The Summer 2015 No.31

ORGANICThe journal of the Organic GROWER Growers Alliance IN THIS ISSUE

Schofield scribbles...... 2

News...... 3

8th OGA AGM - Stroud CSA...... 8

UK launch of Farm Hack...... 10

Nature notes: Two onion kind...... 13

Creating a robust seed system...... 14

Breton organic seed growers...... 16

Roscoff caulis for the hungry gap...... 18

Agroforestry at Tolly’s...... 20

September sowings for winter salads.....22

Building carbon in farm soils...... 24

2015 box scheme report...... 26

Grower profile: Simon Duffy...... 27

German organic science conference...... 28

Apprentice corner...... 29

Exit interview - Hankham staff...... 30

Horticultural costings...... 32

Welsh Spring Fair...... 35

Events...... 36

Page 1 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 been discussing. We will be letting you all know more about these as we develop them. Schofield scribbles On the 16th and 17th May Debra and I attended the Welsh Spring Fair at Builth Wells manning the OGA part of a joint stall with the North West Passage Land Workers Alliance and the Community Supported Agriculture Network. This was something we had talked about doing earlier in It is just under three months since I last the year and we had a fair bit of interest in what we were doing. I scribbled and I think that I had more have written more about this elsewhere in this edition. favourable things to say about the weather in the middle of winter, than I have now! I could not attend the Farmer and Grower board meeting this time Here in the North West, we have had due to the workload at home but have an IFOAM EU group and predominantly windy, wet and cold weather this last two English Organic Forum meeting planned for July to find out the months with one memorable ten-day slot in which we had the latest on the proposed new EU regulation and the progress that foresight to prepare our growing land. Since planting onions they has been made. I shall report back on this next time. have been partially flooded twice, potatoes went out three weeks So until then, I wish you all a fruitful growing season with late and our tomatoes, even though planted a week later than hopefully the right balance of work and play to enjoy the summer! usual, were frosted in the tunnels four days after planting. Many local potato growers have also suffered from the late frosts and Alan Schofield, Chairman Organic Growers Alliance the local early crop has been much reduced. It is in years like this with a late start that the tunnels really come into their own, and apart from the tomatoes, all other early crops have performed well and are now producing well, providing a variety of crops for our markets. As for the tomatoes - 98% of them pulled through and are setting fruit nicely as we go into June. I sincerely hope these problems are restricted to our corner of the North West and that many of you have fared better than we have.

In mid February, I attended a Soil Association Horticultural Standards committee meeting in Bristol to give my views on the development of the new SA Horticultural Standards, which are being written over the next 18 months or so. We reviewed several differing ways of presenting the Standards to growers in order to make them easier to read and also how to link them to advisory notes on how to achieve the Standards. I feel that when finished, this will be a benefit to new entrants who often struggle with understanding the Standards and what is required of them. I will not be re-joining this committee but will look forward to reading through the new proposals and passing comment.

On the 21st March we held the OGA AGM at Brookthorpe Village Hall, just across the road from one of the Stroud CSA’s sites, which was well attended by approximately forty OGA members. Apart from some traffic problems on the M5, which meant that Debra and I arrived late, the day went well in the capable hands of Jan Deane who was the chair for the business part of the AGM. A full report is elsewhere in the magazine.

One of the areas that the OGA committee has been working on is diversifying our membership offer, making the OGA magazine and benefits of membership more widely available. One of the ideas that came out of our discussions is putting together a package for colleges offering courses in Horticulture. Just after our AGM, our own local college, Myerscough near Preston, organised a visit to our nursery by a group of students from their organic module and I was able to talk to the tutors about the ideas we have Front cover: Keith Denning

Page 2 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 Business news

Food, Values, Fairness: How values Jane Davidson of the University of Wales Trinity St David led a discussion on what a better food system for Wales might look influence the food system and life like. A working group is now being set up to produce a Food in Wales Manifesto for Wales. People across Wales think that fresh, healthy food ought to be Younger shoppers value organic but available to everyone – regardless of their social status. Good food shouldn’t be a luxury commodity. People also care about where don’t follow through their food comes from and more and more of us want to get in touch Future Thinking, the business intelligence research consultancy, with growers and the skills involved in producing good food. has revealed the findings of the 2015 Grocery Eye, an annual independent study of supermarket shoppers to identify These are just a few of the findings from a new report on values in perceptions towards purchasing and consuming food and drink the food system jointly produced by Organic Centre Wales (OCW), as well as non-food products. The survey, now in its second year, Aberystwyth University and the Public Interest Research Centre monitors the sentiments of over 2,000 consumers to determine (PIRC), who used a series of community food events to investigate consumption and behaviour trends. The research shows that the values that people express when they talk about food. 54% of millennials (those aged between 16-34) believe the role of Explaining the inspiration behind this research, Jane Powell of organic products to be important compared to just 30% of over OCW said: “Organic food is based on a vision of a healthy soil 55’s, which is surprising when factoring in the cost of organics. supporting a healthy society, not just food production as an However, this younger generation appears to lead less healthy economic activity. We wanted to see if people in Wales shared lifestyles. 80% of 16-34 year-olds purchase fresh fruit and veg that view of food, and I think to some extent they do. It’s not all compared to 96% of over 55 year- olds and only 63% of 16-34 year about price, and I think people do want to see a fairer food system -olds include fruit and veg in their diets compared to 88% of over that is in balance with nature.” 55s. Furthermore, confectionery is, by far, the under 34’s favourite The report draws on a body of work called Common Cause, which item to shop for, chosen by 29% of respondents. Conversely, over seeks to apply an understanding of values to strategies for inspiring 55’s prefer to buy fresh fruit and veg, chosen by 38% of that age social change. Values are the guiding principles underlying attitudes group, which would suggest the young make less healthy choices. and behaviour and include, for instance, broadmindedness, security, The over 55 age bracket consider themselves to have the most social justice and ambition. They are expressed in the language we nutritious diets, with 40% thinking they already have a healthy use when talking about food – is it for instance a commodity, a diet compared to 28% of those aged between 16-34. They are also pleasure, a human right or a badge of identity? Rebecca Sanderson more likely to look out for low salt foods (29%) and high fibre of PIRC said “Everyone shares values and society can shape these items (23%), whereas it is barely an issue for those under 35 (14%). values by reinforcing particular messages. Values are not set in stone, they can be strengthened like muscles the more we engage The Grocery Eye also showed that 16-34 year-olds feel it is more them. This is important because we need to ensure our institutions difficult to get by on their tight food budget, have a greater and policies actually reflect and engage the values that people care tendency to snack between meals during the day and look for about – otherwise we can unwittingly undermine them.” packaging to fit with their lifestyles, illustrating the changing needs of millennials. The report also looked at Welsh Government policy and found that food could have an important role to play in grounding the Claudia Strauss of Future Thinking, comments on the report agenda for sustainability in Wales. findings: “There is an unjustified perception that millennials are not engaged with food compared to their older peers. Whilst it is Dr Sophie Wynne-Jones of Aberystwyth University suggested clear that their lifestyles and lower incomes result in their eating that “Food will be central to implementing ‘The Well-being of habits to be less healthy, millennials are more socially conscious Future Generations Act’. Food matters to everyone. It connects than the older generations selecting brands accordingly. They also issues like poverty, well-being and environment - across different engage with foods in different ways, for example, ‘the Instagram government departments. All too often we deal with these effect’ reflecting the way millennials share images of their food separately, but by finding connections through the values that on social media on average three times a week. This presents underpin our choices and concerns we can see the bigger picture a positive challenge for manufacturers who need to tailor not and work together more effectively.” only their food offer, but also the way they communicate with The report was launched on 3 June at a conference in Cardiff, different audiences.” where Peter Davies, the Sustainable Futures Commissioner, and

