OrganicLea Vine Lease Scheme

What's in the box: A weekly bag of seasonal organic vegetables, and sometimes fruit, grown in the Lea Valley, with contents that change each week.

OrganicLea is a workers' cooperative growing food in the Lea Valley on the edge of London. Its main subscription is a weekly box scheme of fresh, seasonal, organic fruit and vegetables. If you want a vine lease or any kind of wine making subscription, be aware that the site does not describe one. We found no details about leasing vines, receiving wine or joining a harvest. If that is what you are after, contact the cooperative directly before you plan around it. What the site does offer is clear. Weekly bags come in several types, including large, standard and no potato options, and the contents are published each week. A recent week included potatoes, carrots, onions, cabbage, spinach, runner beans, leeks, cauliflower and tomatillos. You collect bags from pick-up points across Waltham Forest rather than having them delivered. That suits locals but rules out most of the country. Beyond the box, OrganicLea runs volunteering, courses such as wild mushroom identification and herbal balm making, a forest school for families, and seasonal open days with plant sales at Hawkwood. The homepage does not give prices. As a veg box from a community-minded grower, it looks genuine and well organised. As a wine making subscription, it does not offer what its name suggests.