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Recent news

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AGM 2022
Thursday 3rd February
7.30pm King Edward Community Centre, Chatteris
Short Business meeting followed by a talk by Mick Matthews - getting started on your allotment.

CSSG St Georges Fair Poster April 2022.jpg
CSSG Workshop Meeting April 2022 willow obelisk.jpg
CSSG Meeting Poster october 2018.jpg
christmas party 2018.jpg
poster January 2019.jpg
N HAMILTON POSTER_0001_edited.jpg
CSSG Meeting Poster February 2020.jpg
CSSG Meeting Poster September 2018.jpg

Straw Bale Gardening

thursday January 4th 2018

 Group member Angela Griffin will give an illustrated talk about her experience of growing your produce in a Straw Bale Garden.

December 7th 2017

Christmas Party- bring and share meal, games, secret santa.

November 2nd 2017 

Make a wreath to feed our feathered friends

Thank you to group members Anne and Angela for a hands on demonstration- over 20 group members went home with a decorative wreath filled with goodies for the birds!

October 6th 2017 7.30pm

Harvest Supper- bring and share meal King Edward Community Centre,King Edward Road, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

September 10th 2017

Whittlesey Festival

We will have the group stand there to promote the group and recruit new members.

September 7th 2017 7.30pm

Dehydrating and Preserving your Produce. thank you to member Rachel Thompson for another interesting evening and clever competition!

August 3rd 2017 Visit to Chatteris Allotments. a enjoyable evening at the allotments, sampling bread and preserves supplied by members.

July 6th 2017 Water Saving Tips and a Visit to a members small holding. thanks to Geoff Durrant for a very informative evening and a wonderful BBQ

Chatteris Midsummer Festival June 24th 2017
We will be having our stall there to promote the group and hopefully recruit new members

Thursday 1st of June 2017

BEE KEEPING

A visit to Huntingdon Bee Keepers at Hinchingbroke

Country Park. Meet at the Countryside Centre at 7.30pm

Brampton Road, Huntingdon

PE29 6DB

the art of composting!

20th May 2017

discover some of the many ways to compost and how to use it for soil improvement and crop production. share knowledge and ideas.

Thursday 2nd May 2017 7.30 pm
Willow Hurdles- a social evening with Mick Matthews demonstrating the art of making willow hurdles.

 

 
8th Annual Potato Day

Saturday 11th February 2017 - Methodist Church Hall, 19 High Street, Huntingdon PE29 3TE  11am-2pm to general public.

CSSG members can enter at 10.30 am on production of valid membership card.

 Over 45 varieties of Seed potatoes for sale all at £1.30 per kg. (£1.00 for members) Shallots and Onion Sets also for sale. Refreshments  available, and a Seed Swop- you could either bring a spare packet of seeds and swop for something perhaps a little more interesting, or simply buy some seeds.

Confirmed Varieties available so far- First Earlies: Arran Pilot, Casablanca, Duke of York, Epicure, Foremost, Home Guard, International Kidney, Lady Christl, Maris Bard, Pentland Javelin, Premier, Red Duke of York, Rocket, Sharpes Express, Swift, Ulster Prince, Ulster Sceptre, Winston.

Second Earlies: Charlotte, Estima, Kestrel, Marfona, Maris Peer, Saxon, Wilja.

Main Crops: Ambo,  Cabaret, Caesar, Cara, Desiree,King Edward, Majestic, Manitou, Maris Piper, Maxine,Merlin, Mozart,Pentland Crown, Picasso, Pink fir Apple Stemster, Valor. 

 

AGM

Thursday 2nd February 2017- King Edwards Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

 

An opportunity to come along and have your say and plan for the coming year; both workshops and meetings. Suggestions and ideas are always welcome!

Growing trees for coppicing January 5th 2017

 

Thanks to member Glenn Conway for an informative talk on growing wood for coppicing and the different ways to harvest and season them

Christmas Party Thursday December 1st

an enjoyable evening with the usual excellent spread and fun!

cambs.selfsufficiencygroup@gmail.com

 

Thursday November 3rd 2016

Show and Tell- Raised Pies- a lovely evening with many members trying their had at a raised pie for the first time!

 

Thurday October 6th 2016 

HARVEST SUPPER.

Bring and Share meal

 

Sunday September 11th 2016

WHITTLESEY FESTIVAL

we shall have a stall at the festival to promote the group and try and recruit new members.

Thursday September 1st 2016

Visit to a group member's home in Doddington

an interesting visit, as we were shown some ways to use sustainable energy.