Page 3 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 Policy news

EU parliament draft report on “Another unsatisfactory compromise is on the frequency of controls, as it would allow for member states to choose whether organic regulation or not to apply annual inspection. Annual inspections are a At the end of May, the European Parliament’s rapporteur on the cornerstone of consumer confidence and we are now faced with Commission’s proposal for a new EU organic regulation, Green the risk of confusion and uncertainty amongst consumers as to the MEP Martin Häusling, presented his report to the Parliament nature of the guarantee offered by the EU organic logo”, continues Agriculture Committee. Jan Plagge, Board Member of IFOAM EU. IFOAM EU President, Christopher Stopes said “We welcome We need an organic growth agenda Martin Häusling’s report, which better reflects the needs of the organic sector, and is in line with the opinion of the Committee of for Europe the Regions and the independent evaluation report subcontracted At a meeting in Riga, Latvia in early June, European Parliament by the Commission in 2012. It is a major step in the right direction, ministers discussed how to support further development of focusing on the needed improvements in the current legislation organic food and farming in Europe. One focus was to come closer and clearly showing an understanding that an evolution of the to a deal for a Council opinion on the organic regulation proposal organic regulation is needed, not a revolution”. at the upcoming Council meeting on June 16. Christopher Stopes, who participated together with IFOAM EU director Marco “One of the main issues hampering the organic sector is uneven Schlüter, was invited to contribute to the debate. implementation by Member States and the Green’s report adds new proposals to the discussion,” stated Marco Schlüter, IFOAM “It is an encouraging sign that the Latvian Presidency dedicated EU Director. “In restoring the control aspects to the organic an informal Council meeting to discuss supporting further regulation, MEP Häusling also reinforces the fact that organic development of organic in Europe. With the current regulation food and farming is based on a principled process of production, proposal on the table and the implementation of the new CAP which cannot be evaluated simply by testing a final product.” there is an opportunity to set up a framework that would make this possible”, said Christopher Stopes. “We congratulate the IFOAM EU looks forward to continuing to work with the Council on the improvements made so far in key areas of the COM European Parliament, the Council and the Commission to turn proposal for a new regulation. However, some crucial issues are the Commission’s original proposal for a new organic regulation still to be solved such as thresholds, imports and controls”. into an improvement on the current regulation. It must work in practice and support the further development of the organic “The trickiest point for the organic sector remains the issue of sector in Europe. However, with the integrity of the EU organic setting specific pesticide decertification thresholds that makes standard and the livelihoods of thousands of organic producers at organic farmers accountable for pesticides used in conventional stake, it is essential that the deadline set by the Commission does farming. The European organic sector will not accept a regulation not put at risk the quality of the regulation. that includes a decertification threshold. Further, the Council position on imports – focusing on full compliance – would Latest Council compromise: Risk of be detrimental to developing countries and would affect the less harmonised rules for organic in availability of products for EU processors and consumers”. EU National agriculture ministers are set to adopt the Council opinion on the proposal for a new EU Organic Regulation based on a Organic Restaurant, Guest new presidency text at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on House and Farm Shop June 16th. “The Council would miss one of the main objective of North Cornwall the revision, to improve EU wide harmonisation if they adopt the latest Council compromise text. Undoubtedly, the Council and Certified organic B&B accommodation the current Latvian Presidency have contributed to significantly with fully organic breakfasts from £45 pppn (10% off for OGA members) improve the initial proposal. However, the latest compromise texts Totally organic seasonal food served tries to combine two diametrically opposed approaches on key in the relaxed setting of our licensed evening restaurant using fresh produce issues. Unfortunately, as a result we risk having a less harmonised grown with passion in our gardens situation for organic in EU. The consequence would be more Telephone 01288 361297 Email [email protected] bureaucracy, a re-nationalisation of standards and less trust in the Bangors House Poundstock Bude Cornwall EX23 0DP organic system” says Christopher Stopes. www.bangorsorganic.co.uk

Page 4 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 General news

New service will help greengrocers farmers, growers and consumers and promoting their farming model to national and local government and policymakers. and growers sell veg boxes online Maresa Bossano, Network Coordinator says, “The launch of our If you can’t beat them join them – a new service will give fruit website provides us with a platform to raise the profile of the CSA and veg box schemes a chance to compete with the big online farming model in the UK and the fantastic work of our member supermarket services such as Ocado, Sainsbury’s and Tesco. farms, who consistently prove that both farmers and consumers The Veg Box Network www.thevegboxnetwork.co.uk will can benefit considerably from forming lasting partnerships.” provide an online marketplace for independent fruit and veg The CSA Network UK, established in December 2013 has seen box schemes across the UK, enabling companies to take orders a rise in popularity in the UK, with the Network responding to online, paid for by debit and credit card with weekly, fortnightly demand by farmers and growers following an initial scoping and monthly recurring subscriptions. Customers will be able to project run by the Soil Association. In April 2014, the newly search for companies by postcode and place an order immediately established Network ran a successful crowd-funding campaign, without having to visit a shop or having to wait for the delivery. raising £7,686 which, when combined with further support from Veg Box suppliers will be able to start selling online with no the A Team Foundation, has allowed the network to take its first subscription fee or commitment and only a very small set-up fee, steps towards achieving its goal. Founding board member, Robert approx. £50 for a merchant account. The Veg Box Network will Simpson said; “I believe that the CSA model allows consumers to take a small commission on each order of 10% to pay for admin take back control of their food and the website will be instrumental and marketing of the site. The Veg Box Network is currently in raising awareness of CSA.” looking for greengrocers, farm shops, community allotments and CSA farms have the potential to play a greater role in the provision other veg box schemes to join them before they launch the scheme of sustainable food in the UK and to deliver a whole range of on the general public. additional benefits to communities, including the increased OF&G and SOPA work together wellbeing of participants, skills development, and provision of local employment and volunteering opportunities. Organic Farmers & Growers (OF&G) have agreed to enter a Strategic Partnership with The Scottish Organic Producers Glastir Organic – key dates Association (SOPA) starting at the beginning of May. The Glastir Organic 2016 application window will open on 20 The two organisations have agreed the following: July and close at midnight on 2 September 2015. Glastir Organic is an element of the Welsh Government’s Glastir Scheme, the • SOPA will continue to own the SOPA organic standards sustainable land management scheme, through which they offer and SOPA members will be certified to these standards (GB- financial support to farmers and land managers. Glastir Organic ORG-17) provides support to organic farmers and producers that deliver • SOPA will continue to represent certified organic businesses positive environmental land management. in Scotland with industry stakeholders and Scottish, UK and Applications can be made through RPW Online only. Digital EU governments Assistance will be available for those who have difficulty in • SOPA will continue to be strategically governed by the completing an online application. elected Directors on the SOPA Board Seed co-op open for applications • OF&G will undertake SOPA organic certification work (GB- ORG-17) alongside their OF&G standards (GB-ORG-02) at The Biodynamic and Organic Plant Breeding and Seeds the Shrewsbury office. Limited Co-operative (see OG30 p8) is open for share purchase applications. Share-owning membership provides the following: The Board of Directors believe that this will enable OF&G to achieve more for their licensees, and in the longer term allow them • You can actively help, and build the society, vote at AGM to deliver an increased range of services in an efficient way. • Become part of a network of seed producers and take part in CSA Network launches new website trials and breeding programmes • Access to info on trials and seed from the breeding programme The Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Network UK has launched its new website, http://www. Becoming a member costs £100 to purchase 100 shares communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/.. which will support the required for one vote. For more info and to join go to: growth of the CSA movement in UK by connecting and advising www.seedcooperative.org.uk

Page 5 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 General news

New organic modules at Bridgwater New dossier on Sustainability and College Quality of Organic Food Bridgwater College’s Cannington Centre and the Soil Association A new dossier has team up to offer organic modules within the College’s range been made available in of undergraduate qualifications. The new partnership reflects English which should the growing interest in organic food and farming and follows prove invaluable to those demand from students to learn about innovative sustainable wanting to explain to farming practices. others the case for organic food on the basis of Cannington’s Head of Land based provision, Jeremy Kerswell, sustainability and quality. said: “We have seen a growth in the demand for new sustainable farming practices from producers and growers, across our What constitutes the engagement with employers in agriculture and horticultural quality of our food? industries. This exciting partnership is vital to ensuring that the In addition to nutrient future needs of the industry are met.” From September 2015, content and pesticide students on the Higher National Certificate in Horticulture residues, the sustainability will study organic principles and practice as a core module and of food becomes more and the College will offer tailored intermediate and advanced level more important. Experts apprenticeships in organic agriculture and horticulture. They from the Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) will also be developing a new module within the BSc Hons in have explored different aspects of the quality and sustainability Agriculture focussing on organic principles and practices, to of organic and conventional food in a new report. run from September 2016. Both modules will feature speakers In the new edition of the report “Sustainability and quality of from the Soil Association as well as expert organic farmers and organic food” the authors, Regula Bickel and Raphaël Rossier growers. The modules will be available as stand-alone courses illuminate the various aspects that contribute to the quality of for people wanting to develop their knowledge of organic food. The 28-page review describes a contemporary, holistic horticulture and agriculture. concept for the evaluation of food quality. The differences Liz Bowles Head of Farming at the Soil Association said: “We between organic and conventional food are examined and clearly are delighted to be working with Cannington to support the documented with examples, based on selected aspects and introduction of these new modules and qualifications in organic current knowledge, explaining the occasionally complex issues in farming. These new qualifications will enable more young people an easily comprehensible manner. to find out about organic farming practices and how they might Take the example of organic dried apricots, which are usually apply them within their careers in the land based sector”. To find brown/black in colour and can appear unappetising, but their out how to enrol in one of the courses, and for further information taste competes with conventional apricots. The colour difference visit www.bridgwater.ac.uk is due to the absence of sulphite in organic dried apricots, which Abbey Home Farm opens new prevents the colour change in conventional apricots and protects them against fungi and bacteria. But dried fruits are already residential education centre well preserved and the addition of sulphite is not necessary, so The new centre at Abbey Home Farm, near Cirencester is sited this food additive is prohibited in organic products. The result at the side of the woodland strip beside the vegetable garden. is high-quality dried apricots, containing fewer additives than It is called The Orchard and welcomes groups, both adult and conventional ones. students, for residential visits. The centre has 10 bedrooms with a The English language edition of the dossier, translated by Anja central meeting room/classroom and the shop and restaurant are Vieweger, has been undertaken in co-operation with The Organic conveniently placed for visitors to enjoy. A range of packages is Research Centre and the financial support from the Sheepdrove available as are farm tours and activities on the farm. Small groups Trust is gratefully acknowledged. of students (year 6 upwards) can experience staying on a working organic farm. Adults can enjoy a retreat or business training as The dossier can be downloaded from www.organicresearchcentre. appropriate. The Orchard has its own dedicated website (www. com. Hard copies (£6 each) can be ordered from elmfarm@ thefarm.education) and more information can also be found at organicresearchcentre.com www.theorganicfarmshop.co.uk/ecovenue/theorchard.

