>> UPDATE: More Seed Swap details added

… a COVID19-safe alternative!

Wild About Growing?

With so many challenges facing us at the moment, one of the best pieces of advice is to get out in the garden/on your balcony, courtyard, allotment or find a community garden or volunteering opportunity and start growing something! Fantastic for the environment, fantastic for your physical health and wellbeing, fantastic for your kids and fantastic for your tummies if you grow delicious fruit, veggies and herbs. Over this season Frome Town Council and a number of local businesses and community organisations will be helping to provide you with lots of opportunities to muck in this season.

Potato Day and Seed Swap

For obvious reasons, the physical event is cancelled this year, so to help you get a good start to this season we are providing some alternative solutions to access your potatoes, seeds and plants.

Read on for information about:

Stalls with delivery or collection options

If you would like your business to be included in this information please contact incredibleediblefrome@gmail.com

Pennard Plants

Pennard is the main supplier of seed potatoes for our Potato Day event, and they will have a huge range of early, new and main crop potatoes… they also have a vast range of seeds, tubers, fruit trees and perennial plants available. Providing delivery and collection opportunities.

Beans and Herbs

This local supplier provides a wide range of organic seed, particularly in vegetables and herbs. You will also be able to buy flower seed here, including wildflowers, can also keep in touch via Twitter @beansandherbs

Eco-logic books

A fantastic range of books for the green-fingered, or eco-minded. Eco-Logic, Bath’s specialist bookseller. Eco-logic specialises in books that give practical solutions to environmental problems, including books on gardening, organics, permaculture and alternative energy. You can contact Peter Andrews directly on 01225 484472, via the website see link above and Twitter @ecologicbooks

Wild Thyme (access via Frome Food Hub)

For fragrant roses, unusual shrubs, wildflowers, a selection of spring flowering bulbs, scented and unusual perennials, Wild Thyme is the place to shop. This local nursery specialises in plants to attract bees and or provide scent for the garden. They offer a delivery service or collection on a Wednesday from the Bennett Centre.

More Veg

MoreVeg have a wide range of vegetable seeds, including many easy to grow varieties, as well as seeds for herbs and flowers too. With relatively small quantities on offer, their seeds are great if you just have a bed or two in the garden or you want to try something you wouldn’t normally grow.

Meadow in my garden

Selling a range of award-winning flower meadow seed products designed to foster a wildlife friendly environment.

Businesses and community organisations offering local food products, services, and fun volunteering activities.

If you would like your organisation to appear in this information please contact incredibleediblefrome@gmail.com

Frome Food Hub

Free to join providing a HUGE range of local produce; free range, heritage breed meat, seasonal fruit and veg grown free from chemical nasties, freshly baked bread, organic Jersey cows’ milk, butter and cream, Guernsey cows’ milk and goats’ milk yoghurt, as well as home cooked ready meals, wine, beer and juice, as well as locally grown plants and flowers and a few, key household essentials from ethical wholesaler Essential Organic, based in Bristol.

Order online through their website Thursday-Monday then come along to pick up your fresh produce at their weekly collection on Wednesdays 5.30-7.30pm at the Bennett Centre, Vicarage Street, Frome. Alternatively, you can choose to have your produce delivered within central Frome.

Vallis Veg

A small farm on the outskirts of Frome, producing vegetables, fruit and various other farm products for our local customers. They are experiencing very high demand for their vegetables. If you would like to sign up for a veg box delivery, please be aware that they have a waiting list. Please email and they will add you to the list – and do state if you are vulnerable so we can assess who they should prioritise when they are able to take on new customers.

You can buy veg from them each week at the Frome Food Hub while you wait!

Shared Earth Learning

Forest School practitioners based in Frome. They want to grow people’s wellbeing outdoors, and to ensure that local people have the opportunity to develop a close relationship with the natural world. They also provide Regular therapeutic horticulture groups for adults and for children and young people.

Mells Walled Garden

Set in an acre of grounds the garden is split between a community nursery and a delightful rambling garden where you can grab a cup of tea or a pizza from the outdoor café and lose yourself in the tranquility. In the 1500’s the garden was a site of a monastery belonging to Glastonbury Abbey. Opening again at the end of March.

The community plant nursery specialises in cottage garden perennials and herbs. Plant sales support a range of social programs aimed at improving the health and well-being of people in the community who may be experiencing isolation and loneliness.

Opportunities this season to become a volunteer micro grower!

Workshops and seminars are regularly scheduled through the season.

Frome Field 2 Fork

A newly forming social enterprise who will be offering education, volunteering opportunities and therapeutic horticulture sessions this season, at their edible community garden based on the outskirts of Frome.

The COVID19-safe Seed Swap

1. Get your seed packets ready following these guidelines…

Packets must be within the use by date and sealed.

Your own saved seeds need to be sealed in packets (Brown envelopes are great) and clearly labelled. What to write on the label…

  • Common name and variety
  • Latin name (include family, genus, species) if you know it
  • The year the seeds were collected
  • Any extra information you want to include about your contact details, your experiences, what makes the variety unique, or tips for growing
2. Deliver your packets of seeds to the non-contact ‘Seed Drop for the Seed Swap’ points which will be spread around the town in different locations on Saturday 13th March
  • Victoria Park 11-3pm
  • Loop de Loop (Market Yard Car Park) 11-3pm
  • Lungi Babas @ Station Approach 5-8pm

COVID safe protocols to be followed, sanitiser available, clean hands, wearing masks preferable, no touching the other packets in the box, preferably no queueing, if absolutely necessary physically distanced queueing 2m between people

3. Seeds will be collected and held for at least 72 hrs before being sorted by volunteers.
4. Between the 13th to 16th March you are invited to apply online for staggered pick up time slots:
5. Seed Swap pick up points will be open on Saturday 20th March only
6. Each person will be allowed to choose 5 packs of seeds on a first come first served basis (any remaining seed packets will be donated to community growing projects)

COVID safe protocols to be followed, sanitiser available, clean hands, wearing masks preferable, no touching the packets on the table, volunteer to provide info, pick up packets and hand over, preferably no queueing, if absolutely necessary physically distanced queueing 2m between people.

7. Donations will be welcomed at the Seed Swap pick up points.