yaldingorganicgardens.info

From KentOnline (original post here) 22 April 2008…

New lease of life for organic garden centre
by Trevor Sturgess

A place to grow, eat and learn. That’s the pledge by the new operator of Yalding Organic Garden, near Maidstone.

Organic fruit and vegetable specialist Maro Foods aims to give the centre a new lease of life. The firm has been successfully trading for three years as The Old Dairy, an award-winning retailer and distributor.

But founders Steve Oram and Rebecca Maxted could not always find enough produce to meet demand for their box scheme and had been looking at ways of increasing supply and expanding the business.

With Yalding Organic Garden, they believe they have a chance to do both.

Garden owner The Congelow Educational Organic Trust needed a new operator to replace Garden Organics which pulled out earlier this month.

The Trust said: “We have selected Maro Foods to take control of the site based upon their commitment to local/organic principles.

“Their plans to expand and develop the gardens into a resource centre for the public to see, learn about and try organic and local produce impressed the trustees.”

Mr Oram believes the Garden will become a popular destination by offering tours, a shop and a cafe, and educational courses on gardening, food production and cookery.

He wants to make it a centre of excellence for sustainable organic gardening, growing enough produce for sale on-site and to augment supplies to the box scheme.

He said four gardeners would be staying on, and extra staff would be needed as the project developed.

Mr Oram added: “This is an excellent opportunity for us to further develop the organic principles applied at the centre and introduce our expertise in the local/organic produce market. We truly intend the centre to be a place to grow, to eat, to learn. It will be an exciting addition to our successful local food business.”

The gardens are due to re-open to the public on Saturday May 24.

YALDING ORGANIC GARDENS – A NEW START

MARO FOODS LIMITED is pleased to announce that it has been selected to be the new operator of Yalding Organic Gardens. Maro plan to develop the gardens into a centre of excellence for sustainable organic gardening. The gardens will also be a centre for organic/local produce. The gardens will offer not only tours of the existing organic gardens but also provide a well stocked shop and café with local and seasonal being the theme. The centre will also offer a full range of educational courses for gardening, food production and cooking all with an organic flavour.

The garden owners, The Congelow Educational Organic Trust said “We have selected Maro Foods to take control of the site based upon their commitment to local/organic principles. Their plans to expand and develop the gardens into a resource centre for the public to see, learn about and try organic and local produce impressed the trustees. This was supported by their demonstrable track record in developing their existing business to be one of the leading lights in local produce in the area.”

Steve Oram, director of Maro Foods, said “This is an excellent opportunity for us to further develop the organic principles applied at the centre and introduce our expertise in the local/organic produce market. The two functions merge together beautifully, and allow us to offer the residents of West Kent and beyond a centre for the demonstration and learning of organic principles as applied to gardening and food production. We truly intend the centre to be a place to grow, to eat, to learn. It will be an exciting addition to our successful local food business”

He added “The gardens and centre will re?open to the public on Saturday 24th May 2008. People can come to the centre, tour the gardens and see how to garden organically. They will be able to buy local produce, including vegetables from the gardens, and sample the food in our café. There will also be a full range of courses available for those who wish to learn more about organic gardening and produce.”