A Quick Update on the Grain Harvest So Far…

Thank you to everyone who has participated in the community grain harvest. We have gathered in all of the oats and rye, now it’s all about the wheat. North Edinburgh locals may know there are lots of small plots of wheat around Granton these days – so much so that it has become its own variety: Granton Rouge D’Ecosse. Now we’ve got it working at an even bigger scale at the farm.

You can help with this year’s harvest – no previous experience needed. Come and enjoy the community spirit and the fresh air! Dates and details on the signup sheet:

https://volunteersignup.org/KP7TQ

(Harvesting sessions are weather dependent, but it’s looking good for the dates this week.)

Harvesting By Hand

Harvesting by hand in large groups is the ‘old way’ of bringing in the grains – without heavy machinery. It’s a necessity for us at the moment, as the machinery is a huge financial investment. But also, these community harvests are a brilliant way to connect with each other and with local food. Your Granton Garden Bakery loaf is going to taste even more amazing when you picked the wheat that made the flour! No heavy machinery means no noise and no danger – people of all ages, with no previous experience, can get in amongst it and have a chat while working. And it’s safer for the farm’s resident wildlife too.

More About Growing Grains at Lauriston Farm

This is Lauriston Farm’s largest grain harvest since we took on the land – though we believe there were big wheat fields here many decades ago. This year we have grown 2,100 square metres of the Hebridean landrace* of oats and rye, and the same amount of Granton Rouge D’Ecosse wheat, plus several smaller trial plots – with no pesticides or artificial fertilisers. This is all about bringing back local food, grown by and for the community in nature-friendly ways. We work in partnership with Granton Community Gardeners, Granton Garden Bakery, and Scotland the Bread, so the grain we grow at the farm never travels far – it gets milled locally, and then goes into local bread and baking, which goes into local bellies! Also, community herbalists and our land partner Grass Roots Remedies are already using some of this year’s oats for making Hebridean Heritage Milky Oat Seed Tincture, which they will use at their low-cost herbal clinic in Wester Hailes and community clinic in North Edinburgh. They say,

We love how this is closing the circle on producing plant medicines and drastically reducing our clinic ‘herb miles’.

This is just the beginning of our grain-growing project at the farm – with a lot more to come as we work to create provide a more secure, affordable and nutritious food supply for the local area. You can get involved through volunteering at our community sowing and harvesting sessions, and buying the delicious results at the farm’s Market Stall and the Granton Garden Bakery shop!

2024 Harvest Volunteer Signup Here:

https://volunteersignup.org/KP7TQ

*A ‘landrace’ is a variety of farm crop, or species of farm animal, which has been bred and adapted to do well in the local weather and soil conditions. It is a legacy handed down by previous generations of farmers for their communities. It comes from farmers having the knowledge and the freedom to do their own selection (rather than being tied to using trademarked products). We are growing the Hebridean landrace for the cultural heritage and for the future, as a resilient crop in a changing climate.