 

Thursday August 4th 2016

a demonstration and hands on opportunity 

PASTA MAKING

Dr Antonia Ligouri will show us how to make pasta, and also share folk stories and water saving tips

a very enjoyable and informative evening, completed by sampling some of the pasta that we had made.

 

Thursday July 7th 2016

Group member Paul Smith will tell us about

KEEPING RABBITS and PEST CONTROL

thank you to Paul for an entertaining evening about the different methods of control for many different pests!

 

Thursday May 5th

Visit to a Straw House in  Prickwillow

 

Please bring something to sit on, and contribution to a bring and share picnic. Thanks to Sue and Tim Hill for the opportunity to see how they are progressing with their 'straw' house. 

 

Thursday June 2nd 2016
Edible Flowers
 With many thanks to group member Rachel Thompson for a most interesting talk about edible flowers and unusual plants. with a mystifying quiz! - who knew!
 

Saturday & Sunday 25th -26th June 2016
Chatteris Midsummer Festival
we had a stall at the festival to promote the group and try and recruit new members. and the weather held out this year!

 

Emergency First Aid

Saturday 16th April 2016 - King Edward Community Centre, Chatteris PE16 6NG

 

A one day Emergency first aid course leading to a nationally recognised certificate.

Thank you to member Dean Crago for leading this successful day.

 

 

SALT DOUGH
a talk and hands on have a go evening, led by group member Anne Billings-Smith.

Thank you Anne, for an informative and enjoyable evening
 
 

Thursday 3rd March 2016 - sowing and growing a wild flower meadow

a talk by Richard Brown from Emorsgate Seeds- wildflower seed specialists.

a most interesting talk about  wildflower seeds, sowing, promoting and maintaining, and scything.

 

 

 

 

 
Pruning your Fruit Trees

Saturday 28 February 2016

 

A one day work shop on how to prune your fruit trees for the best crops- both restorative and for general health

a brilliant day - huge thank you to Marc for his excellent tuition, and to Mick and Carol for an awesome lunch!

 

 

 
7th Annual Potato Day

Saturday 13th February 2016 - Commemoration Hall, High Street, Huntingdon  11am-3pm to general public.

CSSG members can enter at 10.30 am on production of valid membership card.

 

What a day we had- over 1500 visitors!

 Over 60 varieties of Seed potatoes for sale all at £1.00 per kg. Shallots and Onion Sets also for sale. Refreshments were available. bric a brac. ' potato creche' - the girl guides were there to ' guard' your purchases so you could continue shopping in the town and then come back and collect your precious potatoes! and a Seed Swop- you could either bring a spare packet of seeds and swop for something perhaps a little more interesting, or simply buy some seeds.

Varieties available .First Earlies: Arran Pilot, Casablanca, Duke of York, Dunluce, Epicure, Foremost, Home Guard, int Kidney, Lady Christl, Maris Bar, Pentland Javelin, Premier, Red Duke of York, Rocket, Sharpes Express, Sherine (NVS) Swift, Ulster Prince, Ulster Sceptre, Winston.

Second Earlies: Blue Kestrel, Bonnie, British Queen, Carlingford, Charlotte, Estima, Kestrel, Marfona, Maris Peer, Nadine, Nicola, Saxon, Shetland Black, Wilja.

Main Crops: Ambo, Armour (NVS), Blue Belle, Bute, Caberet, Caesar, Cara, Desiree, Harlequin, Harmony, Highland Burgundy Red, Kerrs Pink, King Edward, Kondor, Majestic, Manitou, Maris Piper, Markies, Merlin, Mozart, Orla,Pentland Crown, Picasso, Pink fir Apple, Sante, Sarpo Mira, Shannon, Stemster, Valor.  what a selection? where were you?

 

Hedgelaying Workshop

Haddenham, 30th-31st January

 

A workshop on hedgelaying. Helping at Haddenham community gardens- a good job guys!

AGM

Thursday 4th February 2016- King Edwards Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

 

An opportunity to come along and have your say and plan for the coming year; both workshops and meetings. Suggestions and ideas are always welcome!

 

 

 

Wassail!

January 7th 2016, 7.30pm- King Edwards Community Centre, Chatteris PE16 6NG

 

Food Historian Monica Askay gave an interesting talk about the history of the Wassail

 

Christmas Party

December 3rd -7.30pm

 

A social evening and bring and share meal.

- it was very enjoyable and the quiz wasn't quite so hard this year!

 

Bonfire Night show and tell

November 5th- 7.30pm  King Edwards Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

 

An evening based around Bonfire Night- show and tell on a bonfire theme or bring and share bonfire night food- what an evening- a bonfire cake, firework kebab skewers, a couple of traditional casseroles- proper bonfire night fare!