Page 6 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 General news

The role of agroecology in Beneficial soil fungi boosted by sustainable intensification organic farming with reduced tillage The new study, “The Role of Agroecology in Sustainable The biodiversity and abundance of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Intensification” undertaken by The Organic Research Centre with Fungi (AMF) - important soil organisms that can help plants to the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, was commissioned by capture nutrients - is greater in organically managed soils with the inter-agency Land Use Policy Group (LUPG) and funded by reduced tillage compared to conventional methods, a new Swiss Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and Natural Resources Wales. study suggests. This illustrates the impacts that land management practices such as ploughing can have on soil biodiversity. The study found that agroecology – food production that makes the best use of nature’s goods and services while not damaging Researchers compared the AMF communities in the clay soils of precious resources – can help maintain agricultural productivity. seven sites, all in close proximity to each other in a Swiss valley. The researchers reviewed evidence for agroecological practices Four of the sites were long-term, organic field experiments, each including processes that maintain closed cycles, using on-farm site divided into sub-plots, comparing the combination of different resources to limit inputs and reduce waste. They also studied the management options of the land: two tillage systems — reduced and use of legumes (peas, beans, etc.) for enhancing soil fertility, cover normal tillage, and two fertilisation regimes — applying farmyard crops, minimum tillage, the use of beneficial insects to control manure and slurry or slurry only. One of the other three sites was pests and agroforestry. organically managed grassland, while the other two were cultivated using conventional farming practices — normal or semi-reduced It also found that: tillage, and the application of mineral fertilisers on both sites. • Productivity can be maintained, or even increased in some The results show that although fertilisation affected the AMF cases, although in organic farming yields might reduce – communities in the seven sites, tillage practices had a stronger though more human labour can create employment impact. The number of AMF species collectively identified through • Agroecological practices and systems can contribute to field samples and the soil cultivation experiments was greatest greater energy efficiency and lower greenhouse gas emissions in the grassland site, at 38. This dropped to 33 species in the two • Business profits can be maintained or increased through reduced-tillage organic sites, 28 in the one of the conventionally more efficient input use ploughed organic sites and to 28 in the conventionally managed site with normal tillage. Overall, 32 species were found in the • Natural resources support agricultural production, like soil, conventionally farmed site with semi-reduced tillage. Furthermore, water and biodiversity, and can be nurtured. the number of spores and diversity of AMF species was highest in Ruth Jenkins, chair of LUPG, said: “Agroecology can form an the top soils of the grassland, next highest in the top soils of the two integral part of sustainable intensification, although there are a experimental plots where reduced tillage was used and lowest in the number of barriers hindering the wider adoption of this kind of two experimental plots that had undergone normal tillage. Normal approach, in particular those relating to knowledge exchange. tillage disrupts the extensive spread of hyphae, fine strands of the fungi that form in the top-soil layers, affecting spore production. Professor Nic Lampkin, director of Organic Research Centre, Across all sites, the number of spores and different AMF species said: “The challenge for sustainable intensification is how we can were lower in the bottom layer (30–40 cm) than in the top layer. improve productivity and environmental performance in a way AMF diversity was also higher in reduced-tillage plots compared to which is financially rewarding for farmers and affordable for normal tillage. Some AMF species are better adapted to the effects consumers. of ploughing than others and may dominate AMF communities in “Unlike many technological solutions, there is limited commercial normally tilled soils, reducing their overall diversity. interest in developing and promoting agroecological approaches, Together, these results show that organically managed soils which rely more on farmer knowledge and skills. New can produce diverse AMF communities that will benefit plant approaches are therefore needed to support research, innovation nutrition, productivity and health and enhance sustainable and knowledge exchange on agroecological approaches if the agricultural practices. potential is to be realised in practice.” Source: Säle, V., Aguilera, P., Laczko, E., Mäder, P., Berner, A., Zihlmann, U., Claudia Rowse, SNH’s head of rural resources, said: “We hope van der Heijden, M.G.A. & Oehl, F. (2015) Impact of conservation tillage and that this report will contribute to the debate about the fundamental organic farming on the diversity of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi. Soil Biology & challenges we face of increasing production while respecting Biochemistry 84: 38–52. DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2015.02.005. Contact: fritz.oehl@ natural resources. agroscope.admin.ch or [email protected]

Page 7 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 8th OGA Annual General Meeting – Brookthorpe, Stroud

On the 21st March 2015, 34 OGA members gathered at Brookthorpe Village Hall, just outside Stroud for the 8th OGA AGM, hosted by Mark Harrison and Stroud CSA. Our Chair and Treasurer (Alan and Debra Schofield) had to come via a scenic route, due to the closure of the M5 and the meeting had to get under way without them. As has been the case in recent years the meeting was kept on the straight and narrow by Jan Deane, ensuring that no essential procedures were missed amongst the enthusiasm and jollity.

The important bits • Draft minutes to be put on the OGA website...er...soon...

• 2013 accounts were retrospectively approved (at the last AGM a mistake had been spotted which was since amended).

• Membership report delivered by Pete Dollimore and Tony Little, as the latter is taking over membership responsibilities from the former. The year has been dominated by website problems due to a botched upgrade and a hack which has been outlined in these pages previously (OG30). The worryingly low numbers (141 at date of AGM) were not an accurate reflection of

the OGA as many have not been able to renew online. Tony said Sumption Phil Photo: that it was important to tie up the loose ends with the website • The Chairman’s report by Alan demonstrated how busy reconstruction and make it easier to pay. Once everything was he has been representing OGA during 2014 including fully back on track it will be important to grow the membership involvement with the ORC Organic Producer’s Conferences and reel in lapsed members. Tony will be developing a (there were two in 2014), Soil Association Farmer & Grower strategic plan that will include social media; strategic links to Board, engagement with Defra and attendance at IFOAM- other organisations such as LWA, Groundspring and the CSA EU Group and English Organic Forum meetings. Alan gave Network. It is clear, however that numbers have dropped in credit to Defra for consulting more widely on the new EU real terms and that positive engagement is needed to redress the Regulation than in the past. Wendy Seel is a member of the situation following the problems. Aspects such as automatic Scottish Organic Action Plan Group (the only one in the UK renewal (with easy opt-out) will help. regions) and is also engaged in discussions with a couple of

• Website report (Pete) was brief as tied in to the membership research proposals. Discussions covered closer liaison with issues discussed above. other groups and how it might work. The implications of the EU Organic Regulation were also covered in some length. • Organic Grower report from Phil included thanks to the editorial team and to Sam Eglington who has stepped down • The accounts were presented by Debra and approved. from handling the advertising. Discussion covered the Membership is down but this has been masked in financial area of advertising and rates and supported the policy of terms by the £10 increase in fees. It was proposed and carried encouraging adverts that are useful for members. that the committee should have flexibility to use reserves to work on a major membership drive. • Rebecca Laughton reported on research being carried out by the Landworkers Alliance with funding from Coventry • Events were discussed, as always, with a suggestion that the University. The aim of the work was to determine the OGA should hold one national event with a strong social productivity of small scale farmers and growers. Preliminary element, in addition to the AGM. results will be available later in the year and reported by the • Anja Vieweger spoke briefly about European Innovation Organic Grower. Partnerships (EIP) which are aimed at encouraging

• Wendy Seel was re-elected to the OGA committee unopposed innovation and improving existing innovative initiatives. while Pete Dollimore stood down although he will continue Websites could fall into the latter and boosting the existing as website manager. He was thanked by a round of applause. OGA Forum is a possibility. Funding levels are between £5k The committee now has 11 members. The committee has the and £150k spread over 3 years and most costs are covered. It potential to co-opt additional members during the year. is a group approach and at least two producers/organisations must be involved.

Page 8 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 Farm tour and social As is often the case at OGA AGM’s the enthusiastic discussion meant that we were running behind schedule and time was squeezed for the farm tours. The group split, with some visiting the production site in the village and others opting to visit the polytunnels located at Hawkwood College, a short minibus ride away. The sun was soon disappearing and we were back in the village hall for a pint of Stroud organic ale and some fantastic food. A little later the guitars were out for the customary jam and sing-song.

What a curious sight we must have been at the end of the evening, some time after the witching hour, when a group of us were gathered around Pete Dollimore’s van, scrabbling in the light from the headlights to gather surplus plug plants to take home with us! Thanks Pete! Phil Sumption and Roger Hitchings The OGA Award Phil Sumption spoke movingly about the length, depth and quality of the organic horticultural research carried out by HDRA/Garden Organic over more than 20 years. He then went on to present the 2015 OGA award to Dr Francis Rayns who had been a key member of the research team, latterly as team leader, right through until his recent redundancy. Francis, a soil scientist, had been involved in a number of projects which have contributed to the knowledge that forms the basis of many of our systems. In particular, his work on the use and incorporation of green manures and legumes as part of organic rotations, the use of green waste compost, anaerobic digestate

and stockless rotations stand out. It is regrettable that there is Sumption Phil Photos: very little funding available for the applied practical research that is needed to support our industry. Francis noted that he was still involved in some projects with Garden Organic and Coventry University, including a review of the last 50 plus years of what is now branded Citizen Science but used to be known as Members Experiments, with ex-HDRA/Garden Organic researchers Gareth Davies and Margi Lennartsson.

Top: Ben Raskin strums a tune. Bottom: in one of the tunnels at Hawkwood

OGA committee Alan Schofield, Lancs 01253 790046: Chair Roger Hitchings, Carmarthen 07980 579444: Secretary/web news Debra Schofield, Lancs 01253 790046: Treasurer Phil Sumption, Wilts, 07759 318942: OG editor Ben Raskin, Wiltshire, 07990 592621 SA liaison/apprentices Jonathan Smith, Isles of Scilly, 07528 136678 Organic Futures Will Johnson, Warks, 01926 315968: Technical articles Wendy Seel, Aberdeenshire, 01330 833823: Research /Scotland Photo: Ben Raskin Ben Photo: Tony Little, Wales, 01970 622248 Events Phil Sumption presents the OGA salad bowl to Francis Rayns. Jan Deane looks James Smith, Cumbria, 015395 61777 on. It is inscribed: To Francis - an architect of organic excellence. Presented by Jason Horner, Ireland, 0035 3876 454120 Ireland the OGA - March 2015.

