Easter 2026 Newsletter
Plant Sale & Summer Fayre - dates for your diaries!
On Sunday 12th April we are hosting a Plant Sale! Don't worry if you can't make this one as we'll likely be having another towards the end of April, as well as keeping the regular plant section of the shop stocked up over the whole of April.
We will have a range of ornamental/flowering plants as well as edible ones to get you ready for the growing season. Think cucumbers, peas, tomatoes, and herbs like chervil, tarragon, mint and lemon balm.
Our Summer Fayre, which will see another edition of our well-loved sheep shearing demonstrations, will be taking place on Sunday 31st May this year! Keep your eyes on our social media to see updates and info.
Easter Holiday activities!
Happy Easter to all our visitors and readers! Join us for the second week of these holidays for a fun-packed time for children. We have the following activities taking place - click here for our What's On page for more details:
Storytelling with Rez
Little Red Hen workshops
Felted Flowers workshops
Meet the Sheep
Farm 2 Fork: Pizza Making
Don't miss out! All activities are FREE.
Quails are on the way!
We are incubating Quail eggs, some of which hatched in the last couple of days, the rest to come! This Brinsea incubator acts as an "artificial mother" to replicate the natural conditions a broody hen provides and ensuring proper development and hatching. This closely mimics the natural environment in terms of temperature, humidity, and movement, during the incubation period of up to 21 days. Come and see our new little ones.
The common quail (Coturnix coturnix) or European quail is a small ground-nesting game bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae.
Celadon quail are a specialized, recessive genetic strain of Coturnix japonica (Japanese quail), bred for their unique, often spotless blue or light-green eggs.
volunteer spotlight
This month we would like to highlight Sean, our passionate garden volunteer who has been with us for nearly two years. He brings to the Farm his childhood upbringing of growing food at his family farm in Guyana, and has a fantastic enthusiasm for clambering up our fruit trees (safely with a ladder!) to harvest our hard-to-reach mulberries and plums. He diligently sows seeds and helps sell our produce at the Farm gate some evenings. Sean has recently caught the dye garden bug, and will be helping us to create a space that can teach our visitors the incredible plants and colours we grow. Keep an eye out for more news on that!
Right to Grow Campaign Events
Film Night & Community Meet-up
Date & Time: Wednesday 15th April, 6-8:30pm
Location: Pelican House, 144 Cambridge Heath Road, E1 5QJ
Join Right to Grow Tower Hamlets for an inspirational evening of film and conversation. We’ll be showing a series of shorts, exploring land and food justice, past and present from across the world. We’ll also be sharing information about the Right to Grow campaign and ways to get involved. Tickets are free and there will be light snacks.
Drop-in Open Garden Session
Date & Time: Sunday 19th April, 12-4pm
Location: Mile End Community Garden, Clinton Road, E3 4QU
Have you ever wanted to join a community garden but not sure where to start?
Are you interested in growing your own food and supporting healthy ecosystems in Tower Hamlets?
Mile End Community Garden will be hosting a drop-in open gardening session. An opportunity to get your hands in the soil, support a local community garden, learn new skills and hear more about what a Right to Grow could mean for you and the borough. Children are welcome and adults will need to remain with children under 8 at all times. Dogs on leads are also welcome.
Interested in supporting the Right to Grow Campaign but unsure where to start or how to get involved? This April they will be taking to the streets talking to people and spreading the Right to Grow message. To learn more, sign up to join in, or to simply say hello, go and find them in the following locations (all of these are day-long events)...
Saturday 4th April - Canal Towpath, Roman Road
Thursday 9th April - Spitalfields City Farm
Sunday 12th April - Victoria Park
VEG OF THE MONTH: Spinach + Mustard - plus new salad bags and plastic reuse in our Shop...
This month has been fantastic for spinach and mustard. We've had lots of these crops, and as usual, have happily delivered much of it to our local restaurant partners St John Spitalfields. Don't forget to pop by in May/June to grab some of the onions and garlic that are doing their thing beneath the surface right now too.
You may also notice a slight change to our salad bags! We've ditched the plastic bags and are now using fully compostable ones which you can put into your compost/food waste bin at home (or return to us, so we can clean and reuse, or compost them if they’re past their best). If you're interested in a box of them for your own use we're trialling selling them too.
If you've got a stash of plastic carrier bags, paper bags, or even old tote bags at home, we would love to take them to reuse. We also encourage you to bring a bag with you when you shop with us, so maybe don't give them all to us! Donations of these can be brought to the office.
Site NEWS + CALLOUT
Our Site Manager Steven is currently in discussions with potential contractors and funders about adding an irrigation system to the polytunnels and glasshouses to make better use of water. We are also discussing the addition of solar panels to make our energy more green too!
CALLOUT - we need your skills! Do you have any experience or contacts in wood shingling? Our Lodge has a shingle roof in dire need of improvements. if you know anyone who knows anything, please share our site manager's email with them and ask them to get in touch. Your Farm needs you!
That's it for this edition! Thank you for reading.
The Farm is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10.00am to 4.30pm.
We look forward to welcoming you soon.