 

 

Cheese Making Workshop

October 18th-10.30pm 2015 

An opportunity to learn the craft of cheesemaking.

Members enjoyed the day and look forward to building on their knowledge!

Harvest Supper

October 1st-7.30pm 2015 - King Edwards Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

 

A bring and share supper celebrating the harvest. 

 

 

Green Burials

September 3rd, King Edward Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

 

A fascinating talk by Rachel Thompson on green burials, what you can and can't do.

 

Successful Compost

july 2nd 

 

An interesting visit to Geoff Durrant's new home and veg garden complete with bore hole. Geoff talked about the secrets in building a successful compost heap.

 

 

 

Visit to Mick & Carol's smallholding

June 4th -7.30pm 

 

A tour of Mick & Carol Matthews small holding, sampling delicious wares from their new Italian Style bread oven. a very enjoyable evening.

 

 

Delfland Nursery Benwick Road Doddington, March PE15 0TU

May 7th 2015 7.30pm

 

An exclusive guided tour of this organic nursery.

Delfland Nurseries is a family business owned and run by husband and wife team John Overvoorde and Jill Vaughan. John has been involved in plant raising for over 30 years.
They have 3ha (7½ acres) of glass. Most of the heating comes from a biomass boiler burning woodchip. There is also a tunnel and standing-out area for hardening-off plants.                       

 Many varieties of plug plants were available to purchase on the day.

 

Needle Felting

April 2nd 2015 - King Edwards Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

a talk and demonstraion of Needle Felting by Carol Lovell

we had brilliant evening having a go at needle felting- some of the results were more successful than others however!

Sheepy Day

one day workshop

 

demonstrations and hands on experience for sheep owners- topics include foot trimming, worming, handling, dagging plus anything else that you would like to ask!

 

 

Bee Keeping and making your garden Bee Friendly!

Thursday 5th March 2015 - King Edwards Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

 

A talk on Bee Keeping and how to make your garden Bee friendly  by Paul Howe

 

A very interesting and informative evening, with an in depth explanation and demonstration of 'The Waggle Dance'!

AGM

Thursday 5th February 2015 - King Edward Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

 

An opportunity to come along and have your say and plan for the coming year; both workshops and meetings. Suggestions and ideas are always welcome!

 

 

 

 
6th Annual Potato Day

Saturday 17th January 2015 - Commemoration Hall, High Street, Huntingdon  11am-3pm

 

Following last year's success, we are holding another Potato Day! Over 40 varieties of Seed potatoes for sale all at £1.00 per kg. Refreshments will be available to purchase as well as Potato themed foods. Seed Swap - Bring leftover seeds and swap for something that you want! Craft Stall, Childrens Activities.

 

Free entrance!

 

 

potato day 2019_NEW.jpg

Recent news

CSSG Meeting Poster March 2023 Mia's bayeaux tapestry.jpg
CSSG Meeting Poster February 2023 Beekeeping.jpg
CSSG Meeting Poster May  2022.jpg
programme 2022.jpg
CSSG Potato day 2020.jpg
CSSG Meeting Poster March 2020.jpg

AGM 2022
Thursday 3rd February
7.30pm King Edward Community Centre, Chatteris
Short Business meeting followed by a talk by Mick Matthews - getting started on your allotment.

CSSG St Georges Fair Poster April 2022.jpg
CSSG Workshop Meeting April 2022 willow obelisk.jpg
CSSG Meeting Poster october 2018.jpg
christmas party 2018.jpg
poster January 2019.jpg
N HAMILTON POSTER_0001_edited.jpg
CSSG Meeting Poster February 2020.jpg
CSSG Meeting Poster September 2018.jpg

Straw Bale Gardening

thursday January 4th 2018

 Group member Angela Griffin will give an illustrated talk about her experience of growing your produce in a Straw Bale Garden.

December 7th 2017

Christmas Party- bring and share meal, games, secret santa.

November 2nd 2017 

Make a wreath to feed our feathered friends

Thank you to group members Anne and Angela for a hands on demonstration- over 20 group members went home with a decorative wreath filled with goodies for the birds!

October 6th 2017 7.30pm

Harvest Supper- bring and share meal King Edward Community Centre,King Edward Road, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

September 10th 2017

Whittlesey Festival

We will have the group stand there to promote the group and recruit new members.

September 7th 2017 7.30pm

Dehydrating and Preserving your Produce. thank you to member Rachel Thompson for another interesting evening and clever competition!