Page 9 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 UK launch of Farm Hack

The middle of April saw the official UK launch of Farm Hack, a community of farmers and growers developing appropriate tools for small-scale ecological farming; the ethos being basically make (or ‘hack’ in terms of cannibalising existing equipment) your own appropriate farm tools, of various kinds: from vehicles, machinery and hand tools, to mobile phone apps and open-source online resources. The movement started in the US in conjunction with Greenhorns young farmers’ group, and the launch event here was set up by the Landworkers’ Alliance (LWA), Groundspring Network and others.

There was a great buzz about the event even before it started, with Horse logger Mike Paddock had brought along his forecart which tickets selling out quickly, and in the end over 160 people attended Arial and Montana delighted in showing off. The forecart is a horse- the weekend at Gables Farm, the agricultural wing of Ruskin Mill drawn four-wheeled cart with 3-point linkage fixings at the rear College. Once we had all assembled in the main roundhouse, co- (and seats for the driver plus a friend at the front), allowing most organiser Ed Hamer gave a brief run-down of how the weekend (passive or ground-driven) tractor implements to be attached and would pan out: a packed programme with brief introductory talks, pulled with horses. This is an ideal set-up for growing with a bed including presentations by Farm Hack co-founder Severine von system on a horse-powered farm. The horses are hitched about 1.5m Tscharner Fleming and representatives of French farmers-cum- apart so they walk in the same path as the wheelings. The forecart innovators L’Atelier Paysan, before the real business of practical even has a PTO shaft which can be powered by an (optional) 36- workshops, discussions and demonstrations got started. HP engine, and there are also ground-driven PTO versions, really opening up the possibilities for converting to horse cultivations Horses for courses without having to invest in lots of new implements – you can just The first stop was a demonstration of Fergus’s bicycle-powered use the same ones as the tractor. flour mill, which had travelled 400miles south with the Fife Diet In contrast, the (entirely horse-powered) Gables Farm field veg is campaign group; it’s still a work in development, but a few minutes’ managed on a ridge system. They use a home-made toolbar which pedalling was sufficient to turn raw grain into a bowl of coarse flour. takes ridging tines for ridge forming and other implements for Next we headed up to see one of the biggest draws of the whole cultivations and weeding. This is simpler than the forecart / bed weekend: the Ruskin Mill Ardennes (Arial and Montana) in action. set-up, but it is however much less space-efficient. Stuart Crag, Along with their experienced handlers, they demonstrated a range the farm manager at Gables Farm, also pointed out that you’d of tools, including spring tines for cultivation and weeding, before need at least an acre of land spare just to keep the horses on; and Ed Hamer hitched up his homemade soil crumbler. The design is would need perhaps 12 acres of land in production in order to based on the Cultimulcher, which is commercially available in the have enough work to keep them busy. US but prohibitively expensive to import, so Ed cracked out his welder and made his own. Imagine a Cambridge roller whose discs Another item of great interest was the solar-powered weeding are armed with numerous ‘teeth’, giving it hundreds of corners bed, built by Adrian from Barcombe Nurseries; one solar panel which are highly effective at breaking up stubborn lumps of soil – and a drill battery was enough to pull a comfy flat bed along the more so than a standard Cambridge roller or the typical crumbler ground (usually used on the fine soil in a polytunnel rather than with straight horizontal bars. Best used in the dewy morning or Ruskin’s stoney fields), at a slow (adjustable) pace of 60m per on slightly damp soil, it did a great job of making a fine tilth. Ed hour, so workers can weed face-down in comfort. had the crumbler mounted on the Homesteader, a wheeled frame designed for use with two horses, which he’d imported from the Amish in the US for a tidy (grant-aided) £5000. Photos: Kate Collyns Kate Photos: Ed Hamer works the Ruskin Mill horses with his homemade soil ‘crumbler’ Solar powered weeder - the lazy bed is at the top left.

Page 10 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 Mike Fisher from Northdown Orchard then showed up his simple Le peasant workshop method of marking and punching holes in black plastic, for growing onions, garlic and other weed-susceptible plants; using Another highlight of the weekend came with a presentation two large plywood boards covered in bolts to mark the correct by L’Atelier Paysan (which roughly translates as The Peasant spacing (see OG29 for more info). Workshop). If Farmhack UK is embryonic and the American version is in its teenage years, the French equivalent is approaching retirement nestled into a rocking chair browsing a Saga holiday brochure. This collective of inventive farmers have already produced a 200page manual (Guide de L’Autoconstruction: Outils pour le Maraîchage Biologique) of blueprints, designs, photographs and instructions for the on-farm construction of dozens of innovative and useful implements for small growers. It’s not yet been translated into English, although work may begin soon if the money can be found to support translators – I’m sure donations would be welcome! In keeping with Farmhack’s open source principles, we were told that all the work is freely available online, and although I struggled to find the whole thing, their website does feature an extract of another highlight: L’Attelage par Triangle (Triangle Hitch), a fascinating alternative to the three- point linkage whereby implements can be attached to the tractor Mike Fisher uses planks with bolts underneath to mark holes in bio-mulch and in less than 7 seconds without needing to get off the tractor or plastic for planting alliums have a colleague squeeze precariously between implement and tractor wheel fiddling with slightly bent pins (as I’m sure none of Workshops & Seminars us would ever dream of doing). Although the Atelier Paysanne After a delicious lunch, the drop-in workshops started, alongside collective does fabricate and sell the adaptor kit for l’attelage par the smaller seminars and discussions. Welding, blacksmithing triangle, crucially all their designs are in the public realm (under a and green woodworking workshops carried on all afternoon for Creative Commons license) and thus can easily be made or adapted people to pop in and out of; participants could choose just to try (or innovated further) by other farmers – and the collective’s aim it out briefly, to try and mend or hack a particular tool they had is to render itself redundant as all small farmers are empowered brought with them; or work towards the goal of making some to develop and share designs themselves in a decentralised way. broadforks (using components needing all three skills), which The audience listened to this in slack-jawed awe of all they would then be auctioned off on Sunday. had achieved – I recommend browsing their website at www. Meanwhile the seminars got under way in two separate locations: latelierpaysan.org, especially if you can understand basic French, looking at open source software and how the Farm Hack sharing or see if you can find some videos of the Triangle in action. platform can be used (a fantastic array of ideas, hacks and tools Although the French context is slightly different, with many, are already on their website, and anyone can add their own idea, many more small farms than the UK and a government much www.farmhack.org/tools); making compost tea; how to set up a more attuned to their needs, this was nonetheless an incredibly local food hub; how 3D printing could help farmers (where you inspiring insight into how far we could go using a combination of can print pretty much anything you like in plastic, from seed rolls farmer innovation, online sharing technologies and a selfless spirit to small implements or irrigation parts); an overview of useful of mutual aid. smart phone apps; practical seed saving; and using a rocket stove Indeed, this spirit of openness and sharing was amazing, and to make biochar as a soil improver (and using the ‘waste’ heat at permeated the entire event; everyone had a mind buzzing full the same time for cooking and heating). of ideas as the evening wore on over dinner. It was also great to see Radio 4’s On The Farm team here, interviewing participants; the programme can be found on the iPlayer at www.bbc.co.uk/ programmes/b05v6gjd.

No LWA event is complete without a slightly sozzled knees-up, and so on the Saturday night the bartenders and ceilidh band duly obliged. As the dancing drew to a close, L’Atelier Paysan’s un peu saoul revellers refused to accept the curfew and a Francophone riot was just barely averted with promises of a jam session around the campfire.

3D printers do their thing

Page 11 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 Sunday morning All actions have their consequences and thus some eyes were looking slightly bloodshot as Sunday morning got off to a headachy start. After some strong coffee, the Open Space session featured discussions around the Farmhack website, ‘soil hack’ (compost teas and associated soil bioremediation) and ‘generation hack’ (addressing the relative dominance of the under-40s at these events, and looking at ways of attracted a better balance of age groups. I wondered if the overuse of the word ‘hack’ did not help the accessibility of the event, making it all seem a bit like a cult?). In any case, I had no complaints joining the Farmhack Scotland working group - watch this space for details of the event, pencilled in to hit the shores of Loch Tay around August 2016. Closing session At the close, Severine gave suggestions for next steps, based upon their experiences in the US, such as arranging events to gathering local farmers together for a focused event with a specific purpose; for example, designing together a tool that everyone needs but is unaffordable or unavailable then having a ‘build day’ to construct together. They have tried turning these into community events, even inviting chefs from restaurants they supply to come along and cater for the event (which apparently works as some chefs are very keen to connect with the farms). The issue of building links with local conventional farmers was raised, with Severine reporting that in the US older, retired farmers in particular were very open to participation, themselves being more likely to be partial to a DIY mindset, not to mention having possibly the time and certainly the skills to share. The key question to bear in mind is ‘what can you offer them’ for their participation.

The broadfork, which participants had made (I refuse to say ‘hacked’!) the previous day in the woodworking, welding and blacksmithing workshops, was then auctioned off for an impressive £100.

