I'm happy with that, if we drill in April, we should have enough time to order seed and get organised. Viva prevarication!

Just a heads up on voting..john and I will identify the choices which now seem appropriate based on the group's comments and interests. This round of voting will start later today and my suggestion is that __ the voting will end on Sunday 19th March at midnight. __ Comments to this, in this thread please.

This is the current proposal - discuss here anything about _ the mechanics of how to vote _..

Vote __ YES __ for WHEAT, with beans as a companion crop. Both these crops will be harvested, and available to sell.

Vote __ NO __ to reject wheat and beans in favour of SPELT with a companion under-story which will not be harvested, but will be a weed suppressant, soil building companion to the Spelt.

Vote __ ABSTAIN __ to reject wheat, beans and spelt in favour of regular HUSKED OATS with a companion under-story which will not be harvested, but will be a weed suppressant, soil building companion to the Oats

Vote __ BLOCK __ to reject wheat, spelt and ordinary oats in favour of NAKED OATS with a companion under-story which will not be harvested, but will be a weed suppressant, soil building companion the Oats.

__ * The merits of the different crops should NOT be discussed here, but please on the main thread. __

__ voting ends at midnight on Sunday 19th March 2017 __

Dear Grahame

I am sorry I have been very busy this evening and could not phone.

Perhaps it can be fun next time.

Best. TonyA

I am voting NO
I reject the wheat and opt to choose to grow Spelt..

@alfredlawrie @edibleutopia @danielkindred @edna @ellemcall @harryboglione @jamestickell @lucybradley1 @nikitagulhane @seangifford @sebastianpowell @shyamdesai @stinewilhelmsen @veronicalopesdasil1 @tristramstuart @tessatricks
Hi, I am sorry to trouble you in the exciting run-up to the next choice - it's because you are one of the minority of the OurFieldWeston group who has not yet had time to edit your Loomio profile and post a photo of yourself (nor your cat) .. If you can be troubled to do so, I'd like that so I can remember better who you are and what you look like, in case we collide in a field one day. Other members may want to recognise you too. x Grahame
_ PS the profile bit is a choice under the three horizontal bars in the top left of the Loomio window _

But I did! I was one of the first.

J

Sent from iCloud9

sorry, yes, so you were. My error.

@alexandrasexton @alfredlawrie @andreadibiagio @catherinearend @edibleutopia @ellemcall @emersoncsorba @harryboglione @harrygreenfield1 @jamestickell @karlschneider @lucybradley1 @matteodv @nikitagulhane @romymiller @sadhbhmoore @seangifford @sebastianpowell @shyamdesai @sineadfenton @stevenjacobs @stinewilhelmsen @tamsynforsyth
Today at midnight ends what will surely be the most important vote of the Our Group Weston - the decision on what crop to grow. So far, with 10 hours to go, only 11 members have cast votes, _ so it would be great to have your input, which could be decisive _ since the vote so far is __ neck and neck between Spelt and Wheat, with Naked Oats languishing in third. __

hard decision!!!! I will vote soon

It is a shame not more people are seeming to be voting.. Maybe at the last minute there will be more votes.. I voted to grow Spelt as it bakes good bread and pizza, muffins, biscuits etc..and is more resistant to pests and is becoming very popular with amateur, home bakers and small artisan bakeries.. It is more digestible and has more nutrients than regular wheat.. The flavour is good to.. It will be good to have a spelt crop as I think there will be a demand for it and of course a good alternative to wheat which is predominantly grown all the time, everywhere..
It will be exciting as the deadline nears to see if spelt wins out!

@nikireynolds thanks Niki, it looks like you were on the winning side.

Yes Grahame, I am beyond delighted! It was my original vision to grow a heritage crop, in this case Spelt, as it is such a versatile grain and very nutritious.. I am trained in Nutrition by the way..
Spelt is the grain of the future as many people turn away from commercial wheat for health reasons and not to mention the taste.. A lovely nutty flavour and texture in baked goods.. It works well as a pasta too..
There is a young man opening his own artisan bakery a few doors down from my home in a couple of weeks.. He will be baking sourdough mainly and has been experimenting with different flours...(he had a micro bakery in Finsbury Park)? I have met him already and can't wait to tell him we are growing Spelt.. He may be interested in buying some product.. His place will be called Bread by Bike..
Very excited for the next stage of the project..

Something very satisfying about the decision is that John had already sown a field of Autumn Spelt last year, with no companion crop: so we will have two varieties of Spelt grown, on slightly different soils with different methods within walking distance.

It should be v interesting then to see the outcome! :smiley:

@nikireynolds I completely agree with you! I am also trained in nutrition and am very excited for the next phase! Where is Bread by Bike opening? Is it London based?

