Not-for-profit plant nursery needs help please

by Earthed Up! Limited in Belper, England, United Kingdom

We did it
On 8th March 2024 we successfully raised £3,864 with 29 supporters in 42 days

Construct a new polytunnel to expand diversity of plants & provide learning space. Extend our 2024/5 education programme.

by Earthed Up! Limited in Belper, England, United Kingdom

 New stretch target

Wow, nice one! Thanks everyone for putting faith in the positive solutions we know make sense. Here's what we're thinking. Let's stretch into this last week of the campaign.

With the geneorsity of First Tunnels we can actually afford a bigger pokytunnel than first budgeted, an extra 2ft long and staging inside for just £100 more

Equipment: drip fed irrigation £40

Gloves, watering can upgrades, secateurs, digital polytunnel thermometers £160

Online learning dye plants workshop development £250

...and if we're really rockin':

Biochar kiln £400 (we've applied for grant funding for this but haven't heard yet).


In short

A new custom polytunnel for growing and learning at our agroecological plant nursery. A wider range of peat free, perennial edible and useful plants, grown without harmful chemicals. An expanded education programme making the most of the new space. We are navigating converging crises together.

Your pledges are matched by the Aviva Community Fund! Give £10 and we probably get £19.32 after processing fees. Make your money go 93% further 😉

About us


We are Earthed Up!, a small independent plant nursery specialising in edible and useful plants, started in 2021. www.earthedup.com 

Our plant nursery is run with permaculture ethics of earth care, people care, fair shares at the core and we are guided by nature. 

Earthed Up! is a not-for-profit and a workers co-operative - all decisions are made together by our 3 members. We grow peat free with no harmful chemicals. We are completely off grid, we harvest rainwater and make our own biochar, plant feed and vermicompost. 

Our carbon footprint is tiny, we avoid new plastic only using recycled pots and sell plants bareroot as well. We are starting to create our own biochar, used in our potting mix, so we can put carbon back in the ground and help our plants thrive.  

A new custom, multi-use polytunnel will give space to grow on more plants and display them for sale, protected from weather extremes. And space for us to work together more easily. 

Education

We have taught permaculture, composting, forest gardening and of course plant propagation. Typically as day courses. This year our calendar is booked up more than ever before. We will be at events, working with groups across Derbyshire, as well as running courses at our garden.

We are running more, shorter learning opportunities, which helps keep the cost down for anyone wanting to learn.

We have started a digital education offer, with a series of very low cost webinars: plan your 2024 edible garden. We intend to offer more, similar experiences. We are working with the Permaculture Association to bring blended learning options - the best of online and face-to-face. A bit more planning together and some better audio equipment will mean we can share our experiences from our garden with a much wider audience, accessibly. 

Budget

It's a quality polytunnel plus paying for members’ time to do the work of putting it up. Figures are good estimates based on quotes and our experience. 

£924 Buy quality polytunnel with sliding doors and roll up sides for ventilation 

£500 Time to put up the tunnel, customise the doors, set up staging, at £11/hr

£144 Make polytunnel plant staging and potting benches from reclaimed timber. 14 hours at £11/hr

£150 Time to create permanent beds - construction and compost, for growing on in the ground - no plastic pots!

£200 Education planning: new session plans creation 10 hours at £20/hr

£40 Audio equipment for digital sessions and recording content to present online

£142 Estimated Crowdfunder Transaction fees. Charged at 2.4% +£0.20 +VAT per transaction.

Rewards

This project offers rewards in return for your donation.

£100 or more

1 of 3 claimed

Garden consultation

2 hour garden consultation with our team. We will help you more confidently make an edible and useful garden tailored to you. We can talk about tools, soil health and composting, plant species for different spots. To be redeemed in 2024. Within Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire only (extra, minimal travel charges may apply, please email us first to check).

£15 or more

0 of 18 claimed

Discover perennial edibles workshops

We have Discover perennial edibles workshops scheduled in our garden at Belper Lane End. Come learn about plants to feed you year after year!

£25 or more

0 of 4 claimed

Woad dye plants

5 woad plants (9cm pots) posted. Woad (Isatis tinctoria) is an easy to grow plant in the brassica family. You can harvest leaves to make natural blue dye!


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