Open Farm Sunday, 8th June 2025
☀️ Come and join in with a tour of the farm 🚜
or one of the free activities
On Sunday 8th June, we will hold our open day as part of the national event ‘Open Farm Sunday’, when the farm will be open from 10.30am until 3pm. It’s an ideal opportunity to be taken round our fields and find out what’s growing on the farm at the moment. It’s also a chance to join a foraging walk with members Craig Barnes (forager) and Nic Bingley (herbalist in training), or a fermenting workshop with member Erica Moody.
Sunday 8th June, 10.30am – 3pm
Farm tour, free activities, bring-a-picnic, refreshments
🚜 Tour of the farm starts at 12 noon – look round the fields and polytunnels
🌿 Join a foraging walk at 11am or 1pm
🔪🫙 Fermenting workshop at 2pm
🪴🫖 Plants and refreshments to buy (including pizzas from The Willows pizza oven from 1pm)
🥕🍐 Find out how our community supported agriculture scheme works and what vegetables and fruits we grow
🧺 Bring a picnic to enjoy in the social area
🛝 Children’s activities and play area
🌿🫙🔪 Herbal Harvest, Forage and Ferment!
With Canalside members Nic Bigley, Craig Barnes and Erica Moody
Forage and Herbal Harvest 11am and 1pm
Fermentation workshop 2pm
Join us to forage delicious weeds from around the farm and to make herbal vinegars and vinaigrettes to taste, like elderflower vinegar.
Those attending Erica’s fermentation workshop will learn about fermentation, get hands on prepping veg and have the opportunity to taste and take home a fermented treat made from delicious Canalside organic veg and our herbal harvest!
⬇️ Craig and Nic will lead a forage and herbal harvest, Erica will run a fermenting workshop
⌚ What the day will look like:
10.30am – open day starts
🌿 11am and 1pm – foraging walk
🚜 12 noon – farm tour for about an hour
🍕 1pm onwards – pizzas from The Willows’ pizza oven
🫙 2pm – fermenting workshop
Anytime: 🧺 bring-a-picnic to enjoy
🛝 children’s play area
🪴 plants and 🫖 refreshments to buy
🐶 Dogs at events:
We are happy to welcome people with their well-behaved dog(s) on a lead when they come into the social area for Canalside events. Thanks so much – this means everyone can feel relaxed and enjoy the event/space.
We hope to see you there. With bright summer wishes, Ali
🌸 Spring Celebration, Sat 3rd May 🥳
Our Spring Celebration is this Saturday May 3rd, midday until late. The Maypole ribbons are ready for the dance! It’s time for Canalsiders to have some Spring fun and to welcome new faces into the farm. The plan is:
🌸 ‘Decorate your Spring Bonnet and Bunting’ Family Activity
🌼 Spring Face painting offered by Aggy’s Girls Group “Girls Go Wild”
🌸 ‘Maypole Celebration’ Radford Semele School children dance at 2pm
🌼 Look for what grows and lives at Canalside with Pam Reason leading “BioBlitz” at 3pm.
“A BioBlitz is a natural history event that focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area in a short period of time. Record all of the plants, birds, animals and insects that we see. We will create a snapshot of the biodiversity on the farm, as well as learning more about the natural world on our doorstep!”
🌸 It’s ‘Bring a Picnic’ 🧺🥪🧁🍏
🌼 Cake stall 🧁 plus 🫖tea, ☕coffee and 🥤🍏🍎orchard apple juice
🌸 Welcoming ‘Chacma’ delicious Chilli Bhajis from 3pm
🌼 Canalside Bar serving Belvoir Farm lemonade, Purity Brewing Co. I.P.A. and Pure Helles Lager, Drop Bear Beer Co. Yuzu Pale Ale 0.5%, wines and a Spring Perry Elder Fizz!
🌸 It’s Happy Hour from 4pm!
🌼 Wear your Spring Bonnet and see you there!
Looking forward to seeing you there with a Spring in your step!
🌸🥳 Canalside team 🍾🍰
🌸🥳 Spring Celebration in brief
Timings:
Saturday 3rd May, noon until late
What’s on:
Decorate your Spring Bonnet and Bunting
Face painting
Bioblitz
Maypole dancing at 2pm
Bar
Chacma bhajis from 3pm
Cake stall
Hot drinks
What to bring (if you wish):
A picnic
Spring bonnet to decorate
Cash/card for drink/food purchases
Vacancy at Canalside for Assistant Grower
We are currently recruiting – please see full details on our jobs page.
