a cup of tea, and take a moment to appreciate what nature provides. Sometimes the simplest meals are the most satisfying."
🥗 Garden Fresh Tomato & Cucumber Salad
Ingredients: • 2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
• ½ cucumber, sliced
• A small handful of fresh mint, parsley or basil
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Juice of half a lemon
• Salt and black pepper to taste
Method:
Place the tomatoes and cucumber into a bowl.
Add the freshly chopped herbs.
Drizzle over the olive oil and lemon juice.
Season with a little salt and black pepper.
Toss gently and serve immediately.
💚 A simple, healthy lunch packed with freshness, flavour and goodness. Perfect on its own, with crusty bread, or served alongside a barbecue on a warm summer's day.
🌿 From garden to plate, every harvest tells a story.
🌐 www.nurturingourcommunity.co.uk⁠�
🌱🥒🍅☀️

10/06/2026

🌱 As much as we love our Tuesday Germination Club, there comes a time when many crops are best sown directly into the soil. 🌱
As the ground warms up in June, seeds germinate quickly and often establish stronger root systems when grown where they are intended to finish their journey.
Direct sowing is also simpler, requiring less compost, fewer pots, and less transplanting.
At Robin's Nest, many of our crops are already growing strongly, but succession sowing continues throughout the season to keep the harvests coming.
Crops that can still be sown directly at this time of year include:
🫛 Peas
🫘 French Beans
🫘 Runner Beans
🥕 Carrots
🌱 Beetroot
🥬 Lettuce
🥬 Rocket
🌿 Coriander
🌿 Parsley
🥬 Spring Onions
🌿 Dill
The secret is to sow little and often. Rather than planting everything at once, a short row every couple of weeks provides a steady supply of fresh produce over a much longer period.
Meanwhile, our tomatoes are being trained upwards, cucumbers are climbing their strings, courgettes are establishing well, and the first harvests of lettuce, spinach and French beans are already finding their way into our community produce boxes.
Every seed planted today is an investment in future food, wellbeing and community resilience.
🌱 Learn more about what we're growing and how you can get involved at:
🌐 www.nurturingourcommunity.co.uk⁠�
Growing food. Growing skills. Growing community.
🌱🌽🥕🫛🫘🥬

07/06/2026

06/06/2026

🌱🍅 A little windy at Robin’s Nest this morning, but there’s plenty to do, so we’re going to brave the conditions and get stuck in!

Today’s jobs include training the tomatoes and cucumbers in the polytunnels, while continuing to plant out our pimento beans, peas and sweetcorn.

Just look at the size of these tomatoes already — many are now over 5 feet tall and still growing strongly. The cucumbers are not far behind and are starting to race upwards as well.

To keep them growing productively, they need regular training. Both the tomatoes and cucumbers are carefully twisted clockwise around their support strings as they grow. We also remove side shoots and lower leaves to improve airflow, reduce disease risk, and direct the plant's energy into producing fruit rather than excess foliage.

The aim is to leave the developing fruit nice and open, allowing plenty of sunlight to reach it. Good light, good airflow and good management all help produce healthier plants and better harvests.

Meanwhile, outside the polytunnels, we continue planting pimento beans, peas and sweetcorn, making the most of every available space. Every week the site changes a little more as new crops go in, plants start climbing, and the growing season gathers momentum.

Every string tied, every plant trained, every seed planted and every bed prepared brings us one step closer to harvesting fresh local produce for our community.

If you would like to learn more about what we do, please visit our new website at:

🌐 www.nurturingourcommunity.co.uk

The website has only recently been launched and is still under testing. We would really appreciate it if you could spend a few minutes having a look around, testing the pages, and letting us know if you spot anything that needs fixing or improving. Your feedback will help us make it better for everyone.

🌱🍅💚

From seed to community.

05/06/2026

📦 Friday is Box Day at NOC! 🌱
From seed sowing and growing, to harvesting and packing, every box helps support local people, local food and local community projects

🌱📦 Friday is Box Day at NOC! 📦🌱

While many of us are still having our morning coffee, Michael is already out collecting fresh produce from local farmers and local wholesalers.

