Nineveh Ridge Care Farm

How we became involved with Nineveh Ridge Care Farm

Cleobury Gardeners was approached at the beginning of 2024 to see whether we could help to restore a productive garden or introduce a gardening activity for the service users at this amazing non-profit Social Enterprise, situated on our doorstep (just a mile or two up the Bayton Road).

NRCF works with clients who have special needs. The setting is beautiful and the place is full of joy, activity and laughter. Here’s a link to their own website to explain further.

https://www.ninevehridgecarefarm.org.uk/about or you can follow them on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/people/Nineveh-Ridge-Care-Farm/100067348187215/

We had probably the most challenging year weather-wise that any of us can remember and were dealing with heavy clay soil. Our first few visits were spent squelching in wellies around our prospective plot. Added to this “bog garden” was a new challenge – that of a menagerie of wandering chickens, ducks, farm cats and the threat of the odd escaping goat, pony or donkey. This meant we had to select our crops carefully.

Our first year’s progress

We felt that raised beds were the answer but funds were short so NFCF held a fund raiser at Easter with a phenomenal raffle, Easter Egg hunt and cake sale with more cakes than you’ve seen in your life! It was well publicised and well attended.  Some of the proceeds were used to buy a new chicken enclosure, and some to purchase eight tonnes of green waste from Worcestershire Council.

In the end, we opted for a no-dig system – covering beds with brown cardboard. The NRCF clients then worked together over a number of weeks to barrow the green waste from across the farmyard where it had been tipped to our new beds. We managed to salvage a few strawberry plants and some herbs from the old garden before the chickens were rehomed there.

Once the cardboard and soil were added in April, we were ready to plant to plant potatoes. Being our first year, we started with a selection of different types of potato: Charlotte, Nicola, Carolus, Pink Fir Apple, Accord, Casablanca, Ulster Prince and Picasso.

Later came runner beans, dwarf beans, courgettes and cucumbers, along with a couple of rhubarb plants.  We hope to raise more seedlings next year.

Jess at the Care Farm has caught the gardening bug and planted up hanging baskets, log planters made by the woodwork group and sweet peas.  We are always grateful for any donations of plants or seed – particularly colourful flowers. Our flowers were chosen for colour and pollination.

Indeed, one of our more successful parts is the little flower bed outside the guinea pig shed.

Thanks to…

I forgot to mention our Shepherd’s Hut. Pippa Bannister (founder of NRCF) kindly allowed us the use of her beautiful Shepherd’s Hut where we can keep our stash of old plastic plant pots.  We put in some freestanding shelves ready to raise seedlings and Gareth Leach, one of NRCF’s support workers whom many will know from running the carpet shop in Cleobury, kindly fitted it out with lino to protect the floor.  Thank you, Gareth.

So, a very successful first year! Here’s to many more.

If you would like to get involved, please contact us at Cleobury Gardeners or contact Nineveh Ridge Care Farm direct.