In conclusion, it was of course very inspiring to rub shoulder with literally hundreds of other growers, especially those so infused with passion and optimism, and outside of the stuffy environment of a conference centre. It would have been great if more ‘elders’ of the organic scene had been present, although i suspect that the timing (mid April!) may have been prohibitive for some. But with the LWA building up a head of steam, that which is brewing seems to have great potential. Kate Collyns and Dom Marsh Photo: Kate Collyns Kate Photo: Blacksmithing workshop

Page 12 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 Nature notes: two onion kind

The Rev. CA Johns in his Flowers of the Field (1851, and numerous editions for decades thereafter) says of ramsons (or wild garlic, Allium ursinum) that “the flowers are white and pretty, but the stench of the whole plant is intolerable”.

Recently I was replacing a fence that I’d taken down so that the hedge beside it could be laid. The bank there, like so many of our hedge banks after a century or more of neglect, spills down into the pasture and being long overcast by sprawling holly and teetering hazel grows a fine stand of spring flowers. By mid-May there is a happy association of glossy white ramson and the sumptuous Photo: Tim Deane Tim Photo: depth of bluebells, with here and there red campion and yellow Star of Bethlehem archangel to set them off. My trampling as I unrolled, strained We are lucky to have another bulbous onion relative that beautifies and stapled the barbed wire back to its stakes gave scope for the our farm in May, one that is much less common and a good deal ramsons to release their odour of garlic. It thought little of it then more exotic - the Star of Bethlehem, Ornithogalum umbellatum. It’s but later, going to bed, found that it had impressed its pungent probably native, but is also cultivated as a garden flower, the bulbs memory upon my mucous membranes. This was perhaps because, being available for purchase. Here it occurs mainly in grassland as it turned out, I was gestating a head cold - but this was a mild that was formerly orchard (going back a hundred years or more), and earthy garlickness and not unpleasant. In any case being able an association suggesting that it may have been planted. Why to have the freedom and opportunity for immersion in the infinite anyone would plant it there is a mystery, especially as the foliage variety of this inexplicable thing called Life was not the least of the is reputedly poisonous. I don’t let that worry me – the flowers reasons I became a farmer, so how could I complain? appear before the cattle have eaten their way to the pastures in It’s likely though that if this was a hundred years ago (when question and by then the foliage, such as it was, has died away to Johns’ estimable book was still in print) the scent of garlic would nothing. Before being overtaken by the grasses among which it sit less easily in my nostrils. Tastes change. We’re all used to grows it looks not unlike them, but the leaves are a deeper green garlic now, some of us even try to grow the stuff, but there was than any pasture grass, more fleshy and somewhat glossy, with a a time when unfamiliarity bred contempt. Even forty years ago silvery-white stripe along the length of each one. It’s only when when my wife Jan, newly here from Canada, went to buy some you’ve lost sight of the foliage, and only when the sun is shining at a market stall in Exeter she was told “we don’t sell that foreign and not otherwise, that the flowers are suddenly there, loosely rubbish here” (apparently foreign oranges, bananas and so forth clustered constellations of – you’ve got it – stars! The eye registers were acceptable). this with a kind of jerk. Unless you are actively looking for them there is always some sense of surprise, both because of the way It’s an interesting and attractive plant – “white and pretty” says their whiteness strikes the eye and because they float almost little about it. The individual flowers, star-like and glistening, are insubstantially among the workaday herbage around them, like arranged a dozen to twenty in loose umbels on top of stiff and visitors from another planet. curiously formed stalks. Generally described as triangular on close inspection the apex of the triangle can be seen as flattened, These indubitably star-like flowers are similar if not identical in forming a narrow side opposite the widest one which is itself structure to those of the ramson, and perhaps those of every other slightly dished. Its concavity results from each of the medium onion kind, but at an inch or more across are twice the size. The sides extending past it into narrow ribs, an irregularity that flower (technically speaking) is formed of three petals and three becomes tangible when the stems are rotated between thumb and sepals placed alternately. The sepals are a little longer and broader finger. The leaves meanwhile are broad, smooth and shapely - than the petals, a difference that enhances the starry effect. The archetypically perfect. They elegantly decorate the floor of ancient glistening of the ramson comes from its glossy and reflective woods and shady places from mid-winter on, long before the surfaces. The Star of Bethlehem shines too, is almost dazzling, but flowers appear. Mild in flavour when cooked, they are similar in while there is a sheen to it its whiteness is deep and still, its light appearance to those of Lily of the Valley (which are poisonous). seeming to come from an inward glow. Each petal and sepal is The bulbs meanwhile are loved by bears (and wild boars), hence backed with a broad greyish-green stripe so that when closed up the Latin name, but they have to dig for them. The plant produces you just catch a glimpse of white between bars of green. The source contractile roots in the spring which pull them into the soil to a of all this excitement – the bulb – is said to be edible, but as they depth of five inches. retail at £4-20 for ten you’d probably be better off eating shallots. Tim Deane

Page 13 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 Creating a robust, accessible and diverse organic seed system in the UK Last October, a collective of food justice and food production organisations hosted The Great Seed Festival. The first of its kind, the festival brought together groups from across the UK’s seed and food sovereignty movement to celebrate seed, food and biodiversity. Following the festival, the prevailing view was that more needs to be done to protect and revive our seed diversity in the UK and that the momentum and relationships generated by the festival provided a useful and timely springboard. Inspired by a Canadian programme, the Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security, The Gaia Foundation are going to carry out a feasibility study as the next step towards cultivating a vigorous and effective UK programme in support of resilience and security in our seed system. The Great Seed Festival The hub of the event was the Garden Museum on the south bank of the River Thames in London where activities culminated over the weekend of 10th-12th October 2014. Fringe events also took place around the UK from Scotland to Devon, with a host of collaborators taking part.

On the previous Friday, 150 people attended the London premiere of the American documentary, ‘GMO OMG’ at the Garden Museum. This award winning film follows a father of three children who makes a journey across the US to find out more about GM food. The screening was followed by a Q&A session chaired by Pat Thomas, author and former editor of The Ecologist

to address the issues raised in the film and help to provide the Groves Tom Photos: Mapping of seed origins UK/European context. Pat was joined by former director of the Organic Research Centre, Lawrence Woodward, Ed Hamer, the The celebrations continued on Saturday evening just up the river, founder of Chagford Community Market Garden and organic where the Battersea Barge played host to The London Freedom entrepreneur, Jo Wood. Seed Bank’s annual seed savers ceremony. The gathering included a talk from Jane Rabinowicz of USC Canada, a lively ceilidh and Over 500 people come through the doors of the Garden Museum the mapping of the seed-saving activity going on across London. on the Saturday and Sunday. Foodies, growers, gardeners, artists, It was encouraging to see so many young people involved, many activists and families took part in the talks, workshops, crafts, bread of whom had saved seed for the first time and were committed to making, chocolate making and seed bomb building. There was a continue doing so. palpable feeling of excitement, knowing that the coming together of the public, food growing networks and food justice organisations On the Thursday, a sumptuous Seed Feast was held to celebrate could really make a difference to our food system. World Food Day. With over 100 diners, the Garden Museum was transformed into a stunning feasting hall complete with edible soil in plant pots, seeds to be sprinkled from packet to plate and a menu detailing the ingredients’ journey from seed.

Other events in London included a meeting hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Agroecology in Westminster on ‘Sustaining the Seeds that Feed Us – the impact of UK, EU and global policies’. There was a talk by internationally renowned author and speaker, Charles Eisenstein, on ‘Seed and the Economy of Gift’ and a gathering of European seed groups, part of the Let’s Liberate Diversity network, on ‘Managing community-based seed systems: tools for the on- farm management of agricultural biodiversity’.

Page 14 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 Who was involved? small grants for equipment, participatory organic breeding, seed crop production research and market research, the establishment Fifty organisations took part in the festival including farmers and of highly accessible collections and seed banks. They are also growers, the Land Worker’s Alliance, Community Food Grower’s developing web-based tools to promote networking, provide Network, Capital Growth, Food Growing Schools London. Non- supply information, and mobilise growers to multiply seeds Governmental Organisations working on food justice issues - deemed valuable but in low supply. The Gaia Foundation, UK Food Group, Global Justice Now, War This practical, comprehensive programme has been running since on Want, Women’s Environmental Network, and USC Canada. 2013 and is already showing signs of success. The Bauta Family Other organisations and campaigners from the organic movement Initiative provides an inspiring example of the sort of things that including the Soil Association, Beyond GM and seed saving groups we could be doing in the UK to create a more resilient and secure - Heritage Seed Library, London Freedom Seed Bank, and The Seed seed system of our own. Co-op – led by the Biodynamic Association and Open Pollinated Seed and many others. Feasibility and the Future In Europe, sister festivals were organised in Brussels by the Funding has been obtained to conduct a feasibility study on the Urban Ecology Centre and Demeter International, Amsterdam by possibility of a UK-wide seed programme, the purpose of which ASEED, and Athens by Organisation Earth. is to establish whether a UK-wide programme is welcome, needed The Festival encouraged collaboration between these organisations and useful. And, if the results are positive, what activities it should and provided a platform for new alliances to be forged around a include, how it should be structured, and who could be involved. shared understanding of the importance and urgency for more A preliminary consultation meeting with a range of actors work on seed, both in the UK and further afield. We cannot have ( including the OGA’s Phil Sumption and Ben Raskin) from the UK’s food security without seed security - for a truly healthy and seed and organic networks was held in March. The purpose of the resilient farming and food system, seed needs to be at the centre. meeting was to introduce the idea of a UK seed programme, outline Through the process of organising the Festival, it became apparent the Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security as a basis for that whilst there are a growing number of initiatives addressing discussion as to what could be useful or possible in the UK, and to issues around food - food poverty, waste, community growing consider the opportunities, challenges and issues in implementing schemes, etc. However, a lot more needs to be done in the UK to a similar programme in the UK, including the identification of key protect seeds, revive seed knowledge and ensure the availability questions to be considered by a feasibility study. of good quality, organic seed for commercial growers. Continued consultation with those with varying perspectives Canadian Inspiration and technical understanding of seed as well as knowledge of the historical UK context will be of paramount importance when With new alliances formed and old alliances strengthened at conducting the study, to ensure that the potential programme the Festival, there is now huge potential. One of these is with is comprehensive and effective. It is also essential to ensure that USC Canada and the Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed there is no duplication of work, and that any programme activities Security. At the Festival, Jane Rabinowicz, programme director of support and complement existing initiatives. The process will the Bauta Family Initiative, presented the work that they are doing be participatory, with stakeholders invited to contribute and in Canada to build a more secure and diverse ‘made-in-Canada’ comment at every stage. seed supply. The study is a hugely exciting opportunity to explore the potential Built on strong regional programming and interaction with a pathways to a more robust, accessible and diverse seed system in broad range of actors, from farmers’ organisations to government, the UK and towards seed and food sovereignty where control of researchers, and business advisors, the Bauta Family Initiative our food system is in the hands of people and not corporations. on Canadian Seed Security is a four-year programme to build a For more information on the study please contact Helen Strong on diverse and resilient Canadian seed system. They are pursuing [email protected]. four strategic objectives: to increase the quality, quantity and Helen Strong diversity of ecologically grown Canadian seed, to promote public access to seed, to facilitate collaboration within the seed system Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security: http://www.seedsecurity.ca and to respect, advance, and promote the knowledge of farmers The Gaia Foundation: http://www.gaiafoundation.org in seed production.

