River Cottage
RocketGro are very proud to be the exclusive
providers of compost to River Cottage HQ.
Overview
River Cottage grow as much of the produce for their restaurant, cookery school and events catering as they possibly can. They believe in Organic and Peat-Free and they use RocketGro compost and growing media products to propagate and grow these vegetables, fruits, salads and herbs.
Bio
Since Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage television shows first aired in 1999, the names of Hugh and River Cottage have stood for the firm belief that great food can not only bring us all happier and healthier lives, but also nurture and inspire positive change in the world.
Today, River Cottage HQ is set over 100 acres in an area of outstanding natural beauty on the Devon and Dorset border. The organic smallholding is the base for their Cookery School, unique dining experiences, B&B accommodation, and memorable events. They grow much of what they use at the farm in the iconic Kitchen Garden, poly tunnels and Market Garden. As well as the abundant gardens, the organic farm also hosts beehives, ponds, woodland and wild areas, supporting the local wildlife and biodiversity of the land.
River Cottage Head Gardener
Connor Reed
‘We use RocketGro at River Cottage because great germination rates, long lasting fertility powered by microbes and local, sustainable production make it a perfect match for our organic growing philosophy.
The RocketGro Seed and Cutting Compost mix balances water retention and drainage perfectly, and holds more nutrition than any peat or coir based product I’ve used before, giving us the best results for young plants straight from the bag without the need for amending with perlite, grit or feeds.’
Managing Director RocketGro
Toby Thomas
‘We are thrilled to be partnering with River Cottage and supplying them with our range of composts and growing media products. River Cottage share our values and believe in sustainable gardening and growing, and doing our best to protect the environment at all times whilst also achieving great growing results.
Both River Cottage and RocketGro are taking a lead in helping consumers make the right choice’s to support Organic Peat-Free growing that reduces their carbon footprint, protects peatlands, and delivers soil health. We look forward to a fruitful ongoing partnership with River Cottage and further inspiring gardeners across the country.’
RIVER COTTAGE MAY 2024 UPDATE
Year Two
‘This is River Cottage’s second year with RocketGro as our compost supplier, and the fantastic results we found in 2023 have continued into this growing season. We get a huge amount of interest from our guests in which suppliers we use, and I’m always happy to tell RocketGro’s story – supplying renewable energy to thousands of homes and creating local, peat-free, biologically active compost as a by-product.
Over winter, all the beds in our kitchen garden were mulched with Magic Mulch, and the beds beneath are full of life, dark and friable, and great to work with. As we plant out, the fibres of Magic Mulch are incorporated, adding to organic matter in our heavy clay East Devon soil.
RocketGro’s Seed and Cutting mix has once again given us high germination rates with the right amount of drainage without much need to amend with sand or grit. We have also topped up the beds in our polytunnels with RocketGro’s Fruit and Veg mix, which alongside our homemade fermented feeds have got our tomatoes, cucumbers, and basil off to a flying start.
While our various homemade composts and feeds form the backbone of our soil husbandry at River Cottage, partnering with RocketGro has given us the flexibility and volume to expand our no-dig growing areas and continue to increase the biodiversity of micro and macro-organisms in our soil, ultimately leading to the healthy, nutrient dense, organic fruits and vegetables upon which our food philosophy is based’.
Jonny Callis ex Head Gardener Blog 27th May 2024
