Still transplanting frenzy in the market garden, today was leek day. We've also been intersowing pollen-rich covers inbetween the garlic and early cabbages. Plus tonnes to harvest for veg boxes and markets, with the last of the winter crops (spring greens) coming to an end in the tunnels, to be replaced by tomatoes, cucumbers, Chillies, peppers, aubergines and basil.
#spring #marketgarden #organic #Stroud #gloucestershire
A day off-site, but right on mission!
Recently our team spent a glorious day in the sunshine at @goodsmallfarms - just a field or two away from our offices in Stroud.
We got hands-on with regenerative, small-scale agriculture - a reminder that soil quality and biodiversity have a powerful impact on food long before it reaches the plate.
What stood out most? Their commitment to working with nature, not against it - something we deeply align with at Invivo. Supporting the microbiome isn’t just about supplements; it’s about understanding the full ecosystems behind what we consume.
Beyond the learning, the day gave us space to slow down, reconnect as a team, and step outside our usual routines. A huge thanks to @goodsmallfarms for a morning of insight and inspiration.
#BCorp #companyday #teamday #cotswolds #farming
Plants for sale at the farm!
Stacked outside our new farm shop, that is currently also stocked with our chicken, beef and eggs - soon to be filled with much more produce from the farm.
Potted plants currently on sale include:
Squash, 6 varieties
Cucumber
Basil
Parsley
French Beans
Berlotti Beans
Agretti
Giant Sunflowers
#organic #pottedplants #growyourown #farmshop #Stroud
Spring growth all around...the pastures are lush, the chickens are thriving, the cattle are full and the hens keep popping. Busy times!
The cattle are whipping through the fields after revamping the grazing plan with @grassfed_farmer ...we are trying to take just 25% of what's above ground, leaving loads behind and doing lots of fencing!
Just two weeks until we start calving!
#organic #grassfedbeef
#stroud
#local #mixedfarm
Stroud Farmers Market harvest done. We'll be bringing the first flowers of the season and lots of potted plants along as well as our usual fresh produce, all very local from just down the road. See you there 🌱
#Stroud #farmersmarket #organic #local #growyourown
We're very excited to support the third annual Festival of Commoning, taking place across Stroud on Friday 2 and Saturday 3 October 2026.
The Festival is for doers, organisers and people who want to common - own it together, make it affordable, keep it forever - and an opportunity to come together, share our stories, inspire one another and learn new skills.
This year’s theme is Common Ground: Healing Divides, celebrating stories from people and projects who use commoning practices to foster belonging, mutual care, resilience, and shared power in the face of growing societal division, polarisation, inequality, isolation and exclusion.
Tickets and more info available on the Festival website, visit /event-details/festival-ticket
#Stroud #MakeADifference #Activism #Sustainability #People #Planet #Festival #Painswick #Bristol #Connect #Chalford #Wellbeing #Nailsworth #ChangeForGood #Cheltenham #TakeAction #Cirencester #Debate #Creativity #Community #SupportLocal #InStroud #Gloucestershire
Transplanting week! We have put so much in the ground in the last few days, from the tunnels filling up with peppers, aubergines, tomatoes and summer salad crops, to outside where we've put in kales, various cabbages, celeriac, fennel, chard, spinach and tonnes more. Juicy squash and courgette next, as well as sowing direct crops like radish, Carrot and various leaves. It's great to see the ground filling up again and having some rain to help all the newcomers settle in.
#transplanting #organic #marketgarden #Stroud #spring
Companion planting favourite! These two always go together a treat, the Spring onions have gone to market now and the lettuce is only very slightly behind the lettuce that was planted without. With tunnel space being a premium, it's key to find ways to optimise it, as well as create rolling plantings that keep roots in the ground for soil health.
#companionplanting #marketgarden #spaceoptimisation #mixed #organic
Swifts are back on the farm!
Every year, these incredible birds fly around 14,000 miles from Africa, to breed here in the UK, and back again.
They spend almost their entire lives on the wing — eating, drinking, sleeping, and even mating without landing. They can even sleep while flying by shutting down half their brain at a time, a remarkable ability shared by some fish, which continue swimming while resting.
Swifts only land to nest, usually in the eaves of buildings or small crevices in walls.
Sadly, swift numbers have fallen by 65% in just 25 years. This is largely due to modern building methods and renovations, which often remove vital nesting spaces, along with the sharp decline in insect populations caused by factors such as pesticide use.
A single swift can eat up to 100,000 flying insects a day!
Here on the farm, we’re doing what we can to support insect life — not only by using regenerative and organic practices, but also by increasing wildflower diversity, creating ponds, and leaving “untidy” areas for wildlife. This includes cutting hedgerows less often, avoiding unnecessary mowing, creating bug and bee hotels, and planting a mixture of native trees and shrubs.
We’re also planning to install more nest boxes around the farm to support different species of birds and bats!
Another fun Swift fact: they can live for up to 21 years and reach speeds of nearly 70 mph!
Swifts are amazing! - Listen and look out for them between now and August, when they will make their long return journey back to Africa.
Photo credit Walter Brunner.
#swift #migration #insects #regenerativeagriculture
🐦 SPOTTED ON THE FARM 🐦
We are delighted to have a Kestrel in the market garden most days (we spotted it having a bath in the new pond the other morning) and the skylarks are ever present above us, twittering away.
Some other birds that we have seen/heard in the market garden this month include Wheatear, Common Whitethroat, Goldfinch, Linnet, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Crow, Raven, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Dunnock, Wren, Meadow Pipit, Wood Pigeon, Robin, Red Kite, Magpie, Blackbird, Swallow, Blackcap, Buzzard, Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Collared Dove, Song Thrush, Great Spotted Woodpacker, Green Woodpecker! There have also been Geese honking overhead, but we didn't manage to identify them.
As well as being a joy to share this land with, they'll be helping us with a few things like keeping the voles in check and hopefully also with spreading the wildflower seeds across pastures once that gets going. We look forward to more frequency and diversity as the mixed seed sown recently in surrounding pasture, the shelterbelt and hedgerows that we've planted establish.
Photos taken by @d.graeme
#birds #diversity