Vacancy at Canalside for Lead Grower and Manager
We are currently recruiting – please see full details on our jobs page.
Summer party tickets are live!
Buy your summer party tickets now! Click here to go straight through to online ticket sales.
Full details about the event here and on the poster below.
Educational visits at Canalside
What our members say…
Recently we’ve been asking our members what they enjoy about being a produce share member at Canalside. Here’s what some of them have to say:
My family and I have benefited immensely from Canalside over the years. There is something hugely ‘grounding’ about being at the farm, hanging out with people around the fire pit and getting involved in the growing. It is a great antithesis to working life on a PC. The veg is tasty and I have learnt how to cook seasonally from what is available. I notice that my teenagers have a broad knowledge of vegetables and eat them willingly!
Annie, April 2024
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Collecting our Canalside shares is a high point of the week. I love the the way the vegetables change with the seasons. Eating food that was grown right here, in Warwickshire, helps me feel connected, rooted, in the here and now. Thank you Canalside.
Rebecca, April 2024
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I cannot recommend Canalside highly enough. As a member for some time I can say it has been different things to me at different times:
– Always a consistent provider of lovely seasonal veg, grown on site, that supports local employment.
– An opportunity to escape from the daily ‘busy world’ by strolling round the land.
– A chance to get some exercise and fresh air by volunteering in the fields.
– The ability to meet pleasant people from a wide range of backgrounds.
– And, it has broadened our cooking skills as we have tried new recipes to suit the veg provided in any given week.
We feel very lucky to have Canalside on the doorstep.
Martin, April 2024
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Today, was like any other Saturday for us. A drive over to the peaceful, lovely farm to pick up our small share. We have done this for years now and still the magic is there for us! It is a community that we love being part of. The current problems of weather, harvest, rodents are just part of the cycle in our minds. Sometimes we have a huge bounty and other times less.
Please do not get discouraged by this….our community is strong and full of good intentions and I think love for the earth and each other. Everything each of you do to contribute to this gem of a place is so valued. So a heartfelt thanks from us. On we go!
Liz, February 2024
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You can read more testimonials as they’re added here.
Farm open day, Sunday 11th June 2023
We’re opening our gates again for our annual summer open day with Open Farm Sunday.
Come and join us at Canalside Community Food, Southam Road, CV31 1TY
Sunday 11th June 2023, 11.30am to 3pm
- Tours start at 12 and 2pm – look round the fields and polytunnels
- Find out how our community supported agriculture scheme works and what vegetables and fruits we grow
- Bring a picnic to enjoy in our social area
- Children’s activities and play area
Summer party tickets are live!
Buy your summer party tickets now! Click here to go straight through to online ticket sales.
Full details about the event here and on the poster below.
Veg in the Spotlight – Leafy tops
We’re coming into the time of year for the earliest crops and, especially where they are roots, the young tender leaves can be as much an ingredient as the root veg. This is why we include them in the weight of the share – you will take the roots with any attached leaves in the weight for your size of share and get 2 share items in one!
Here are some insights about what might be coming in the share and ideas for how to make the most of all the edible parts. As a general rule, they all work well added to/as a basis for pesto, and in hummus, as well as like other greens in soups, stir fries and smoothies.
Radish tops:
As appeared in the share this week
The slightly rough/prickly texture on the surface of the leaves is lost with cooking
Try:
Chopped and used in stir fries, soups etc, as for any other green
One of the 5 ways suggested here
Carrot tops:
Will be in the share on the first baby carrots
Try:
Carrot top pesto
Roasted baby carrot and grain salad with carrot top dressing
More ideas and recipes here
Beet tops:
Similar to chard
Come with the first baby / early season beetroots
Try:
Braised beet tops with lemon juice
A number of ideas from Oddbox
Fennel tops/fronds:
Basically dill, and always plentiful on our fennel bulbs!
Try:
One of the 10 ways suggested here including in a pesto and salads, as a herby flavouring, in juices and curries
Celery tops:
Full of flavour and a great ingredient for a variety of uses
Try:
One of the 5 ways suggested here including in soups, to flavour salt and in a pesto
Ideas from Ali