New Plant Based Podcast Launched

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New Plant Based Podcast Launched: A new podcast has been launched to celebrate a love of all things plants.

The Plant Based Podcast, sponsored by Suttons Seeds, previewed on Sunday 3rd February and within less than 24 hours of being available on iTunes had rocketed to the top of the games and hobbies charts, beating all others to the number one spot in the UK. Since then, three new episodes have been launched with a new episode going live fortnightly on Sundays.

New Plant Based Podcast Launched

The podcast is a project launched by two prolific gardening writers, bloggers and presenters – Michael Perry, aka Mr Plant Geek, and Ellen Mary. Ellen and Michael have been plant lovers since childhood, and have a combined 35 years worth of experience in the industry as well as a strong, engaged social media following.

It comes at a time when plant based alternatives are increasingly in the spotlight, with names like M&S, Sainsburys and Greggs all recently launching vegan ranges. However, The Plant Based Podcast goes beyond veganism and investigates the wider benefits and uses of plants, as well as the people embracing them in their day to day lives.

The podcast is a project launched by two prolific gardening writers, bloggers and presenters – Michael Perry, aka Mr Plant Geek, and Ellen Mary. Ellen and Michael have been plant lovers since childhood, and have a combined 35 years worth of experience in the industry as well as a strong, engaged social media following.

It comes at a time when plant based alternatives are increasingly in the spotlight, with names like M&S, Sainsburys and Greggs all recently launching vegan ranges. However, The Plant Based Podcast goes beyond veganism and investigates the wider benefits and uses of plants, as well as the people embracing them in their day to day lives.

In each episode, Michael and Ellen meet someone with a true passion for plants – from a bodybuilder whose muscles are now entirely plant based purely from converting to veganism, to an expert at the Chelsea Physic Garden who discusses home remedies using plants, as well as the owners of a restaurant tipped to be the first vegan eatery to receive a Michelin star. Other episodes explore the importance of bees and how the right plants can make a vast difference; how the urban jungle trend can change our gardens; and how the world of edible plants can tantalise taste buds.

Subscribe to the Podcast via iTunes or Spotify, and visit theplantbasedpodcast.net for more information. On the website you will also find exclusive content and articles to coincide with the topic of each episode.

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GreenFields Launch Pitch Awards

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GreenFields Launch Pitch Awards: GreenFields, official Pitch Partner of the EVO-STIK Northern Premier League, have launched their second annual Pitch of the Year Awards. The Pitch of the Year Awards recognise individuals and clubs who work tirelessly to ensure that their pitches look and feel the best that they can despite often having limited resources.

The awards were launched via an online survey sent out to all clubs and they will be able to make one vote for their top pitch in the EVO-STIK NPL. Clubs have 21 days to complete the survey, and with nominations from 80% of member clubs for the 2018 awards GreenFields are hoping that 2019 will see even more clubs cast their all-important vote.

GreenFields Launch Pitch Awards

Paul Milton, Commercial Director at GreenFields commented: “We are incredibly proud to be sponsoring and judging the second EVO-STIK NPL Pitch of the Year Awards and hope that even more clubs vote this year. There is so much hard work and dedication that goes into maintaining a pitch and it is of paramount importance to us that both individuals and clubs receive the recognition they so rightly deserve.”

Once the votes are in GreenFields will be shortlisting three clubs per division to carry out pitch inspections at towards the end of March. The shortlisted pitches will be judged on the following criteria: clegg and moisture results, visibility of lines, overall grass coverage, quality of grass in goal mouth areas and overall surface stability. The judges will also take time to interview each Groundsman on aspects such as fertiliser frequency and Summer renovation plans as well as taking into account the staff used for pitch maintenance, the maintenance equipment owned by the club, the weather on the day of the visit, the geographical location and weather implications, the average hours of pitch usage and the level of irrigation in place at the club. GreenFields will document the visits by using a dedicated app and by taking a series of photos.

EVO-STIK Northern Premier League Chairman, Mark Harris commented: “The quality of playing surfaces is an essential part of any thriving Non-League football club and the volunteers who maintain them are cherished. The Pitch of the Year Awards complement the Football Association’s Groundsman of the Year scheme by giving further recognition to those pitches in the Northern Premier League that are already of an exceptional standard. We are delighted to be working with GreenFields on this initiative.”

As with last year’s winners, (Premier- Whitby Town FC, North- Trafford FC and South- Loughborough Dynamo FC) there will be one winner per division. The winners will be announced at the League’s Annual End of Season Awards on 15 June in Blackpool and will be presented with a trophy along with a £500 voucher to redeem against maintenance materials or services from GreenFields.

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Ex-Cricketer Criticises County Pitches

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Ex-Cricketer Criticises County Pitches: England batting coach Mark Ramprakash believes county pitches are not helping create top-order batsmen for Test cricket, labeling them ‘inexplicable’.

England have been bowled out for 77, 246, 187 and 132 in the first two Tests against Windies to slip to a series defeat and will now try to avoid a whitewash in St Lucia from Saturday.

Ex-Cricketer Criticises County Pitches

Asked by Sky Sports‘ Ian Ward whether domestic surfaces were allowing top-order players to hone their craft, Ramprakash said: “In a word, no.
“I’m trying to be diplomatic here but the stats would say fewer batsmen are getting 1,000 runs, let alone 1,500, in county cricket.

“Is that a lack of skill? Maybe – but I’d suggest it is more to do with ‘a quick game’s a good game’. We are playing four-day games in April when conditions are tough, pitches have a lot of grass on them.

“I went to Lord’s last year on July 25 for Middlesex versus Warwickshire and the pitch was indistinguishable from the outfield and Middlesex were 70-7 at lunch. That was after five weeks of 30-degree heat.

“It’s just inexplicable – I don’t know how groundsmen can possibly justify the pitches we are playing on at the moment.

“We are looking for batsmen with good technique and concentration to bat time – to get through the new ball and build an innings.

“Are we creating the right conditions for that, with four four-day games in April, four in September and not much in between?

“There is a huge emphasis on white-ball cricket, the excitement, smacking it into the stands. It’s great to watch but is it to the detriment of the art of batting? I would suggest yes.”

Ramprakash also cited tour preparation as a reason for England’s batting woes in Barbados and Antigua as they slumped to 381-run and 10-wicket defeats respectively to relinquish the Wisden Trophy.

Joe Root’s side played just a pair of two-day warm-up games against a Cricket West Indies President’s XI before they faced Jason Holder’s men at Kensington Oval.

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