Hello everyone!

Well, this could be my final RotherMunch blog! I’ve really enjoyed the run up to the event and can’t wait until next Tuesday when we all get to meet and eat our food.

The arrangements are as follows, including harvesting your crops:

You’ll need to make sure that the Friday before, i.e. this Friday (1st July), you give all your crops a MASSIVE watering, as it may be hot over the weekend. It would be advisable to go to your allotment extra early on Monday (4th July) if you can, as we need to get all the food to Magna around midday. I’d suggest that you harvest the food and put it in a cardboard box/tray in your reception, no later than 11am. Someone will then collect it from your school reception (you should have received an e-mail about this).

It’s important that the vegetables arrive at the peak of perfection (after all that effort, it would be a shame to let them die!), so after you have harvested them, place them in a cool shady place (it’s amazing that a lettuce will wilt within 10 minutes if left out in the sun). Please wash off as much soil and pests as possible, and please only supply the bits we are actually going to eat (e.g. cut the roots off the lettuce and the tops off the radish as this will lead to them wilting quickly).

Lettuce is best harvested and then immediately plunged into CLEAN ice cold water (please DO NOT wash the produce with water from a water butt). We call this ‘removing the field heat’ in the trade.

Please put the name of your school on the box, and don’t forget to take loads of pictures of you harvesting, washing and packaging your crops. You should include these in your log book which you need to bring with you on Tuesday.

Finally, thanks so much for taking part, and here’s to a fantastic day.

Happy harvesting!

Have a great gardening week.

Lee