The programme is primarily directed at ecological seed producers and commercial farmers, focusing on grains, vegetable seeds, and potatoes, with emphasis on varieties that contribute to food security, climate change adaptation, and strong market potential. Programme activities include on-farm training and networking,

Page 15 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 Breton organic seed growers The Leonardo Lifelong Learning fund, now Erasmus+, funds exchange visits and cooperative work between partners in different European countries. As part of a project entitled GROW (Growing Agricultural Biodiversity: Knowledge and Practice in Europe) four staff and volunteers of Garden Organic’s Heritage Seed Library had the great opportunity to visit farmers, seed savers and other groups within the region of Northern Brittany, France.

We visited farms and exchanged information on how growers Bio Breizh encourages farmers to identify ‘peasant seed’ (open- save seed of vegetables in the region and how best to pass that pollinated) varieties and to select and multiply these to make them information on to others. We were also introduced to some of the available. Certain vegetables are considered as priorities when organisations involved in organic production and certification in it comes to identifying ‘new’ varieties to locate and multiply. France and particularly those involved in the area close to Morlaix, These priority crops include cauliflowers, romanesco, coco bean, where we were based during our visit. Two of our partners from fennel and coloured cabbage. Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is the GROW Project also joined us, one from Spain, ‘Red de Semillas’ prohibited under organic standards and there is a major push to and ‘Arche Noah’ from Austria. Both of these are organisations that find open-pollinated varieties, particularly of autumn cauliflowers save varieties within their respective countries and also provide to fill this gap. training in seed saving to home gardeners and farmers. Reseau Semences Paysannes (The Peasant Seeds Network) was There are a number of key organisations involved in organic the host and organiser of the event in Morlaix and is made up growing and seed production in Brittany, some particular to the of more than 70 member organisations including unions, local or region and others more national in their scope. national organic farming organisations, specialist organisations, artisans, farmers, gardeners, seed or nurserymen associations, Peasant seeds development associations, NGOs, local communities and The first is Kaol Kozh, an organic growers’ group affiliated to ‘Bio biodiversity conservation associations. Its aims include developing Breizh’ (see below) and its focus is on conserving and cataloguing and networking initiatives that promote biodiversity on farms older varieties that are not subject to PBR (Plant Breeders’ Rights) and in gardens, public awareness on the issues related to the and passing material on to others. A play on words, ‘Kaol Kozh’ production and marketing of peasant seeds and the recognition means both ‘Old Cabbage’ in Breton but also ‘Common Good’ by the regulatory bodies, institutions and research laboratories. in Russian. None of the varieties they maintain are listed and so This is done through collective actions and the backup, selection, can’t be sold, so growers are ‘compensated’ for their work and multiplication, processing and utilization and distribution of do not sell the seed. Brittany is an area famed for its cauliflowers, predominately wheat seed, but also includes vegetables, fodder artichokes, cabbages and onions, particularly ‘Pink Roscoff’. This plants, fruit trees, herbs and medicinal plants. onion variety was the famous one that came over to the South of England festooning the bicycle handlebars of sellers. Recognised Reducing dependence on F1 and as a variety of importance, one grower is encouraged by one CMS hybrids government agency to conserve it, whilst another deems it illegal PAIS (Plate forme Agrobiologique d’Initiative Bio Bretagne à as it is not on the National List. Suscinio) carries out experiments into organic crops and is located Bio Breizh is the regional organic association of Brittany and has at the ‘Lycée Agricole Suscinio’ in Morlaix. The Agricultural 55 members growing on 800 ha plus another 15 ha under cover. School has six acres of open fields and 750 m² covered growing in They grow 90 vegetable varieties, totalling 10,000 tons of produce. polytunnels and glasshouses, on land that has been converted to Of the varieties that are grown, 10% come from farmers who have organic farming since 2001. selected and multiplied seed on their own farms with onion ‘Pink PAIS was founded in 2000 and its core functions are research into Roscoff’ at 200t, cauliflower 300,000 heads (10%), long shallot 270t pest management, functional biodiversity, mechanisation and (30%), coco bean 15t (100%) and purple artichoke 50t (100%). This research into varieties grown in Brittany, and they are currently equates to 1.1 million euros which is 10% of their total income. involved in research into buckwheat and finding varieties that are Crops produced from farmers’ own seed are identified by special particularly suited to the climate in Brittany. The organisation labels on the product or veg boxes. particularly wants to reduce farmers’ dependence on F1 varieties and to reduce the need to use CMS cabbages and cauliflowers.

Therefore one of the main aims of PAIS is to evaluate genetic resources and varieties of vegetables and field crops, particularly the development of varieties adapted to Brittany (cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes, parsnips, carrots, lettuce, leek, beans).

Page 16 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 Since 2000, 450 varieties of cauliflowers have been evaluated, headed broccoli and violet cabbage. He also has cattle, some of 100 varieties of potatoes, and 40 varieties of carrots, artichokes, a local breed, which he primarily has for fertility-building rather tomatoes and lettuce. Some of these have been bred and used by than meat. To ensure the pollination of seed crops he brings in producers since 2003. PAIS also has a seed bank for growers that hives of bumblebees. they can access. We visited PAIS in Morlaix INRA - government supported and were given a tour by Mathieu Conseil & Sebastien research Louarn who showed us the INRA is The National Institute of Agricultural Research where various field experiments Veronique Chable, the senior scientist, has for many years, been carried out on site which looking at ways to improve the number of varieties suitable include apple orchards and for organic growers. One project they have been involved in is another orchard of cider SOLIBAM, the objective of which was to develop novel breeding apple trees, cider being a big approaches to improve the performance, quality, sustainability product in Brittany. At the and stability of crops adapted to organic and low input systems. time of our visit there were Corn salad at PAIS A current project is ‘Diversifoods’ and amongst its aims will be 12 varieties of lettuce and a selection of turnips being trialled to increase genetic resources available to growers and assess the with the produce being used in the canteen of the college. They viability of informal seed systems particularly using local varieties. grow crops through plastic to keep weeds down but are looking (The UK’s ORC was also involved in SOLIBAM and is a partner at reducing plastic use on site so are trialling a natural mulch that in Diversifoods - Ed) should last 16 months before it breaks down. They claim that the biodegradable mulch currently available breaks down far too Farm visits quickly. In polytunnels they have introduced diversity between A key part of the visits were to farmers, one of whom was Rene rows and in some they have planted espalier peach trees between Lea, former president and long-time member of Kaol Kozh, a some of the rows. The seed bank at PAIS is used for short/medium breeder and multiplier of cabbage, cauliflower and onion seeds. term storage in a freezer but is primarily stored for growers to We were shown cauliflowers in the field that were selected for access and trial as an easily accessible resource. leaving for seed and it was interesting that these are left in-situ Ideas that were discussed during our visit included a need to and the following crop planted around them rather being lifted increase the use of farmers’ seed labels to highlight the regional and moved. We were told that it makes for careful tractor driving. links and sustainability of the seed and preferably a label that is approved across the national network of growers to highlight the provenance of the seed. One suggestion to increase the use of peasant seed was funding and perhaps through taxes on hybrids, to help finance the marketing and maintenance of the seeds. Frequently mentioned was the urgent need to replace CMS varieties with open-pollinated ones..

