Terms & Conditions

By purchasing goods from Ragmans Lane Farm you are entering into a legally binding agreement with us on the following terms.

Definition of words used in the contract:

TERMS & CONDITIONS: The contract of the sale and purchase of goods between yourselves and Ragman Lane Farm.

DELIVERY AREA: Standard UK

GOODS: Products purchased from our website; such as books, courses, vouchers, comfrey.

THE WEBSITE: Our address: www.ragmans.co.uk   

GENERAL CONDITIONS OF SALES

1.        Making a purchase

1.1         A contract is made for us to sell you goods when we accept an order from you made via our website.

1.2         To make a purchase simply browse through the site, adding to the cart any items you may wish to purchase. Once you have finished your order, click on ‘view cart’, agree to the terms and conditions and proceed to checkout.

It is important that these details are filled in correctly and fully for delivery purposes.

1.3         Orders are accepted if goods are available and your credit or debit card is authorised for the transaction.

1.4         All orders and payments are acknowledged by email by Worldpay and within 3 working days from Ragmans Lane Farm, and will normally be despatched within 5 working days from the time the order is processed.

1.5         We will charge your credit or debit card account for payment on receipt of your online order. We accept no liability if a delivery is delayed due to incorrect payment details.

1.6         Our online ordering is via Worldpay; If you do not wish to make an order online, please contact us by email or telephone and we can arrange payment by cheque or remote terminal. Orders will not be despatched until payment has cleared.

1.7         We will take reasonable care to keep all information connected with your order secure but we cannot be held liable for any loss that you may suffer if a third party obtains unauthorised access to any data, including credit and account details you provide when accessing or ordering from this website, unless this is solely due to our negligence.

2.        Payment

2.1     We accept payment for online orders via Worldpay, Paypal, credit and debit cards.

3.        Prices

3.1     We reserve the right to revise prices at any time. International orders may be subject to currency fluctuations.

4.        Delivery UK

4.1         Standard UK: for most of our goods where delivery is required the cost is included in the purchase/checkout price.

4.2         Where additional delivery charges are required, we will contact you to inform you of additional charges before processing your order.   

For some orders outside our main UK delivery area ie, to Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Remote Scottish Mainland, Scottish Highlands and Islands, some Postcodes beginning with: BT,PO,IM,AB,DD,EH,FK,KA,KY,ML,PA,PH,IV,KW,DG,TD,KT, please call us to confirm the delivery cost.

4.3         We will deliver the goods to the address you specify for delivery in your order. It is important this address is accurate. Please note most book purchases require a signature on delivery.

4.4         Please allow up to 10 working days for your goods to be delivered. If delivery is delayed due to causes beyond our control we will extend delivery time by a reasonable period and contact you with the new arrangements.

4.5         We cannot accept any liability for any loss or damage to the goods once they have been delivered.

5.        Delivery Outside of the UK

5.1     Orders for delivery outside of the UK will incur additional delivery costs.

5.2     Where this is available on the website (selected book titles only) please purchase the product for Europe delivery.

5.3     Where other products require additional delivery charges, we will contact you by email to inform you of the additional charges before processing your order. You will have the option of a full refund if the additional delivery charges are more than you would like to pay.

5.4         We will deliver the goods to the address you specify for delivery in your order. It is important this address is accurate. Please note most book purchases require a signature on dlivery.

5.5         Please allow a reasonable amount of time for your delivery. We will inform you when your order is despatched and can provide a tracking number if available.

5.6         We cannot accept any liability for any loss or damage to the goods once they have been delivered.

6.        Complaints

6.1     It is our aim to acknowledge complaints within 5 working days, and keep you advised of likely timescales and progress.

6.2     On receipt the goods should be unpacked and inspected. If the goods are damaged or unacceptable please notify us within 48 hours. We will endeavour to resolve the complaint as soon as possible; in most cases we will ask for photographic evidence of the damage and/or the return of the goods. We will then offer a refund or a replacement if possible.

6.3     We offer no guarantee for products that have been damaged due to adverse weather conditions or neglect.

7.        Cancellation

7.1     You have a 14 day cooling off cancellation period (which ends 14 days from the day you receive your goods) in which to cancel your order if you change your mind.

7.2     If you should cancel your order, this must be done in writing. You will be responsible for the return of the goods, within 14 days, to us in the condition that they were sent. We will not pay for the goods to be returned to us. For your protection we recommend a recorded delivery service/courier to return the goods. To receive a full refund, goods must be returned in their original condition, undamaged and unused. We reserve the right to cancel any order.