August 3rd 2017 Visit to Chatteris Allotments. a enjoyable evening at the allotments, sampling bread and preserves supplied by members.

July 6th 2017 Water Saving Tips and a Visit to a members small holding. thanks to Geoff Durrant for a very informative evening and a wonderful BBQ

Chatteris Midsummer Festival June 24th 2017
We will be having our stall there to promote the group and hopefully recruit new members

Thursday 1st of June 2017

BEE KEEPING

A visit to Huntingdon Bee Keepers at Hinchingbroke

Country Park. Meet at the Countryside Centre at 7.30pm

Brampton Road, Huntingdon

PE29 6DB

the art of composting!

20th May 2017

discover some of the many ways to compost and how to use it for soil improvement and crop production. share knowledge and ideas.

Thursday 2nd May 2017 7.30 pm
Willow Hurdles- a social evening with Mick Matthews demonstrating the art of making willow hurdles.

 

 
8th Annual Potato Day

Saturday 11th February 2017 - Methodist Church Hall, 19 High Street, Huntingdon PE29 3TE  11am-2pm to general public.

CSSG members can enter at 10.30 am on production of valid membership card.

 Over 45 varieties of Seed potatoes for sale all at £1.30 per kg. (£1.00 for members) Shallots and Onion Sets also for sale. Refreshments  available, and a Seed Swop- you could either bring a spare packet of seeds and swop for something perhaps a little more interesting, or simply buy some seeds.

Confirmed Varieties available so far- First Earlies: Arran Pilot, Casablanca, Duke of York, Epicure, Foremost, Home Guard, International Kidney, Lady Christl, Maris Bard, Pentland Javelin, Premier, Red Duke of York, Rocket, Sharpes Express, Swift, Ulster Prince, Ulster Sceptre, Winston.

Second Earlies: Charlotte, Estima, Kestrel, Marfona, Maris Peer, Saxon, Wilja.

Main Crops: Ambo,  Cabaret, Caesar, Cara, Desiree,King Edward, Majestic, Manitou, Maris Piper, Maxine,Merlin, Mozart,Pentland Crown, Picasso, Pink fir Apple Stemster, Valor. 

 

AGM

Thursday 2nd February 2017- King Edwards Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

 

An opportunity to come along and have your say and plan for the coming year; both workshops and meetings. Suggestions and ideas are always welcome!

Growing trees for coppicing January 5th 2017

 

Thanks to member Glenn Conway for an informative talk on growing wood for coppicing and the different ways to harvest and season them

Christmas Party Thursday December 1st

an enjoyable evening with the usual excellent spread and fun!

cambs.selfsufficiencygroup@gmail.com

 

Thursday November 3rd 2016

Show and Tell- Raised Pies- a lovely evening with many members trying their had at a raised pie for the first time!

 

Thurday October 6th 2016 

HARVEST SUPPER.

Bring and Share meal

 

Sunday September 11th 2016

WHITTLESEY FESTIVAL

we shall have a stall at the festival to promote the group and try and recruit new members.

Thursday September 1st 2016

Visit to a group member's home in Doddington

an interesting visit, as we were shown some ways to use sustainable energy.

 

Thursday August 4th 2016

a demonstration and hands on opportunity 

PASTA MAKING

Dr Antonia Ligouri will show us how to make pasta, and also share folk stories and water saving tips

a very enjoyable and informative evening, completed by sampling some of the pasta that we had made.

 

Thursday July 7th 2016

Group member Paul Smith will tell us about

KEEPING RABBITS and PEST CONTROL

thank you to Paul for an entertaining evening about the different methods of control for many different pests!

 

Thursday May 5th

Visit to a Straw House in  Prickwillow

 

Please bring something to sit on, and contribution to a bring and share picnic. Thanks to Sue and Tim Hill for the opportunity to see how they are progressing with their 'straw' house. 

 

Thursday June 2nd 2016
Edible Flowers
 With many thanks to group member Rachel Thompson for a most interesting talk about edible flowers and unusual plants. with a mystifying quiz! - who knew!
 

Saturday & Sunday 25th -26th June 2016
Chatteris Midsummer Festival
we had a stall at the festival to promote the group and try and recruit new members. and the weather held out this year!

 

Emergency First Aid

Saturday 16th April 2016 - King Edward Community Centre, Chatteris PE16 6NG

 

A one day Emergency first aid course leading to a nationally recognised certificate.

Thank you to member Dean Crago for leading this successful day.

 

 

SALT DOUGH
a talk and hands on have a go evening, led by group member Anne Billings-Smith.