During our visit, I became aware of a really good network in Brittany between the various organisations when it came to improving seed availability and what was very apparent was that this was driven and given its focus by the growers themselves rather than larger organisations. Cutting cauliflower Photos: Garden Organic Garden Photos: Luc Calvey is another farmer we visited who is a grower Thank you to the organisers, Marc of Bio Breizh, Charlotte of particularly of onions, producing 100-150kg on four hectares, Reseau de Semences; our hosts, Rene, Luc, Erwan, Sebastien & which produces 100t of onions yearly. Luc has been growing Mathieu, and my fellow onions for seed for 20 years as seeds were originally unable to be travellers, Catherine, Anne sold and the only way he could get hold of the seed of varieties he and Marietta who helped wanted was to produce it himself. Over time he has now become with notes and photos. a source of the seed for other growers. Merci bien We also visited the Erwan Rousseau’s farm. On 23 ha with 300 Neil Munro sq m of polytunnels, Erwan’s farm provides 400 veg boxes as Manager, Heritage Seed Library, well as selling at five local markets. He grows 60 varieties of Garden Organic crops including onions, cauliflowers, radish, turnip, kale, purple- Broccoli - violet du cape

Page 17 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 Roscoff caulis for the hungry gap

Roscoff varieties are cauliflowers that require a sustained exposure to cold temperatures before they begin to produce their curd. They are sown in the summer and harvested the following spring. Here at Canalside Community Food CSA in Warwickshire, it is important to have crops to harvest between March and June. At this time of year the stored staples of the previous season are running scarce and are looking tired. The early, leafy produce of the season, for all its visual ‘wow’ factor and tastiness, does not really count for many calories. A big, brilliant white, fresh cauliflower in the spring however ticks both the ‘wow’ and the weight boxes, so we grow lots of Roscoff cauliflowers. In fact, potatoes and onions aside, no other crop on our farm is devoted more space than them, and since the Roscoffs spend about twice as much time in the ground as those summer maincrops, they have a significant part to play each season. The 10-year crop rotation here (which includes three clover leys) is Rotation designed specifically to allow for two plots of brassicas each year whilst, still having a four-year gap between each. It means we can Spring-harvested cauliflowers Roscoffs are grown in year nine of grow plenty of cauliflowers and purple sprouting broccoli (PSB) our ten-year rotation: to fill some of the late spring harvesting gap. 1. clover mix 2. clover mix Varieties 3. potatoes Having tried many different combinations of varieties that will 4. brassicas 1 (includes PSB, brussels, cabbages, calabrese) 5. onions/leeks give us a fairly constant and even supply from March through to 6. carrots/parsnips/celeriac early June, we have used this line-up for the last couple of seasons. 7. squash/sweetcorn/beans They are listed in chronological harvesting order. 8. clover mix Tintagel F1 (Tuckers) Harvest begins March 9. brassicas 2 (includes autumn and Roscoff cauliflowers, kale, swede and calabrese’ Medaillon F1 (Tamar) Harvest begins mid-March 10. salad/beetroot Aalsmeer (Tuckers) Harvest begins April Coming straight after a one-year ley period, the plot should be Galleon (Suttons) Harvest begins mid-April quite clean of weeds and since the roscoffs do not go into the Patriot (Tuckers) Harvest begins May ground until the end of July, we take the opportunity to get the Peron (Tuckers) Harvest begins mid-May beds prepared well ahead of time and do at least one pass for the first batch of weeds before they are planted. Cauliflowers, As you’d expect, the F1s are expensive (as much as £40 per along with potatoes and brussels, are one of the few crops we will thousand), whereas the other varieties are closer to £10-£15 per spread manure for, if we can get hold of any easily. They have thousand. We have had no trouble in getting derogations for the never had a bad year due to lack of fertility, but if there is organic use of non-organic seed where needed because there are very few muck available locally (as there has been every two or three years) alternatives available: Medaillon F1 being the only organic Roscoff we are happy to use it and cover all bases. available at the time of writing. One of our favourites, Chester F1, became unavailable a couple of years ago; but we have been We plant on three rows (35cm apart) at 80-90cm in the row. pleased with the alternative we found for that part of the harvest We mark the beds and dib them all in manually. It takes about plan – an open-pollinated variety called Galleon, which we buy in half a day for two people to get the whole crop in, which is packets of 100 from a gardening catalogue. just over 1,500 transplants into seven 100m beds. Needless to say, it is important to pay attention to labelling throughout We sow all the seed on the same day during the second week of June the propagation process so that you can plant the Roscoffs in (as long as it is new seed we are happy to use just one seed per cell chronological order of harvest. Although we may sometimes – especially the expensive F1s!) into find that variety descriptions are rose-tinted/ sturdy 77-cell trays (Containerwise – fanciful/fictional, with Roscoff cauliflowers highly recommended) and sit them you can trust the expected harvest date, or at on slatted benches in an unheated least that the ones billed to emerge in late April polytunnel. We have never had a will be ready before the ones promised in mid- problem with seeds germinating, and May (even if the dates might not be correct, the once they have their first true leaves order will be). If possible we will plant just after up they move outside and sit under rain, or just before a good bit is forecast. We’ve a mesh. The mesh shades the plants found that as long as they get well watered in, a little and also keeps the pigeons off. they never need irrigating.

Will Johnson: Little and large!

Page 18 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 Growing The yield for spring 2014 was okay, 15 t/ha. The table below shows our 2014 harvest in detail: this season the story has been With the plot having been in ley the previous year, and if the stale quite similar, though all of the dates are about two weeks later due seed beds have done what they should have, there should not be to the cold start to the year. much more maintenance than a couple of steerage hoe passes (at In terms of size and shape, the most consistent of the ones we around ten days and three weeks after planting) and one quick grow is Patriot, producing small but dense heads in the middle hand weed of the tall survivors in September. We cover our of May of 500-600g, though consistency is not necessarily what Roscoffs with enviromesh, and try to keep the moving of it around we are looking for in our case. A few years ago when designing a to a minimum, so it is worth having a good look at the plants’ cropping plan, I was reliably informed by my advisor that a typical health at the same time as the weeding sessions. Historically, we ‘field factor’ for cauliflowers is just over 50%. That is, a commercial have had virtually no problems with white fly, cabbage whites grower should expect just over one cauliflower for every two that and even the winter hardy grey aphids seem to prefer the kale they plant to be saleable. I can well see that we would have to grade next door. Pigeons will have a peck or two in the windows when out some for being too small if we were selling wholesale or had a the mesh blows off, but this is usually before the curds are formed stall at a farmers’ market, but since we are a CSA and, effectively, and not a problem as long as the crop is recovered with mesh everything we grow is owned by the membership, we must promptly. It is, however, a bit annoying that pigeons seem to have harvest and share out everything not according to whether it is no problem with defecating on their dinner, but we put up with saleable, but whether it is good enough for the kitchen, regardless that as long as it is just the leaves that are soiled. of size or shape. We can divide our crop by weight rather than by Over the winter months the Roscoffs need little attention. If a huge number of heads, and in this regard it can be an advantage to have dumping of snow is forecast we will remove the mesh temporarily, all shapes and sizes, rather than a problem. We can even cut the since enough weight from above does at some point break the massive ones in half. In this sense we are not far off a 100% field stems of the plants. The particularly harsh winter of 2010/11 did factor, and that’s before you count the occasional plant that throws wipe out about a third of our plants (due to temperature, not out four or five new mini-caulis after the first curd has been taken snowfall) but, as you will know, we have rarely recorded anything (à la purple sprouting broccoli). The poor performance of Peron below -5ºC since then, let alone the -15ºCs we were seeing that in 2014 is not anomalous; a significant number of plants were year. Research suggests that it is sustained temperatures of below lost over the last winter too leaving us only about two-thirds of -6ºC that will kill cauliflowers. what we planted (albeit mainly huge specimens!). It could be the Harvesting variety, or it could be that Peron is always on the edge of the plot, nearest the rabbits and deer, and nearest the edge of the mesh that At the back end of February, we will begin checking them regularly, can blow off and pull at the stems in the strong winds of January perhaps twice a week, but it is quite predictable for Tintagel to and February. I do suspect that Peron is not as winter hardy as produce curds during the first fortnight of March. We harvest them the earlier forming varieties, but since it is hungry gap crop we as soon as any curd is visible, or if it is covered only by one or two are sticking with it. Though Aalsmeer and Galleon produce small leaves. It is not as tedious as it sounds to check the crop in this way: cauliflowers, they are almost a guaranteed harvest once they are you get an eye for it! We’ve found it is much better to pick them in the ground and growing. We like them, but their size will not early (we use – and reuse – black rubble sacks) and store in a fridge suit every grower’s needs. or a suitable corner of your store than to let them open in the field. All in all Roscoff cauliflowers are an important crop for Canalside I’m not saying we’ve never put a perfectly edible blown cauliflower and we will continue growing them and continue to work on our in the share for our members, but we prefer to keep them in the combination of varieties (suggestions and tips very welcome). In minority. Particularly later in the spring, when the sun is shining some weeks during the hungry gap they can constitute more than and the Patriot are coming thick and fast, you cannot avoid a few half the weight of the week’s share. We need them! blown ones unless you pick daily, and we have too much other work to do in May to pick more than two or three times a week. Will Johnson Tintagel F1 Medaillon F1 Aalsmeer Galleon Patriot Peron

First head March 4th March 11th April 8th April 11th April 29th May 13th Last head March 28th March 28th May 2nd April 29th May 20th June 10th No. planted 675 450 675 225 675 450 No. harvested 574 323 630 214 587 208 Total weight 258kg 147kg 184kg 45kg 308kg 154kg Field factor 85.04% 71.78% 93.33% 95.11% 86.96% 46.22% Weight per head 449g 441g 292g 210g 525g 740g