7.3     Comfrey orders cannot be cancelled and returned as the goods will deteriorate during this period and cannot be returned to stock.

8.        Privacy & Data Protection

8.1     We are committed to protecting your privacy. We will only use the information that we collect about you lawfully (in accordance with GDPR 2018). We will collect information about you for two reasons: firstly, to process your order, and second, to provide you with the best possible service. We will give you the chance to opt in to receiving marketing material from us.

8.2     In some cases information is provided to couriers for the purpose of delivery of products ordered online. Such information includes home, delivery address and phone number where provided.

8.3     No information of any kind is forwarded to any other company, except to the couriers.

8.4     Information relating to your order will be kept as part of our financial records for up to 8 years.

9.        Courses

9.1     If you book a Ragmans course online, through the Ragmans website we will send you an additional confirmation booking email and details for the course.

9.2     If you book a course online you have a 14 day cooling off cancellation period from the time of placing your order.

9.3     If you book within 14 days of the course date, the cancellation period is up until the day before the course.

9.4     If you wish to cancel your order after 14 days we are unable to offer a refund.

9.5     If we have to cancel the course you have booked, we will endeavour to provide you with a full refund.

9.6     Please note many of our course listings will redirect you to other websites. If you book on another website your booking is subject to the terms and conditions of that website and course organiser.

 

Our Approach to Soil Fertility and System Health ~ by Matt Dunwell

February 15th 2017 POSTED BY: Ragmans Farm




Ragmans Farm is a 60 acre organic farm in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire. We use farming practices that regenerate the land, using permaculture as a guiding design principle. Between the three main enterprises at the farm – Ragmans Lane Farm, the Willow Bank and Ragmans Market Garden, we provide employment for about 8 people.

Ragmans Lane Farm has eight acres of organic apples and we make our own brand of apple juice. We also host a series of courses throughout the year on land related issues.

A course led by Jairo Restrepo in 2015 introduced us to a new philosophy of system health, based on building healthy soils.  This had a profound effect on the farm, and led us to set up a full time research post to develop these principles for temperate climate agriculture.  Our research manager, Juanfran Lopez, is half way into a three year programme and this blog is predominantly about his work here at Ragmans. 



Our research goal is to gain expertise in making soil amendment preparations. We will then measure the effectiveness of these biological techniques on system biology and mineral balance on plant-soil health and growth. Over the last twelve months we have put in place a series of soil and plant tests and taken baseline data.


We are testing for pH, salinity, conductivity, a wide range of trace elements and also available nitrogen. In addition to this, we are developing a high quality range of preparations and techniques such as biofertilisers, aerobic teas, mineral chelations, mychorriza, chromatography, lactic acid bacteria, and native microorganism reproduction among other methods….

The objective of this practice is to reproduce the local microbiology, as bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, algae and protozoa working in a complete harmony in a healthy environmental system (forest, farm or even animal and human system).

Whilst it is tempting to try to produce a range of products for sale, we are wary of claims that certain microbe mixes are ‘silver bullets’ to be used in the same way as chemical fertilisers or herbicides. 

We believe it is more important to get a good understanding of the science behind this approach, and then for farmers to tweak them into individual requirements or situations, thereby having a positive impact on the farmer´s autonomy and viability and hopefully reaching a broader scale.

An example of how we can work through these preparations can be seen at Ragmans currently.  We have in the past sampled our soils and found them lacking in certain trace elements.  A conversation with any good soil lab will furnish you with the trace elements needed, normally in the form of salts – magnesium sulphate etc. These are supplied and put out onto the land with a spreader.


The addition of trace elements in this way can be ineffective as both the soil and plant are looking for elements in a bioactive form – ie easily digestible. For this reason sometimes the addition of trace elements can be disruptive and almost always there is waste.

When we make biofertiliser on the farm we build a biologically active system using fresh cow manure that has the gut flora and fauna of a ruminant. To this we add various ingredients – including molasses, yeast, native microbes from the forest soil.   A ferment takes place into which we can place trace elements in minute quantities over a period of three or four months.  These minerals are cycled through countless generations of microbes becoming more and more biologically available.


When the preparation is ready we spray onto the leaves and soil thereby feeding the system through the plants that in turn will feed soil microbes with essential micro nutrients.

This is a basic example of our approach as taught by Jairo Restrepo. We are only beginning to understand the potential of natural agriculture, and there is very little knowledge at all of this work in temperate systems. 

We are also running a six day course with Jairo at Ragmans from June 29th to July 4th 2017.  Jairo's book 'The ABC of Organic Agriculture' is now available in English from our on-line shop.




Back to main blog page