This is the part most brands would rather you didn't ask about, because most of them can't answer it.

1. Grown. Five crops sown together in the Flat Square every spring: black sunflowers, white millet, canary seed, linseed and buckwheat.
2. Harvested. Combined off the field each autumn, weather depending — and this is Herefordshire, so it usually is depending.
3. Cleaned. Chaff, husks, weed seed and anything that isn't birdseed gets separated out, on the farm, before it goes anywhere near a bag.
4. Mixed. Blended here, in ratios we've settled on because they actually work for garden birds — not because they're the cheapest ratio to bag.
5. Bagged. On this farm, by us, into the bag that arrives at your door.

Five steps. One postcode. Nobody trucking seed in from three different countries and mixing it in a shed somewhere you'll never see. If another UK birdseed brand is doing all five of these steps on one farm, we haven't found them — and we've looked properly.

Black Sunflower Seeds — the main event. Thin-shelled and high in oil, so small beaks can crack them without a fight (though tits and finches will pick a fight over them anyway; it's less about necessity, more about principle).

White Millet — small, round, made for birds that feed on the ground rather than the feeder. Sparrows, doves and buntings will clear this off your lawn while the finches are still queuing.

Canary Seed — the seed equivalent of the quiet one at the party. Unremarkable to look at, weirdly beloved by finches and dunnocks. It doesn't need to show off. It's not going to start now.

Linseed — rich in Omega-3, silvery-blue, faintly glamorous. Goldfinches treat it like a delicacy, which, nutritionally, it more or less is.

Buckwheat — bulks out the mix, feeds pigeons and doves, and while it's still growing in the field is one of the best things you can plant for pollinators. It does twice the work of the others and gets a fraction of the credit. We see you, buckwheat.

Other benefits, while we're at it:

• No fillers, no wheat, no oats bulking out the bag to save money
• Fully traceable to one field, one harvest, one farm — not a blend of seed bought in from wherever was cheapest that quarter
• Resealable bag, so it stays fresh in your shed or garage
• Buying it supports hedgerows, field margins and Red List bird habitat directly, not via a percentage-to-charity gesture — the farming itself is the good it does

This year's Flat Square harvest is expected to produce 1,500–1,600 bags of Field Club birdseed. That's the whole year's supply, from one field, in one country, farmed by one family.

At an average of 4 bags a year per subscriber, that works out to roughly 375 membership slots for this harvest. Not 375 as a marketing device — 375 because that's genuinely what 30 acres and one autumn produce, once you do the maths on how much a typical garden gets through.

Once those slots are gone, they're gone until next year's harvest. We'll post real signup numbers as we go, because pretending otherwise would rather undercut the whole point of telling you where this comes from.

When do I get my mug? September — ahead of your birdseed, once the harvest is confirmed. Your first bag of seed follows in November.

Why is Founding Flock cheaper than standard? Because you're committing before the harvest exists, not after it's a known quantity. That's worth something to us, so it's worth something in the price.

How many slots are actually available? Around 375 for this harvest, based on 1,500–1,600 bags and an average subscriber taking 4 bags a year. It's a real ceiling, not a marketing one.

What if I want more or less than one delivery cycle's worth? Change your frequency any time — monthly, every 2 months, or every 3 months — from your account.

What happens if the harvest is smaller than expected? You get a full refund on anything we can't fulfil. Immediately, no forms.

Is the mix the same every year? Same field, same five crops, same approach — but like any crop, harvests vary year to year. Think vintage, not factory spec.

Can I cancel? Any time. No penalty, no guilt trip, no "are you sure" maze.

Is this suitable for anything other than birds? Technically it's just seeds, so yes, but we'd rather you didn't. Let the birds have this one.