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veggie BoX
N I B B l E r
My grandad grew masses of veg at his allotment, and
I didn’t appreciate it, finding his broad beans to be the
work of the devil (not k<strong>now</strong>ing then that if you pick
them small or peel each bean of its coating, you get the
sweetest little things). Admittedly, along with green
fingers, he had a dubio<strong>us</strong> love of DDT, but these days
you can get lovely veg boxes delivered, some organic.
So we thought we’d offer you a round-up of local
veg box suppliers. Generally a box includes a variety
of the freshest produce that week. You only find out
exactly what this consists of when it arrives (or with
Ashurst Organics, when you pick it up from the
local collection point). Prices start at £7.50 for a small
box from Ashurst, who are based in Plumpton (01273
891219). The boxes from Barcombe Nurseries (01273
400011) start from £9.50 and are also organic. Theirs
can include fruit and also offer the choice of opting
out of vegetables you don’t like. Both schemes offer
optional extras such as honey, bread, apple juice and
eggs, and sometimes you get a recipe slip with helpful
suggestions (I recently made a batch of excellent
pesto from a bunch of basil leaves). A very good local,
but not organic, option is Greenfield box scheme
(greenfieldboxes@talktalk.net). Malcolm mostly sources
his vegetables, and sometimes fruit, from S<strong>us</strong>sex
growers, including smaller ones. Boxes start from £8,
and are delivered Friday afternoons. Finally a mention
for Spring Barn Farm, who are opening a new farm
shop from 14th September, and Café des Artistes,
<strong>now</strong> offering a bistro menu on Tues and Fri in Sept
from 6.30-10pm. BYO wine, £3 corkage. Happy harvest
nibbling! Food news? Email thenibbler@vivalewes.com
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