On this episode: stories from the food growers and edible gardeners of Hastings and St Leonards.

Town Grown is a Hastings-based food growers network and in June they organised an ‘Edible Open Gardens’ weekend, where food growing sites all over Hastings and St Leonards opened their gates to the public.

I took my recorder along with me and spent some time getting to know what it’s like to get your hands dirty in the soil of this part of East Sussex. We have an heirloom county orchard, a former Victorian private garden finding a new lease of life in the community, a very special plot on the site of a former secondary school cricket enclosure, and we’re beginning on Helgi’s plot in Marina Allotments, in West St Leonards.

You can download a free one-page zine about each story on the Lecker website!

Marina Allotments is a sea-facing allotment site in West St Leonards. Locals interested can join the waiting list here.

St Matthews Gardens is a community garden with membership open to a catchment area in St Leonards. Find out more on Facebook.

Small Meadow Farm is a permaculture smallholding and orchard with wild camping and wwoofing opportunities. Read more on Anna’s website.

Future Growth is a food forest and regenerative allotment at Mulberry Academy St Leonards. You can find out more on Instagram and sign up to support the project on Patreon.

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Lecker is a podcast about how food shapes our lives. Recorded mostly in kitchens, each episode explores personal stories to examine our relationships with food – and each other.

Looking for something else to read? Find all of the Lecker Book Club reads on my Bookshop.org list. [aff link]

Support Lecker:
Patreon: patreon.com/leckerpodcast
Substack: leckerpodcast.substack.com
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/lecker/id1158028729

Merch: leckerpodcast.com/merch

Listen everywhere: leckerpodcast.com
Instagram: @leckerpodcast
Music by Blue Dot Sessions

Find the transcript on the Lecker website.

A visit to the Ideal Home Show, with author Eli Davies.

Eli's book The Spinster Cookbook: Culture, Politics and Pleasure in the Single Woman's Kitchen is out now! [aff link]

Find Eli online:
Instagram: @elidaviesss
Substack: elidavies.substack.com

Related episodes:
Trophy Cabinets (Kitchens episode 1) [LINK]
Moving House, Moving Kitchen [LINK]

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Lecker is a podcast about how food shapes our lives. Recorded mostly in kitchens, each episode explores personal stories to examine our relationships with food – and each other.

Looking for something else to read? Find all of the Lecker Book Club reads on my Bookshop.org list. [aff link]

Support Lecker:
Patreon: patreon.com/leckerpodcast
Substack: leckerpodcast.substack.com
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/lecker/id1158028729

Merch: leckerpodcast.com/merch

Listen everywhere: leckerpodcast.com
Instagram: @leckerpodcast

Full transcript available at leckerpodcast.com

Music by Blue Dot Sessions

How still life reflects - and defines - the food of an era, featuring artist Ben McDonald and author Katie Goh.

Find Ben online:
Instagram: @ben___mc
Ko-Fi store: ko-fi.com/benmc/shop

Find Katie online:
Instagram: @katie_goh_
Website: katiegoh.co.uk

You can find a list of books referenced and artworks mentioned at leckerpodcast.com

Related episodes:
A Personal History of the Orange with Katie Goh [LINK]
Oranges and Lemons [LINK]

---
Lecker is a podcast about how food shapes our lives. Recorded mostly in kitchens, each episode explores personal stories to examine our relationships with food – and each other.

Looking for something to read? Find all of the Lecker Book Club reads on my Bookshop.org list. [aff link]

Support Lecker:
Patreon: patreon.com/leckerpodcast
Substack: leckerpodcast.substack.com
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/lecker/id1158028729

Merch: leckerpodcast.com/merch

Listen everywhere: leckerpodcast.com
Instagram: @leckerpodcast

Full transcript available at leckerpodcast.com

Music by Blue Dot Sessions