Thank you Anne, for an informative and enjoyable evening
 
 

Thursday 3rd March 2016 - sowing and growing a wild flower meadow

a talk by Richard Brown from Emorsgate Seeds- wildflower seed specialists.

a most interesting talk about  wildflower seeds, sowing, promoting and maintaining, and scything.

 

 

 

 

 
Pruning your Fruit Trees

Saturday 28 February 2016

 

A one day work shop on how to prune your fruit trees for the best crops- both restorative and for general health

a brilliant day - huge thank you to Marc for his excellent tuition, and to Mick and Carol for an awesome lunch!

 

 

 
7th Annual Potato Day

Saturday 13th February 2016 - Commemoration Hall, High Street, Huntingdon  11am-3pm to general public.

CSSG members can enter at 10.30 am on production of valid membership card.

 

What a day we had- over 1500 visitors!

 Over 60 varieties of Seed potatoes for sale all at £1.00 per kg. Shallots and Onion Sets also for sale. Refreshments were available. bric a brac. ' potato creche' - the girl guides were there to ' guard' your purchases so you could continue shopping in the town and then come back and collect your precious potatoes! and a Seed Swop- you could either bring a spare packet of seeds and swop for something perhaps a little more interesting, or simply buy some seeds.

Varieties available .First Earlies: Arran Pilot, Casablanca, Duke of York, Dunluce, Epicure, Foremost, Home Guard, int Kidney, Lady Christl, Maris Bar, Pentland Javelin, Premier, Red Duke of York, Rocket, Sharpes Express, Sherine (NVS) Swift, Ulster Prince, Ulster Sceptre, Winston.

Second Earlies: Blue Kestrel, Bonnie, British Queen, Carlingford, Charlotte, Estima, Kestrel, Marfona, Maris Peer, Nadine, Nicola, Saxon, Shetland Black, Wilja.

Main Crops: Ambo, Armour (NVS), Blue Belle, Bute, Caberet, Caesar, Cara, Desiree, Harlequin, Harmony, Highland Burgundy Red, Kerrs Pink, King Edward, Kondor, Majestic, Manitou, Maris Piper, Markies, Merlin, Mozart, Orla,Pentland Crown, Picasso, Pink fir Apple, Sante, Sarpo Mira, Shannon, Stemster, Valor.  what a selection? where were you?

 

Hedgelaying Workshop

Haddenham, 30th-31st January

 

A workshop on hedgelaying. Helping at Haddenham community gardens- a good job guys!

AGM

Thursday 4th February 2016- King Edwards Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

 

An opportunity to come along and have your say and plan for the coming year; both workshops and meetings. Suggestions and ideas are always welcome!

 

 

 

Wassail!

January 7th 2016, 7.30pm- King Edwards Community Centre, Chatteris PE16 6NG

 

Food Historian Monica Askay gave an interesting talk about the history of the Wassail

 

Christmas Party

December 3rd -7.30pm

 

A social evening and bring and share meal.

- it was very enjoyable and the quiz wasn't quite so hard this year!

 

Bonfire Night show and tell

November 5th- 7.30pm  King Edwards Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

 

An evening based around Bonfire Night- show and tell on a bonfire theme or bring and share bonfire night food- what an evening- a bonfire cake, firework kebab skewers, a couple of traditional casseroles- proper bonfire night fare!

 

 

Cheese Making Workshop

October 18th-10.30pm 2015 

An opportunity to learn the craft of cheesemaking.

Members enjoyed the day and look forward to building on their knowledge!

Harvest Supper

October 1st-7.30pm 2015 - King Edwards Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

 

A bring and share supper celebrating the harvest. 

 

 

Green Burials

September 3rd, King Edward Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

 

A fascinating talk by Rachel Thompson on green burials, what you can and can't do.

 

Successful Compost

july 2nd 

 

An interesting visit to Geoff Durrant's new home and veg garden complete with bore hole. Geoff talked about the secrets in building a successful compost heap.

 

 

 

Visit to Mick & Carol's smallholding

June 4th -7.30pm 

 

A tour of Mick & Carol Matthews small holding, sampling delicious wares from their new Italian Style bread oven. a very enjoyable evening.

 

 

Delfland Nursery Benwick Road Doddington, March PE15 0TU

May 7th 2015 7.30pm

 

An exclusive guided tour of this organic nursery.

Delfland Nurseries is a family business owned and run by husband and wife team John Overvoorde and Jill Vaughan. John has been involved in plant raising for over 30 years.
They have 3ha (7½ acres) of glass. Most of the heating comes from a biomass boiler burning woodchip. There is also a tunnel and standing-out area for hardening-off plants.                       

