Crop Share... make the pledge!!!

Crop share – Show you care

Make the pledge at the bottom

Hi folks, I want to share an idea I’ve had. It is a very simple and basic idea I’ve had that doesn’t involve very much time or effort. It is called ‘Crop share-show you care’. It is basically a way of bringing people together through cooking or growing… or both.

From my own personal experience since I have started growing my own fruit and vegetables I have found that sometimes I have been left with surplus supplies, anything from seeds, seedlings, young plants and crops and I have tried my very best not to throw anything out. So the best way of dealing with these surplus crops was to give them away to family, friends and neighbours. In doing this I have encouraged a lot of people to start to grow their own, I have basically spread the growing bug! For those of you who grow your own you will I’m sure always sow more seeds than you want plants so therefore you will have spare seedlings over that in many cases get thrown onto the compost heap… well instead of that why not make a call or send a text or pop over to a neighbour and offer them a few seedlings that could maybe be planted into a container or window box and they can see for themselves just how easy growing your own really is!!! I got inspired to start myself from this very motion, a local lady gave me a few surplus courgette plants that I just shoved into a patio container, and I well and truly caught the growing bug! Also if you have bought a tray of young plants from your local garden store and planted out what you need and have some over, again give them away. Even if it is just 1 or 2 cabbage plants for example, surely that is better that chucking them out.

I have also found that this is a great way to get to know the neighbours too. How many of us don’t know our own neighbours apart from maybe the odd wave or a muttered ‘hello’. I know that not everyone wants to be given surplus plants and may have no interest in the whole fresh produce idea but it won’t hurt to ask! Let’s get back to basics people, back to getting to know people and making conversations and just doing something kind… because you can.

The same goes for crops, I know last year we had surplus vegetables going spare every week but yet not enough to even consider selling, so I gave them to friends, family and neighbours. I have also been on the receiving end of this too, apples and plums from my neighbour next door and spare veg plants that I didn’t have. It is a great way of trying new things. I also found that by giving a small bag of veg or herbs or some seedlings or surplus eggs away that I would get a knock on the door a few days or a few weeks later and as a thank you would be handed a fresh rhubarb tart of a homemade loaf etc which really shows the gratitude of a small kind gesture. Or have gotten a call or a text to say how the young seedling or half packet of seeds that I 

gave away was giving out a good crop.

This idea also works with cooking, you could be baking buns or scones etc, why not put on a few spare and give them to a neighbour or friend that you know likes them. Or even a spare pot of homemade jam. Your ‘crop’ to share can really be anything you like. In a world that was and in some cases still is overrun with greed and money, why not do a selfless good deed, whether it be once a day, once a week or even once a year…. Once is better than never. So go on… spread the bug!!!

Ok, so if you like this idea what I want you to do as make the pledge, all you have to do is type 2 little words… ‘I’m in’ that’s it, just make that pledge right now to yourself and to the world. You can leave the pledge here with your name or on the Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crop-Share-Show-You-Care/119652338116732