Oh Tamsyn, great to have another Nutitionist on board! Bread by Bike will be opening in April. The bakery is on Brecknock Road, N7 (Kentish Town). Andy Strong, the baker and owner of the shop has a website.. breadbybike.com
If you go to the website and subscribe, you will receive newsletters and updates on his progress and a free loaf of bread...!!It is exciting, he raised funds for some equipment through Kickstarter and received his target in 40 days.. He has a short video.. Breadbybike is on Facebook too if you wish to follow his page.. :thumbsup: :smiley:

Dear Niki I live in NW5 and drive along Brecknock Road often. Can we exchange coordinates? I look forward to visiting the new bakery.

@johnanthonyallan how fascinating.. I have lived on Brecknock Road 8 years.. Have you looked at Breadbybike website? He has a Facebook page too if you want follow and Instagram.. My mob is 07504110920.. Text me and we can exchange further :thumbsup: :smiley: details if you like..

If you exchange personal information here, it is in a public forum, so visible to anyone..

If you would like me to send your private emails to other members of the group - __ so that they are NOT visible to the general public __ - then please let me know _ without disclosing your email addresses here, as I already know them! _ email to

a Privacy issue has arisen..

See my note in the admin thread, posted after I noticed some members wishing to exchange addresses etc.

If you exchange personal information on the Loomio site - _even if you are logged in _, - be aware it is in a public forum, so visible to anyone..

So, if you would like me to send your private emails to other members of the group - in a way that they are __ NOT visible to the general public__ - then _ please let me know without disclosing your email addresses on Loomio _ (as I already know all the members' contact information)

@grahamehunter hi Grahame, you can send my email address to all the other members of the group as it seems a lot of members have reached out to me seeking connection and interaction.. It's a small world and I have a lot in common with many members of the group, including geographical and career interests.. Maybe that's the reason we are all in the group! A shared commonality - for instance, I have never met another geologist in my life since qualifying many years ago until the meeting at OurField in Feb.. We are now both foodies and into nutrition too.. Such an interesting group! :smiley:

@catherinearend, @carolingoethel1, @averilglencross, @andreadibiagio, @alfredlawrie, @alexandrasexton, @abiaspen this is a new feature of Loomio allowing me to remind just the members who have not cast a vote in a current proposal - so, just trying it out! Last time, I had to select everyone's tag, rather a troublesome process.
Nevertheless, although it calls itself a _ remind _ feature, this seems likely to appear in the thread, with the names, so if it does, (which I will not know until I press post), really it becomes only a name and shame feature for which I therefore apologise in advance.

Grahame - I'm away and no PC - loomio doesn't work on my mobile. Happy for my address to be shared though!

Sent from iCloud9

Hi @grahamehunter - @christinelewis posted this on the facebook group, in case you didn't see it...

Hi everyone. Just to say I have been unable to log into the Loomio site for a while now as my Facebook credential are not recognised. I have had to try and re-join with another email/Gmail address but Grahame still needs need to authorise this. Great if anyone can pass this on to him. Great news about the Spelt though.

Hi, Wendy, I see no invitations to joint the group..have you sorted this out another way?

Hi - finally I have managed to get back in, thanks for all your support. I now remain Loomio with @christinelewis logging in via Facebook (which means I get no emails) and I have a proper account @christinelewis1 which is pending acceptance in ourfieldweston group but seems to have got lost in cyber space - a good learning curve for me about third party authentication. Sorry if I have caused any confusion.

An urgent appeal for help

If anyone has a few hours to spare, and a telephone, they can be a real help to OurGroup..we have located some Spelt spring seed, _ but have not found a way to get it to this country._

These are the details you would need to obtain a quotation from a haulier..
__ Pick up location __
DE 96364 Marktrodach - Seibelsdorf (Germany, about 80km North of Dresden)
__ Drop location __
Weston, SG4 7BX (UK, about 8km North of Stevenage)
Load: 2 tonnes grain, in large sacks, palletised on one-way pallets
Approx total volume 4.5 cuM

Time is important - we need to get that product here, to be cleaned and in the ground. You can request any interested freight firm __ who have the ability to do this within the next 10 days, __directly to me at 07501946985

@alexandrasexton @alfredlawrie @andreadibiagio @averilglencross @catherinearend @christinelewis @danielkindred @darren4 @edibleutopia @edna @ellemcall @emersoncsorba @carolingoethel1 @harryboglione @harrygreenfield1 @jamestickell @johnanthonyallan @karlschneider @lucybradley1 @matteodv @matthewshribman @nikireynolds @nikitagulhane @romymiller @sadhbhmoore @seangifford @sebastianpowell @shyamdesai @sineadfenton @stevenjacobs @stinewilhelmsen @tamsynforsyth @tessatricks @tristramstuart @veronicalopesdasil1 @wendyalcock @johncherry

Phoning http://www.barringtonfreight.co.uk/road/germany.php this morning, will keep you posted.