 Many varieties of plug plants were available to purchase on the day.

 

Needle Felting

April 2nd 2015 - King Edwards Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

a talk and demonstraion of Needle Felting by Carol Lovell

we had brilliant evening having a go at needle felting- some of the results were more successful than others however!

Sheepy Day

one day workshop

 

demonstrations and hands on experience for sheep owners- topics include foot trimming, worming, handling, dagging plus anything else that you would like to ask!

 

 

Bee Keeping and making your garden Bee Friendly!

Thursday 5th March 2015 - King Edwards Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

 

A talk on Bee Keeping and how to make your garden Bee friendly  by Paul Howe

 

A very interesting and informative evening, with an in depth explanation and demonstration of 'The Waggle Dance'!

AGM

Thursday 5th February 2015 - King Edward Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

 

An opportunity to come along and have your say and plan for the coming year; both workshops and meetings. Suggestions and ideas are always welcome!

 

 

 

 
6th Annual Potato Day

Saturday 17th January 2015 - Commemoration Hall, High Street, Huntingdon  11am-3pm

 

Following last year's success, we are holding another Potato Day! Over 40 varieties of Seed potatoes for sale all at £1.00 per kg. Refreshments will be available to purchase as well as Potato themed foods. Seed Swap - Bring leftover seeds and swap for something that you want! Craft Stall, Childrens Activities.

 

Free entrance!

 

 

potato day 2019_NEW.jpg

Recent news

CSSG Meeting Poster March 2023 Mia's bayeaux tapestry.jpg
CSSG Meeting Poster February 2023 Beekeeping.jpg
CSSG Meeting Poster May  2022.jpg
programme 2022.jpg
CSSG Potato day 2020.jpg
CSSG Meeting Poster March 2020.jpg

AGM 2022
Thursday 3rd February
7.30pm King Edward Community Centre, Chatteris
Short Business meeting followed by a talk by Mick Matthews - getting started on your allotment.

CSSG St Georges Fair Poster April 2022.jpg
CSSG Workshop Meeting April 2022 willow obelisk.jpg
CSSG Meeting Poster october 2018.jpg
christmas party 2018.jpg
poster January 2019.jpg
N HAMILTON POSTER_0001_edited.jpg
CSSG Meeting Poster February 2020.jpg
CSSG Meeting Poster September 2018.jpg

Straw Bale Gardening

thursday January 4th 2018

 Group member Angela Griffin will give an illustrated talk about her experience of growing your produce in a Straw Bale Garden.

December 7th 2017

Christmas Party- bring and share meal, games, secret santa.

November 2nd 2017 

Make a wreath to feed our feathered friends

Thank you to group members Anne and Angela for a hands on demonstration- over 20 group members went home with a decorative wreath filled with goodies for the birds!

October 6th 2017 7.30pm

Harvest Supper- bring and share meal King Edward Community Centre,King Edward Road, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

September 10th 2017

Whittlesey Festival

We will have the group stand there to promote the group and recruit new members.

September 7th 2017 7.30pm

Dehydrating and Preserving your Produce. thank you to member Rachel Thompson for another interesting evening and clever competition!

August 3rd 2017 Visit to Chatteris Allotments. a enjoyable evening at the allotments, sampling bread and preserves supplied by members.

July 6th 2017 Water Saving Tips and a Visit to a members small holding. thanks to Geoff Durrant for a very informative evening and a wonderful BBQ

Chatteris Midsummer Festival June 24th 2017
We will be having our stall there to promote the group and hopefully recruit new members

Thursday 1st of June 2017

BEE KEEPING

A visit to Huntingdon Bee Keepers at Hinchingbroke

Country Park. Meet at the Countryside Centre at 7.30pm

Brampton Road, Huntingdon

PE29 6DB

the art of composting!

20th May 2017

discover some of the many ways to compost and how to use it for soil improvement and crop production. share knowledge and ideas.

Thursday 2nd May 2017 7.30 pm
Willow Hurdles- a social evening with Mick Matthews demonstrating the art of making willow hurdles.

 

 
8th Annual Potato Day

Saturday 11th February 2017 - Methodist Church Hall, 19 High Street, Huntingdon PE29 3TE  11am-2pm to general public.

CSSG members can enter at 10.30 am on production of valid membership card.

 Over 45 varieties of Seed potatoes for sale all at £1.30 per kg. (£1.00 for members) Shallots and Onion Sets also for sale. Refreshments  available, and a Seed Swop- you could either bring a spare packet of seeds and swop for something perhaps a little more interesting, or simply buy some seeds.

