Autumn 22

Hey Folks! 

I hope you’re all doing well - Here’s a small update from us :)

There are a lot of variables outside of our control these days. How do you keep going?

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The best ultra marathon runners (a route of 32+ miles) are not motivated by results. 

There are those whose aim is to win. They clench their fists when they lose, they disregard a race not won. They do well for a while, but eventually fizzle out. 

The one who keeps going, who makes it to the end with gratitude,  is the one who loves the run. The one who loves the experience, loves the process, who is motivated by joy... will run with pleasure and will continue when others stop. Results become a consequence, something to hold lightly, not the chief end.

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The most important thing for us is not to ‘win’. The most important thing is to still be running in 5 years, in 10 years.. 

Learn how to love what you do - then you’ll continue. Even when the going gets tough, you’ll have the joy to see you through. 

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Jen on the Market Garden  

Jen here ! Autumn is upon the Goodery Garden! Cooler nights, less daylight. It has felt like a huge turning point. A time to celebrate the achievements of this spring and summer. It felt almost hard to believe that only 6 months ago we stood in a field of nettles to where we are now. 2 acres under cultivation, buoyed with confidence and pride in our achievements and our aims. 

Thoughts turning to the future.

The polytunnels are under transformation- from tomatoes and cucumbers into winter leafy veg and herbs. They’re also housing hundreds of kilos of winter squash that are curing. Hardening the skins in the warmth and light helps them to store well over the winter. The autumn/winter salad will continue to thrive and change every week. Expect more bitter-sweet chicory and radicchio in the mix as well as winter purslane which is a fantastic and under-appreciated leaf! 

This month we plant garlic - 20kg of bulbs have arrived and will be split into individual cloves before planting out. The aim is not only to produce beautiful garlic bulbs but to introduce Goodery customers to the revelation that is spring garlic or ‘wet garlic/green garlic’. Harvested early, looking similar to a small leek, this is one of the most seasonal, special, local, flavourful things you can eat in spring. Literally everyone who tries it becomes obsessed with it. Fact!!

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Josh’s Thanksgiving 

As we reach that halfway mark between midsummer and midwinter, I wanted to take the chance to not only, as is fitting, celebrate and be thankful for our harvest, which was plentiful and delicious, but to also celebrate our team and our customers. 

The team here has made Goodery a joy; with humour, passion and friendship both in the warehouse, on the roads and at the farm. They’ve been instrumental in producing a product we can be proud of. We’re growing together into an organisation that can be part of changing the way we grow food and eat. 

However, the community doesn’t stop there. We’ve been blessed with a most delightful, thoughtful, and actually pretty inspiring group of customers. 

Thank YOU for being part of this movement, for sticking with good, local, organic food. For investing every week in our soils, in our air, in our local food economy, in your health. Every box bought means fewer food miles, fewer emissions from soil and vehicles, more biodiversity, more money for local growers and farmers wanting to do the right thing. We’re all creating a healthier, more resilient and more sustainable food system. This is transformative.