Mellow Yellow

Back to the here-and-now: finally managed to sow a handful of tomato seeds this week. Late as usual. If you haven't sown any yet, you should probably give up the intention and beg some transplants from a friendly neighbour. This year I will be growing yellow cherries ('Yellow Pear') for the first time, plus a new cherry red 'Chadwick' and a plum variety for cooking with. Also 2 x 77's of salads, herbs and orientals are on the go. That's 154 little modules of tender leaves ready for planting out in April. Extremely exciting, but substantial successive sowing is required if there is to be any chance of making it to market this summer. I am currently researching bulk compostable/recycleable/etc pots for transplants, please send any suggestions.

Titanic Gardening

This week that bastion of Women's-Institute-Britishness, Gardeners' Question Time on R4 addresses how and what we will be able to grow in the face of climate change. In traditionally anodine fashion, Peter Gibson and Bob Flowerdew chip in a few tips for hard times ahead. Despite having the overwhelming sensation that we are merely rearranging the deck chairs as the (melting) iceberg looms, I am all for it. What is great is - as usual - the solutions proposed are techniques commonly used in organic production. If you haven't time to listen to it, here are the headlines:

1. Protection will be key: we might get a longer growing season as temperatures hot up, but early sowing and planting could be thwarted by rogue frosts or sudden downturns. Generally we should expect the unexpected. Starting out more vegetables under cover, planting out later than usual, and use of protection through the year. (Manufacturers of polytunnels, cloches, fleeces, cold frames could be the millionaires of the future.)
2. Variety will be essential: increased randomness of what will succeed and what will fail means that the more variety we grow, the safer we will be in order to have at least some crops that survive. Mainstream mono-crop agriculture will become much riskier.
3. Hot, drier summers will be interrupted by sudden torrential floods, so moving onto raised beds will become essential to aid drainage. However, raised beds dry out more quickly, particularly in the newfound heat. Incorporating more organic matter will be vital to counterbalance this, as will saving/harvesting rainwater ('crucial' says Bob). Mulches will also help.

So, for those people/organisations/publications (I won't name names) STILL unconvinced about the viability of organic practices, let's see how you feel in 2030. You might have to concede that this particular deckchair arrangement is looking very sensible indeed, (and those GM lifeboats are riddled with even more holes).

Potato Day

It being the Year of the Potato, Junior Minister Trevor Sargent came to The Organic Centre today to talk at the annual Potato Day. There was an impromptu Q&A about GM at the end, mainly about use of oils in food service and (lack of) traceability and honest labelling. Anyway, St Patrick's Day is, of course, the best day for planting potatoes. No idea if that is tomorrow, technically, or yesterday, since Paddy's Day has been moved this year to avoid clashing with Easter Week (no, really) - it's the first time this has happened since the 1940's apparently. No photos of potatoes today, but as Melvin looked stunning on the way home, here it is, as it was then.

Green Juice

Not sure if it was better for him to have a wild and free life that was short, or a lengthier life in captivity being poked and prodded by vile children. Either way, Rabbit has not been around for a month. Neighbour-Next-Door-But-Two reckons he has met his end, and denies his rampant Jack Russell terrier has anything to do with it. What’s left of the kale leaves and a few chard and spinach greens are now finding their way into fresh veg juice. If you don’t yet have a juicer, you should put it on your list, but make sure it’s a decent one. It might cost the price of a weekend in Prague, but I guarantee you (and all your vital organs) will love and cherish it daily for years to come. If you want to make an antioxidant-packed green juice that doesn’t make you gag on first tasting, I recommend throwing in couple of apples and an inch of ginger until you can go more hardcore.

How to Make a Living Off 1 Acre

“You can’t”.

That was how the Chris Smith workshop at The Organic Centre started today. Here are the sums: 1 person must work 60 hours per week for around 8 months. This person needs a kindly spouse to put in an additional 20 hours per week around their ‘normal’ job. A WWOOFER (willing worker on organic farm) volunteer adds another 30-40 hours to the pot each week. The remaining 4 months can be managed by 1 person for around 20-30 hours per week. Et voila, a gross turnover of about €25,000 p.a.

If you are lucky enough to have a willing wife/husband/lifepartner on hand, bringing in a cash income, and working part-time for you for free, AND if you are happy to open your home to give bed and board to a student/stranger (albeit an organic one) in return for them working for free, then by my sums you can pay yourself around €7.95 (£5.30) per hour. If you have to pay for this labour, you are probably looking at €2-3 per hour left for yourself. The truth is, it’s rarely possible to pay for the extra help, and small scale organic hort seems only to work with access to free labour, and/or a second cash income for the grower.

There are non-financial benefits to being an organic grower – you get to work from home, work for yourself, work outside, be in touch with the land and the seasons, and have access to the best, freshest, healthiest, tastiest produce to put on your family's table.

BUT realistically, is it any wonder that local organic produce is in such short supply, and most people invariably buy plastic wrapped organic imported veg in supermarkets? What little there is exists only because it is heavily subsidised by the passion and determination of the growers. Relying on this does not add up. Maybe peak oil will drive inputs and transport costs up so much that conventional food prices will continue to rise, and local organic might end up being the comparatively cheaper option. Isn't there something we can be doing until then though??