Welcome to the Ragmans Farm blog. We are taking a few first steps into the bloggosphere to try to bring a bit of the day to day goings on at the farm.

Its hard to get in the groove straightaway with blogs so here is a very brief list of what we get up to

We grow things -

We have ten acres of apples and pear trees, and we make apple juice, perry, and cider
We inoculate and sell shiitake and oyster mushroom logs. These are grown in our wooded green lane that runs up the side of the farm.

We teach -

The farm runs a wide range of courses from permaculture with Patrick Whitefield through to living willow, herbal medicine, bushcraft and ecstatic dance! Over the last 20 years we have run over 200 courses, teaching about 3000 people how to live with less impact on the planet.

We demonstrate -

We try to walk the talk. New buildings are super insulated, old buildings are lagged as best we can.  We have examples of external insulation, warm cell insulation, cob walls and timber frame. We heat using wood burners, ceramic stoves, and a district heating system. We are currently designing a wood fired pasteuriser for our apple juice!

We also host!

You are welcome to come and stay at Ragmans, either in the Bunkhouse which sleeps 14 people, or in our Yurt, or simply camp. There is a lot going on but its peaceful. The farm nestles in a valley leading onto the River Wye on the edge of the Forest of Dean. Its a great place to spot Peregrines and Kingfishers, as well as the odd wild boar.

We hope this blog will describe more of the day to day activity of the farm, introducing it to a new audience, and keeping students old and new in touch with what we are up to.