Baking our lawn in The Broads

How Hill is an environmental residential centre beside the River Ant, in the heart of the Norfolk Broads. School children come and stay during most academic weeks of the year, enjoying the opportunity of outdoor learning in this beautiful part of the world. 

We applied for a copy of the Real Bread Campaign’s Bake Your Lawn, paid forward by one of the book’s crowdfunders. In May 2024, our head gardener, Chris, created a small area in our garden ready to plant our first ever ‘corn field’.

We were very fortunate to be given some traditional wheat seed by Hodmedods near Beccles in Suffolk, and the planting commenced immediately. By the time the book and seed arrived, it was getting a little late in the year for spring wheat but, with fingers crossed, seed sowing was undertaken. 

Factory vs. field

At the time, children from Sidegate School in Ipswich – regular visitors to us - were in residence, and a small group helped us to begin our journey of growing our own bread. We started with a lesson looking at the ingredients and additives in a sliced white loaf. Pupils read out the list (many with unpronounceable names, including such delights as diacetyl tartaric acid esters and calcium propionate) followed by a discussion about what is essential for Real Bread making. Flour, yeast, salt, and water were soon identified as basic ingredients, and we talked about the reasons behind the necessity of the four ingredients.

We then looked at where flour comes from, and a bag of grain was passed round.  It was after this that we went into the garden and the children took great pleasure in planting our ‘corn field’, together with the fact that they were the first school to be involved with us in this exciting project. 

Rabbits!

As soon as the wheat started sprouting, we realised that protection was needed from rabbits, so erected a chicken wire fence. Our plan had been to follow the growth of our wheat with different school groups, then harvest our first crop, mill it and make our very first loaf at the end of the season. 

Unfortunately, due to the very late sowing of seed, lack of rain in the spring, and those rabbits, the germination was very sporadic.  Although this is very disappointing, in 2025 we will plant earlier in the year, protect the crop and (hopefully) have a decent crop to harvest. We also now have a Mockmill ready to go!  Watch this space...

@howhilltrust

Baked YOUR lawn or would like to?
Order your copy of the Real Bread Campaign’s grow-a-loaf guidebook today! The book includes year-round Lessons in Loaf to share with children in the classroom, at home or in community settings. 

If you've used our book to inform and inspire children, we'd love to see and share your photos and wheat diary entries. Please send us an email!