Dirty carrots, honest stories

At a sustainability conference, someone told us about the carrots at their local farmers' market. People picked them up, noticed the soil, and put them back, prefering to purchase the clean, bagged version from the supermarket shelf. They said they didn't "trust" the dirty carrots...

We haven't stopped thinking about those carrots. It's a small, ordinary version of a bigger question: what do we trust, and what have we learned to expect our food, and our stories about it, to look like? Growing food is muddy. So is telling the truth about it.

Since our 2024 town-centre launch, we've invited people to get their hands in soil and share a food-growing memory on the spot. Those conversations do something incredible.

Strangers swap tips, neighbours discover they grow the same beans, and a story about a failed tomato turns into a shared laugh. Community cohesion tends to start somewhere that small.

On 11 October we'll bring out the carrot again to flourish in community and creativity at Berkshire's Biodiversity & Regenerative Food Festival in Reading.

🥕 When: Sunday, 11 October 2026 10:30am to 16:00pm

🥕 Where: Forbury Gardens, Reading

🥕 Cost: FREE entry

What to expect?

• Stories of climate-friendly growing across Reading's creative, connected communitities

• Late-flourishing veggies to take home...

  • and some hopeful ideas for the next growing season 🫛

• An invitation to share your own food-growing story with our curious carrot

We'll have nifty tips for growing practices and some creative practices to share. Whether you have a garden, a balcony or a windowsill, we'll gather in community to share ideas to help you grow where you are! 🥕