From 8am, Sharon, Anne Beth and Cameron will be joining him as the real Friday magic begins — putting together this week's NOC boxes ready for delivery.

But before a single box is packed, there is one very important stop to make...

🌱 Robin's Nest.

Every week we first harvest whatever is ready from our own growing areas before adding it to the boxes.

This week we're especially excited because we have harvested the first cut of our French beans, growing alongside the tomatoes. It's always a special moment when a crop produces its first harvest of the season.

We've also started harvesting our own lettuce using a traditional "cut and come again" method. Instead of removing the whole plant, we cut the leaves a couple of inches above the base. The plant then keeps growing and produces another flush of fresh leaves ready for harvest in a couple of weeks' time.

It's a simple method, but one that gives us multiple harvests from the same plant.

This is what makes NOC different.

🌱 Seeds are sown at our Ferndown Germination Club.
🌱 Crops are grown and cared for at Robin's Nest.
🌱 Volunteers help plant, w**d, water and harvest.

05/06/2026

🌱📦 Friday is Box Day at NOC! 📦🌱

While many of us are still having our morning coffee, Michael is already out collecting fresh produce from local farmers and local wholesalers.

From 8am, Sharon, Anne Beth and Cameron will be joining him as the real Friday magic begins — putting together this week's NOC boxes ready for delivery.

But before a single box is packed, there is one very important stop to make...

🌱 Robin's Nest.

Every week we first harvest whatever is ready from our own growing areas before adding it to the boxes.

This week we're especially excited because we have harvested the first cut of our French beans, growing alongside the tomatoes. It's always a special moment when a crop produces its first harvest of the season.

We've also started harvesting our own lettuce using a traditional "cut and come again" method. Instead of removing the whole plant, we cut the leaves a couple of inches above the base. The plant then keeps growing and produces another flush of fresh leaves ready for harvest in a couple of weeks' time.

It's a simple method, but one that gives us multiple harvests from the same plant.

This is what makes NOC different.

🌱 Seeds are sown at our Ferndown Germination Club.
🌱 Crops are grown and cared for at Robin's Nest.
🌱 Volunteers help plant, w**d, water and harvest.

03/06/2026

🌱 A Small Favour From Our Community 🌱

Many of you have followed our journey from the very beginning.

You have watched seedlings being sown at our Ferndown Germination Club, followed our workshops at Robin's Nest, seen our volunteers hard at work, and shared in the successes and challenges of building Nurturing Our Community.

What started with a few seed trays, a lot of hard work, and a belief that communities grow stronger when people support each other is now developing into something much bigger.

As we continue to grow, we are looking for support to help us:

🌱 Provide free seedlings to NOC Growers
🌱 Expand community workshops
🌱 Support future wellbeing programmes
🌱 Develop NOC Rangers and community outreach projects

One simple way you can help is through the New Forest Community Lottery.

If you would like to support what we do, please visit:

https://www.newforestcommunitylottery.co.uk/support/nurturing-our-community-cic

Not everyone can volunteer. Not everyone can donate equipment. But even a small contribution can help us continue growing opportunities for others.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us so far, whether by volunteering, sharing our posts, buying a veg box, attending a workshop, or simply cheering us on.

Together we are growing far more than food.

We are growing community. 💚

03/06/2026

🌱 From Seed to Community – The NOC Journey Continues
Yesterday evening at our Ferndown Germination Club we sowed another batch of seeds together.
This morning those trays are already at our professional nursery support site, where they will receive the care, watering and growing conditions needed to give them the best possible start in life.
This is one of the things that makes NOC different.
Not everyone has the facilities, time or experience to raise hundreds of seedlings, so those who can help grow them, share them with those who cannot.
📍 Seeds are sown at our Ferndown Germination Club.
📍 Seedlings are nurtured and developed with professional nursery support.
📍 Plants then move on to Robin's Nest, NOC Growers' gardens, community projects and eventually into local food production.
Also making progress today:
🌿 Globe artichokes have been repotted and are developing well.
🥒 Cucumbers are now waiting to be planted out.
🌽 Sweetcorn is growing strongly and will soon be heading to Robin's Nest and the gardens of our NOC Growers.
Every tray represents future food, future learning, future wellbeing and future community connections.
One tray at a time.
One seed at a time.
One person at a time.
NOC – Nurturing Our Community All for one and one for all.
🌱 Interested in growing with us? Visit www.nurturingourcommunity.co.uk⁠� and discover how you can become a NOC Grower, volunteer, supporter or member.

