Carrots and Sticks

This year the plan is to experiment with growing more commercially. If there is a hope in hell of getting me off the laptop and into the garden on a more productive basis, it is possibly to be found in the idea of threatening to a) take seedlings, salads, herbs to the local Farmers' Market this summer and autumn and b) apply to IOFGA for grown up organic certification.

It takes 2-3 years to formally obtain the right to sell produce as ‘organic’. As I've never grown any other way, it's less about converting away from ‘normal’ chemical practices and more about ensuring (through record keeping and inspection) that the food produced really has been grown to the organic standards laid down in law. It previously seemed OTT to go to the bother of getting certified for such a small, non-commercial plot (1/2 acre), but the fees are so much cheaper than I thought (under €150), and going through the certification process itself can only be useful for other work. Plus additional land can be added to the same licence at a later date.

So basically, one needs to get ones arse into gear. Less typing; more growing.