Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti Squash – recipe suggestions! The standard bags in our box scheme have been benefitting from the bumper size early squash that Hawkwood has produced. At the Hawkwood growing site we like these squashes because: They have grown well in newly cleared land – and been good companions alongside newly planted vine fruit bushes. They [...]

Tastes Like Spring

As the hungry gap starts, we are relying on crops that grow over-winter and under glass. This week we have spring garlic from Organiclea’s Hawkwood Nursery in Chingford. Picked early, spring garlic – or ‘scapes’ – looks a lot like spring onion, and, similarly, it has a milder flavour than the mature bulb while retaining [...]

Lava fritters with molten dip and volcanic ash

With a volcanic belch and a puff of smoke it seems that Iceland has done a huge PR job for local food. While it raises serious questions about the pain of transition – especially for developing countries dependent on western markets – the grounding of food freight aviation has highlighted the topsy-turvy vulnerability of our [...]

Hail To The Cauli’…

Aaah… the poor cauliflower, destined to spend its days smothered with cheese sauce or drying up on a buffet table waiting to be dipped in Thousand Island dressing… No more! Having used them since the 1490s (a hundred years before they reached England) the Italians understand how to reveal the cauli’s true beauty, as this [...]

Banana Solidarity

I watched the programme Food: What Goes in Your Basket on Channel 4 this week and the piece on Fairtrade banana trading with St Lucia gave me occasion to reflect.  I adore bananas, but sometimes wonder if we should be buying from so far away.  Shipping is still incredibly carbon-heavy and most times of year [...]

How do I plan my meals?!

The way the box scheme works means that you should always have a supply of potatoes, carrots and onions in your cupboard.  You’ll also get some kind of salad most of the year, and a ‘green’ item like cabbage or kale.  Here’s an example of one customer’s veggie week – the takeaway’s not compulsory, but [...]

What if I don’t know how to cook with something?!

We include a newsletter with your bags every week which often has cooking and recipe ideas. You can also talk to one of us at the Hornbeam pick-up – we’re around from 3pm to 6pm to share vegetable ideas! There are also loads of websites now dedicated to veg box schemes : Veg Box Recipes [...]

Join the Box Scheme

Do I have to get a bag every week?

The large majority of our customers pay monthly by standing order.  This is good for everybody: Our producers can grow and harvest with our quantities in mind and therefore keep their businesses running Our customers get somebody else budgeting for them and get the best value week to week. You can pay monthly by standing [...]

Payment and start details

To join the box scheme just fill in the online form and make your payment by cheque or bank transfer. For more details call Adam and Hannah at the Hawkwood Plant Nursery on 020 8524 4994. We are in the office on Tuesday afternoons, Wednesdays and Fridays. If we are not there to take your [...]