GREENLIFE

local produce Learn to grow your own mushrooms like a pro

WE all have realised over lockdown that the idea of growing our own food has become more tempting. But in many cases we lack the knowledge of how to successfully grow our own produce and very often it takes months to enjoy the fruits of our labour. For those wanting faster results, growing mushrooms could be the answer. Mushrooms are important in our day to day lives, not just because they are used as food but there is growing evidence of their medicinal value and they look captivating as well. Compared to most fruits and vegetables, fungi like mushrooms have a much faster growth cycle. However it’s a well-known fact that mushrooms are not easy to grow or to find when compared to plants. Which is why the Dawlish Warren based family business Forest Fungi are offering a ‘Grow Your Own Tour’ to teach us how to grow our own mushrooms successfully. Owner Scott Marshall said: “The tours around our farm trail last approximately half an hour are priced at £20 and include a guided tour of our greenhouse shroom room where you can ask questions and pick up growing hints and tips from one of our team of growing experts. Those on the tour also receive a Forest fungi organic grow kit (normally £15). Ready to fruit at home, the kits are exactly the same growing

Oxen Park Farm blocks as we use here on our mushroom farm.” The farm shop and cafe, which opened 7 years ago, is a popular Devon destination these days, offering real Barista coffee and a wide range of

Deliciou O s bags ofo rg rganic and anic Veg Bags home-made, gourmet dishes offering examples of the culinary uses of biodynamic veg grown in harmony Email: veg@onthehill.camp with nature here in the Teign Valley Phone: 07939575364

Collection in Ashton each Tuesday. Facebook: @OxenParkDevon

Wholesale produce also available. S m a l l - s u i t a b l e fo r a n i n d i vi d u a l o r c o u p l e £9 . 5 0 M e d i u m - s u i t a b l e fo r a c o u p l e o r s m a l l fa m i l y £1 2 L a r g e - s u i t a b l e fo r a fa m i l y £1 6 W W W . *Oxen Pa O N T rk Farm H E is in c H I L L onversio . C n to A M P Organic /O and X E N P Biodynam A R K F A R ic with Demeter M Greenlife during lockdown By Jamie

HOW could we have imagined at the dawn of 2020 what an extraordinary year this would be? How the life we were then leading now seems like the distant past. In February we began hearing about this strange virus that was causing a city in China to be shut down. Watching from seemingly “afar”, we wondered how people were willing to comply with such a draconian measure. “That could never happen here. No one would comply!” we said. Little did we know that within a month we would be in exactly the same situation, and not just a city but our whole nation. As coronavirus crept ominously nearer, Greenlife began sourcing hand sanitisers only to discover they were already in short supply! In no time everything escalated dramatically. Customers began to bulk buy and invest in immune supporting supplements (we outdid Christmas sales in one week). Then, in early March, a case of Covid19 was confirmed at a Devon school. The virus, which had seemed so far away, was now at our doorstep On a personal level, March 15 was my daughter’s 50th birthday and a family celebration in Surrey was planned. We began to question whether we should risk going, but decided we might just about slip under the virus’s radar. So we went and had a lovely time, made all the more special because we knew it could be the last gathering for some time. At that stage there had been under 50 deaths. A week later there were over 200 per day. On March 23, we heard the news. Lockdown! Would Greenlife, as a health food shop, be allowed to remain open? Thankfully the government saw sense. Health foods were considered to be essential! So there we were, one lonely shop with open doors, among just a few others permitted to serve our now eerily silent community. We were suddenly faced with having to provide PPE for staff, mark up the floor for social distancing, put up Perspex screens at the tills, limit the number of customers and marshall the queuing, and finally to create a delivery service. Social distancing being impossible with so many staff, we had to put many on furlough. The safety measures seemed endless and very challenging to manage. It’s been the strangest of times. But we’ve aimed at Greenlife to provide an oasis of calm where customers can shop in a safe and peaceful environment. Our staff have pulled out all the stops to make the atmosphere as normal as possible. In their turn, customers have been wonderfully patient and cooperative. Luckily the gods have blessed us with months of lovely weather and plenty of immune boosting sunshine. We all began to see light at the end of the tunnel when lockdown was eased, but with the rule of six now being imposed, and the days getting shorter, the weather colder and wetter, it is impossible to predict how things will go, even by the time the next issue of Reconnect is published. Will we be in another lockdown? How many more jobs will be lost and how many more retail businesses will fail, especially with the inevitable growth of online competition. We, at Greenlife, are so grateful that our loyal customers have continued to support us. Our future is in your hands. We in our turn will continue to do our best to serve you throughout 2020 and beyond. 22 Advertising: 01392 346342 adverts@reconnectonline.co.uk www.reconnectonline.co.uk