Confirmed Varieties available so far- First Earlies: Arran Pilot, Casablanca, Duke of York, Epicure, Foremost, Home Guard, International Kidney, Lady Christl, Maris Bard, Pentland Javelin, Premier, Red Duke of York, Rocket, Sharpes Express, Swift, Ulster Prince, Ulster Sceptre, Winston.

Second Earlies: Charlotte, Estima, Kestrel, Marfona, Maris Peer, Saxon, Wilja.

Main Crops: Ambo,  Cabaret, Caesar, Cara, Desiree,King Edward, Majestic, Manitou, Maris Piper, Maxine,Merlin, Mozart,Pentland Crown, Picasso, Pink fir Apple Stemster, Valor. 

 

AGM

Thursday 2nd February 2017- King Edwards Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

 

An opportunity to come along and have your say and plan for the coming year; both workshops and meetings. Suggestions and ideas are always welcome!

Growing trees for coppicing January 5th 2017

 

Thanks to member Glenn Conway for an informative talk on growing wood for coppicing and the different ways to harvest and season them

Christmas Party Thursday December 1st

an enjoyable evening with the usual excellent spread and fun!

cambs.selfsufficiencygroup@gmail.com

 

Thursday November 3rd 2016

Show and Tell- Raised Pies- a lovely evening with many members trying their had at a raised pie for the first time!

 

Thurday October 6th 2016 

HARVEST SUPPER.

Bring and Share meal

 

Sunday September 11th 2016

WHITTLESEY FESTIVAL

we shall have a stall at the festival to promote the group and try and recruit new members.

Thursday September 1st 2016

Visit to a group member's home in Doddington

an interesting visit, as we were shown some ways to use sustainable energy.

 

Thursday August 4th 2016

a demonstration and hands on opportunity 

PASTA MAKING

Dr Antonia Ligouri will show us how to make pasta, and also share folk stories and water saving tips

a very enjoyable and informative evening, completed by sampling some of the pasta that we had made.

 

Thursday July 7th 2016

Group member Paul Smith will tell us about

KEEPING RABBITS and PEST CONTROL

thank you to Paul for an entertaining evening about the different methods of control for many different pests!

 

Thursday May 5th

Visit to a Straw House in  Prickwillow

 

Please bring something to sit on, and contribution to a bring and share picnic. Thanks to Sue and Tim Hill for the opportunity to see how they are progressing with their 'straw' house. 

 

Thursday June 2nd 2016
Edible Flowers
 With many thanks to group member Rachel Thompson for a most interesting talk about edible flowers and unusual plants. with a mystifying quiz! - who knew!
 

Saturday & Sunday 25th -26th June 2016
Chatteris Midsummer Festival
we had a stall at the festival to promote the group and try and recruit new members. and the weather held out this year!

 

Emergency First Aid

Saturday 16th April 2016 - King Edward Community Centre, Chatteris PE16 6NG

 

A one day Emergency first aid course leading to a nationally recognised certificate.

Thank you to member Dean Crago for leading this successful day.

 

 

SALT DOUGH
a talk and hands on have a go evening, led by group member Anne Billings-Smith.

Thank you Anne, for an informative and enjoyable evening
 
 

Thursday 3rd March 2016 - sowing and growing a wild flower meadow

a talk by Richard Brown from Emorsgate Seeds- wildflower seed specialists.

a most interesting talk about  wildflower seeds, sowing, promoting and maintaining, and scything.

 

 

 

 

 
Pruning your Fruit Trees

Saturday 28 February 2016

 

A one day work shop on how to prune your fruit trees for the best crops- both restorative and for general health

a brilliant day - huge thank you to Marc for his excellent tuition, and to Mick and Carol for an awesome lunch!

 

 

 
7th Annual Potato Day

Saturday 13th February 2016 - Commemoration Hall, High Street, Huntingdon  11am-3pm to general public.

CSSG members can enter at 10.30 am on production of valid membership card.

 

What a day we had- over 1500 visitors!

 Over 60 varieties of Seed potatoes for sale all at £1.00 per kg. Shallots and Onion Sets also for sale. Refreshments were available. bric a brac. ' potato creche' - the girl guides were there to ' guard' your purchases so you could continue shopping in the town and then come back and collect your precious potatoes! and a Seed Swop- you could either bring a spare packet of seeds and swop for something perhaps a little more interesting, or simply buy some seeds.

Varieties available .First Earlies: Arran Pilot, Casablanca, Duke of York, Dunluce, Epicure, Foremost, Home Guard, int Kidney, Lady Christl, Maris Bar, Pentland Javelin, Premier, Red Duke of York, Rocket, Sharpes Express, Sherine (NVS) Swift, Ulster Prince, Ulster Sceptre, Winston.