Good news - Barringtonfreight think they can do this - they have vans every day. Grahame expect a phone call!!

Thank you Christine, it was helpful. We found a different shipper through North Herts Farmers but useful to make contact with Simon Poole at Barrington

All emails have now been circulated to those who voted yes in the last proposal to have their email address shared with each other. Anyone who was or feels left out and now wishes their email address shared (but only with others who agreed to share their addresses; it is a mutual thing..) should write an instruction / request to me at [email protected] or post the request (publicly) here.

@catherine
Catherine, I do not have an email address for you..can you send it to me at [email protected] so I can forward the list of others sharing addresses to you..

Has anyone stopped / still getting the Loomio daily summary email? Mine seems to have stopped a couple of weeks ago and I have to remember to come and check for any new posts. The daily email was a good reminder.

Certainly I missed a few daily notifications recently but I have had to join with 2 accounts to make any email work. When I joined signing in with Facebook I got no notifications or emails from anyone, think I may have half-put in a password then clicked on Facebook. I can't reset my password for my first joining so joined Loomio 'properly' with another email account and started to get daily email notifications as per account settings I had put into place. I do worry that there may be Ourfield people not seeing the discussion etc. @grahamehunter - is it worth checking who is still 'live' on the Loomio site if you think we have all gone a bit quiet.

The Nitrogen proposal deadline (close of voting) has been extended until 11pm on Monday 29th May, to allow more participation and research.

@alexandrasexton @alfredlawrie @andreadibiagio @annielandless @averilglencross @catherinearend @christinelewis @danielkindred @darren4 @edibleutopia @edna @ellemcall @emersoncsorba @carolingoethel1 @harryboglione @harrygreenfield1 @jamestickell @johnanthonyallan @johncherry @karlschneider @lucybradley1 @matteodv @matthewshribman @nikireynolds @nikitagulhane @romymiller @sadhbhmoore @seangifford @sebastianpowell @shyamdesai @sineadfenton @stevenjacobs @stinewilhelmsen @tamsynforsyth @tessatricks @tristramstuart @veronicalopesdasil1 @wendyalcock

Voters needed

with 10 hours to go until close of voting, this is proving an interesting choice, with strong comments from both sides of the debate -
_ it would be a pity if only a third of members vote. _
Can any of you who are in a circle with others encourage particpation in this vote?
@alexandrasexton @alfredlawrie @andreadibiagio @annielandless @averilglencross @catherinearend @christinelewis @danielkindred @darren4 @edibleutopia @edna @ellemcall @emersoncsorba @carolingoethel1 @harryboglione @harrygreenfield1 @jamestickell @johnanthonyallan @johncherry @karlschneider @lucybradley1 @matteodv @matthewshribman @nikireynolds @nikitagulhane @romymiller @sadhbhmoore @seangifford @sebastianpowell @shyamdesai @sineadfenton @stevenjacobs @stinewilhelmsen @tamsynforsyth @tessatricks @tristramstuart @veronicalopesdasil1 @wendyalcock

@andreadibiagio and anyone else who thinks they are not receiving notifications.

Andrea, Phoebe Tickel thinks you are not receiving information about proposal voting, - i this is correct, could you reply to my personal email [email protected] and we can try and see what is happening. You should perhaps first log in to Loomio and check that the user profile you set up has your correct email..if we know that is correct, we can check further.

Actually Andrea, could you reply anyhow, just to confirm you receive this message?

Closed threads - these are never deleted.

All closed threads remain accessible, there is just no opportunity to add further comments in a closed thread.

Sometimes in Loomio you may need to select "show closed threads" to see the topic, but it is always there.

Is Loomio working correctly for everyone?

Recently, I put up a new vote in the "what shall we plant in 2018" thread - and I selected to announce this to everyone in the Loomio OurField group - and as a test I made sure I was one of those; but I did not receive any notice of the vote, until an email arrived from Christine. I have checked my spam folder too, so I am wondering how many others may have the same trouble of not receiving all the announcements they expect..

I got an email from Loomio, Grahame
https://gyazo.com/f8f17e8ad9eeb12cc2f1e1a07e418185

From Tony Allan
Thank you for this information. We need the voting system to be reliable. Best Tony (Allan)

Grahame - I only get notifications for my Loomio account that I joined with a distinct password not by joining via Facebook, Gmail etc. People can choose to switch notifications off and/ or limit how they come. The new vote was the very first time I had received a Loomio vote via email to my mobile that I could have voted directly on but I have been quite active on Loomio recently which may help. I would suggest people try and log out and log in again to Loomio and in the meantime we will email when important things are going on. Below a link to Loomio notifications FAQs