03/06/2026

🌞 Christine's Summer Cooler – Healthy Frozen Fruit & Yoghurt Lollies 🍓🥝
With the warm weather continuing, Christine from Christchurch has shared another simple, healthy recipe with us, perfect for cooling down after a day in the garden.
These homemade fruit and yoghurt lollies are packed with goodness, easy to make, and a great alternative to ice cream.
What you'll need:
150g Greek yoghurt
1 kiwi fruit, chopped
4–5 strawberries, chopped
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Method:
Chop the strawberries and kiwi into small pieces.
In a bowl, mix the Greek yoghurt, chia seeds and maple syrup.
Add a spoonful of yoghurt mixture to the bottom of each lolly mould.
Add some fruit.
Repeat the layers until the moulds are full.
Freeze until set.
If you don't have lolly moulds, simply enjoy the fruit with the yoghurt mixture in a bowl for a refreshing summer dessert.
Why we like it:
✅ High in protein from the Greek yoghurt
✅ Rich in fibre from the fruit and chia seeds
✅ Contains natural sweetness rather than refined sugar
✅ Refreshing, nutritious and simple to make
At NOC we believe healthy food doesn't have to be complicated. Sometimes the best recipes are the simplest ones.
A big thank you to Christine for sharing another recipe with our community. ❤️
Would you try these frozen fruit lollies, and what fruit would you use in yours? 🍓🥝🍇
🌱

02/06/2026

🌱 NOC Germination Club – June Seed Sowing Planner 🌱

Many people think seed sowing finishes in spring, but experienced growers know that June is when you start planning for the months ahead.

While our summer crops are now growing strongly at Robin's Nest, this month's Germination Club is focusing on succession sowing, autumn harvests, winter crops, and improving our growing spaces for the future.

🌱 Module sowing this month
• Lettuce (for regular succession planting)
• Beetroot
• Kale
• Kohlrabi
• Leeks – started now for autumn and winter harvests

We prefer sowing many of these crops in modular trays as it gives stronger plants, reduces w**d competition, and allows us to fill gaps in beds exactly where needed.

🌿 Direct sowing this month
• Radish
• Phacelia – a fantastic pollinator-friendly plant and green manure that helps improve soil health while attracting bees and beneficial insects.

June is not just about harvesting summer crops. It's about making sure there is always another crop ready to follow. The seeds we sow now will help provide food, flowers, and learning opportunities well into autumn and winter.

Meanwhile, at Robin's Nest, our summer growing programme is already well underway, with lettuce, beetroot, peas, runner beans, pimento beans, sweetcorn, courgettes, squash, pumpkins and tomatoes all establishing and growing strongly.

🐝 A Community Growing Together

One of the unique advantages of NOC Growers is that, through the support of a professional commercial nursery, many of our seedlings benefit from expert growing conditions during their earliest stages before moving on to Robin's Nest and the gardens of our NOC Growers.

This allows us to share not only plants, but also knowledge, skills and growing experience throughout the season.

As we often say at NOC:

💚 "All for one, and one for all."

🌱 Join Lawrence today at the NOC Ferndown Germination Club, where we'll be seed sowing a succession of lettuce and beetroot in modular trays and discussing our June growing plan, including kale, kohlrabi, leeks, radish and phacelia for the months ahead.

Every tray sown today is an investment in a future harvest.

🌱 One session. One task. One outcome.

Want to learn more about our workshops, NOC Growers programme, community projects and fresh produce boxes?

🌐 www.nurturingourcommunity.co.uk

We're currently inviting supporters to explore the website, test it, and tell us what works well and what we can improve.

Together, we're growing food, skills, wellbeing and community.

💚 All for one, and one for all.