Second Earlies: Blue Kestrel, Bonnie, British Queen, Carlingford, Charlotte, Estima, Kestrel, Marfona, Maris Peer, Nadine, Nicola, Saxon, Shetland Black, Wilja.

Main Crops: Ambo, Armour (NVS), Blue Belle, Bute, Caberet, Caesar, Cara, Desiree, Harlequin, Harmony, Highland Burgundy Red, Kerrs Pink, King Edward, Kondor, Majestic, Manitou, Maris Piper, Markies, Merlin, Mozart, Orla,Pentland Crown, Picasso, Pink fir Apple, Sante, Sarpo Mira, Shannon, Stemster, Valor.  what a selection? where were you?

 

Hedgelaying Workshop

Haddenham, 30th-31st January

 

A workshop on hedgelaying. Helping at Haddenham community gardens- a good job guys!

AGM

Thursday 4th February 2016- King Edwards Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

 

An opportunity to come along and have your say and plan for the coming year; both workshops and meetings. Suggestions and ideas are always welcome!

 

 

 

Wassail!

January 7th 2016, 7.30pm- King Edwards Community Centre, Chatteris PE16 6NG

 

Food Historian Monica Askay gave an interesting talk about the history of the Wassail

 

Christmas Party

December 3rd -7.30pm

 

A social evening and bring and share meal.

- it was very enjoyable and the quiz wasn't quite so hard this year!

 

Bonfire Night show and tell

November 5th- 7.30pm  King Edwards Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

 

An evening based around Bonfire Night- show and tell on a bonfire theme or bring and share bonfire night food- what an evening- a bonfire cake, firework kebab skewers, a couple of traditional casseroles- proper bonfire night fare!

 

 

Cheese Making Workshop

October 18th-10.30pm 2015 

An opportunity to learn the craft of cheesemaking.

Members enjoyed the day and look forward to building on their knowledge!

Harvest Supper

October 1st-7.30pm 2015 - King Edwards Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

 

A bring and share supper celebrating the harvest. 

 

 

Green Burials

September 3rd, King Edward Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

 

A fascinating talk by Rachel Thompson on green burials, what you can and can't do.

 

Successful Compost

july 2nd 

 

An interesting visit to Geoff Durrant's new home and veg garden complete with bore hole. Geoff talked about the secrets in building a successful compost heap.

 

 

 

Visit to Mick & Carol's smallholding

June 4th -7.30pm 

 

A tour of Mick & Carol Matthews small holding, sampling delicious wares from their new Italian Style bread oven. a very enjoyable evening.

 

 

Delfland Nursery Benwick Road Doddington, March PE15 0TU

May 7th 2015 7.30pm

 

An exclusive guided tour of this organic nursery.

Delfland Nurseries is a family business owned and run by husband and wife team John Overvoorde and Jill Vaughan. John has been involved in plant raising for over 30 years.
They have 3ha (7½ acres) of glass. Most of the heating comes from a biomass boiler burning woodchip. There is also a tunnel and standing-out area for hardening-off plants.                       

 Many varieties of plug plants were available to purchase on the day.

 

Needle Felting

April 2nd 2015 - King Edwards Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

a talk and demonstraion of Needle Felting by Carol Lovell

we had brilliant evening having a go at needle felting- some of the results were more successful than others however!

Sheepy Day

one day workshop

 

demonstrations and hands on experience for sheep owners- topics include foot trimming, worming, handling, dagging plus anything else that you would like to ask!

 

 

Bee Keeping and making your garden Bee Friendly!

Thursday 5th March 2015 - King Edwards Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

 

A talk on Bee Keeping and how to make your garden Bee friendly  by Paul Howe

 

A very interesting and informative evening, with an in depth explanation and demonstration of 'The Waggle Dance'!

AGM

Thursday 5th February 2015 - King Edward Community Centre, Chatteris, PE16 6NG

 

An opportunity to come along and have your say and plan for the coming year; both workshops and meetings. Suggestions and ideas are always welcome!

 

 

 

 
6th Annual Potato Day

Saturday 17th January 2015 - Commemoration Hall, High Street, Huntingdon  11am-3pm

 

Following last year's success, we are holding another Potato Day! Over 40 varieties of Seed potatoes for sale all at £1.00 per kg. Refreshments will be available to purchase as well as Potato themed foods. Seed Swap - Bring leftover seeds and swap for something that you want! Craft Stall, Childrens Activities.

 

Free entrance!

 

 

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