Page 19 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 Seeing the wood for the trees Agroforestry is a relatively new word in my vocabulary, and I am still finding out about it. I have always loved trees, as a child I loved climbing them, looking up into the leafy branches, swinging from them and throwing stones at conkers. Later in life, I began to appreciate the importance of trees so that as soon as I acquired my first piece of land in Cornwall I went mad and planted trees all along the boundaries and perimeters of the tiny fields. Over a thousand trees found their way onto my scrubby, windswept and hopelessly acidic five acres and I am happy in the knowledge that most of them are still there - well, according to Google Earth. As a lifetime user of timber in buildings and boats, I feel I still have plenty to plant and pay back my debt to nature. Agroforestry for veg growing Don’t take it for granted So when agroforestry started to get trendy I thought perhaps I After several years of procrastination and general indecisiveness could get the trees even closer to my veg crops and perhaps, if as to should or shouldn’t I go for agroforestry, I contacted The done properly, my veg would grow at least as well as they did Woodland Trust. They were offering grants for tree planting, but beforehand and maybe I would be able to see some benefits to I am deeply suspicious of grants, as it generally means jumping biodiversity. And if I was really lucky, I may get to cut some of through too many hoops and I like to know the origin of their them down and build a flotilla of boats to travel down the Thames money. So a chat with them revealed what I had suspected, and disappear over the horizon to a new world. New ideas can that our proposed three ha was too small for them to fund. The carry you away to fantasy world and this is the danger. So my positive result was that their available money was not from some flirtation with agroforestry (not called that then) in the past taught dodgy carbon offset scheme as the cynic in me had suspected, me to be suspicious as trees do get seriously large and create but actually comes from a large hotel chain that has implemented masses of shade, their roots invade everything and the leaves energy and material savings policy in their hotels and wanted to block up the gutters on your house. How could I integrate trees to plant trees from the proceeds. So the money was clean but they my vegetable growing systems without losing half of my precious didn’t think we were worthy of it. So I contacted Jo Smith, the land? So I spent some time thinking about it and weighing up the principal agroecology researcher at Organic Research Centre, Elm pros and cons because at the end of the decade I need to know Farm (ORC) and explained to her the benefits of my particular that my farm will be as marginally profitable as it is now, the cause (accompanied by the usual moan that why do big farmers vegetables have to pay the rent and bills. Having to consider the get all the money whilst little landless growers get nothing!). She economics of what we do can cramp creativity and style but for contacted the The Woodland Trust, and emphasised that this many small growers this is the reality. particular project was worth supporting and within days I had drawn up plans and a list of trees with the intention of planting The benefits at least have to equal the disadvantages so I spent during winter of 2013/14. some time looking into both the cons but also the pros. For me, top of the list has to be creating increased shelter from wind. Few The plan growers seem to appreciate how much vegetables prefer shelter from wind - it is clear to see that crops protected by hedges are My plans were for alley cropping with trees in rows running north- often superior. Increasing predator habitats will reduce pest south, the best aspect as it reduces shading and my rows run that problems, not that we have much to complain about, apart from way. The tree rows were to go 23m apart, which fits my irrigation pigeons that will have even more trees to hang out in! Then there system and means that I will have 30 rows of vegetables between is reduced disease risk, blight for example has been shown to the trees although initially, I will lose 15% of my vegetable land. spread much more slowly in sheltered plots due to lower wind Mixed varieties of apples, on dwarf rootstocks, mostly M26, are speeds, and maybe the same is true for mildews. Materials from the trees will become a useful farm product whether it’s woodchip for compost, stakes for beans or firewood. Fruits from trees will be harvested and sold locally and of course the beauty of the whole thing will gladden the hearts of all who visit, and I can rest peacefully, safe in the knowledge that I planted more than I cut down. Then there is the mystical mycorrhiza, creeping outwards from the tree roots and invading my vegetable land with their health giving and fertility building properties. There are lots of other good reasons, too many to go into right now. Photo: Jo Smith/ORC Jo Photo: Motorway roadworks at Hardwick? No - it’s the new agroforestry system, though the apples are on M26! Page 20 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 The six rows of trees look a bit like a motorway road-works as the guards supplied by The Woodland Trust are quite large and the trees very small so there is, for this year at least, no foliage to be seen. The apples are much taller and have already received their first formative pruning to encourage side branches. We have plans for a variety of different treatments in the tree row to assess the practicality of integrating crops. Two rows are to be planted with rhubarb, one crown between each tree and another planted with a selection of narcissus and daffodils for early cut flowers. A further row will be a selection of herbaceous flowers also for cutting during early summer and these will sell on our farm gate shop just yards from where they have grown. Of the remaining two tree rows, one will be left with the existing long-term green manure allowing it to grow and be cut twice per year. The last one is a long term beetle bank containing mixed flora and will continue as such, it never gets cut or managed in anyway except for the removal of self-seeded trees.

Photos: Organic Research Centre Research Organic Photos: There is much to be learnt from this trial and ORC and The planted 15m apart. Between each apple tree is an oak tree and the Woodland Trust will be monitoring its performance over a period rest of the row is inter-planted with mixed trees such as hornbeam, of time. I’ll be back in ten years’ time with my opinion as to how birch, cherry, maple and alder all of which are trees growing things are developing (or maybe sooner...Ed). naturally in the area. The total planted up area is three ha with six Iain Tolhurst rows each 150m long with 1.5m between the trees, except for the apples where they have three metres clear each side. My vision for 100 years from now would be a sparsely planted oak forest with vegetables still growing between the trees but probably only on 60% of the land area. The other trees will still be there in various forms, some pollard, some coppiced but still producing materials for composting and other uses. By this time, the fruit trees will have come to the end of their life and be replaced by new ones. The whole system will be working with nature and self-sufficient in fertility - a sort of “forest garden”. I hear myself moan at such a phrase as my knowledge of such gardens tends to be places that get overgrown and hardly produce any crop at all, certainly not enough to feed a group of people. But for me the primary role of the system will be to continue to feed people. But back to the present. Planting our forest got off to a bad start during 2013 and we were At Elsoms we have a superb defeated by the wettest winter for decades as the land was sodden selection of organic and right up to April, so we had to postpone by a whole year. This non-chemically treated seed, was probably a good thing as I was able to review the sanity of planting up a site that can occasionally flood, the indigenous trees backed up by an experienced would survive but the apples were not going to be very happy. team of specialists. So I moved the site to a higher field having rows of 150m long, and longer lengths of rows are always better if you intend to use machinery. We eventually managed to find a dry spell during For more information please contact February this year and three of us got 600 trees planted and staked Keely Watson or visit our website: over a couple of days. Fresh woodchip was mulched around all the trees, a big job and took over 20 cubic metres of material to t 01775 715000 w elsoms.com allow for a decent layer 100mm deep. This will be topped up next winter then the trees will be on their own, very important to keep weeds down for a couple of years.

Page 21 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 September sowings for winter salads

For undercover growing it is often tomatoes that grab the attention but wonderful summer vegetables can be less than half the story - much less. You can make more money from salads, because it’s possible to grow an amazing range of leaves under cover through the darker and cooler half of the year, at a time when many other vegetables are growing slowly outside, and September is the key month for sowing.

Every year I am so impressed by the yields of leaves from repeat coriander, chervil and a little dill. I used to grow mizuna but now pickings off the same plants. In 2014/15 my polytunnel of 18 x prefer mustards for ease of picking with my outer-leaf method. 30 feet gave a harvest of around 240kg salad leaves, for sales of I have reduced the amount of winter purslane after finding it £3,000 or so, with few costs apart from harvesting. Two of us take grows too many brown leaves which take a long time to grade an average of three hours each to pick all the plants, almost every out after cutting, and this may be a problem of diseased seed. week apart from the annual holiday in January. Harvests from For colour, my favourite leaf is Red Frills mustard. Winter leaves each plant are fortnightly in midwinter, when we pick half the tend to be greener than summer ones so coloured mustards and tunnel each week, then weekly from mid March, and they peak chard are worthwhile for that alone. The Grenoble Red lettuce in the second week of April, after which the brassicas start to bronzes nicely in any winter sunshine. make flower stems and less leaves. However the trusty Grenoble Red lettuce continue to give great harvests of outer leaves until Spacing is related to picking early June, if I still need them at that time, to make up for any Both for simplicity and ease of harvesting leaves, I use the same shortage of outdoor leaves. Also cropping into June are the wild spacing between most salad plants, of 22-25cm (9-10”). This rocket and a few January-sown pea shoots. allows all plants ample room for an extensive root run for food Sowing dates are key and moisture, so that they produce healthy leaves for many months. Chard is an exception as it can quickly grow large so is Eliot Coleman has published work on and emphasises the best grown at a closer spacing. For most of these plants, you sow importance of sowing at the right time in autumn, when day once and then pick 20+ times over several months, up to 30 picks length and temperature are decreasing so fast. Sowing a week for the Grenoble Red lettuce. Once everything is in the ground later can lose you a lot of growth! Yet sowing too early can make by mid autumn, the main job until spring is regular harvesting of plants too promiscuous in autumn then less frost hardy in winter. outer leaves, with occasional watering and weeding. They want to be well-established teenagers by December, with a root system that can propel new growth in any milder weather, Ground preparation and watering but with compact leaf growth, from some light pickings between This is the sequence of events before planting, when summer mid November and Christmas. crops have been grown in surf: It works well to sow into modules rather than direct, at a time Gently pull out stems of summer plants and their root crown, when tomatoes and other summer plants are still cropping. while cutting off any longer roots in the process, leaving them Throughout autumn you need to pull these summer plants out and all smaller roots in the soil. Remove all weeds of which immediately after their final harvests, and pop in your salad there are very few in no dig growing, because of regular plants by the end of October. In Somerset I find that 10th-12th weeding and infrequent summer waterings, therefore minimal September is a good average date for sowing almost everything germination of weed seeds. I never use mypex mulches. except for late August sowings of chervil, parsley, land cress, sorrel and wild rocket, or sow the latter in July if you have room Walk on the surface to firm it back down and break any larger to plant it in August. lumps, making it level. This causes no compaction, because of the soil having compost on top and being quite dry. Water until Choosing what to grow fully moist, which often means watering every day or leaving There are many flavours and colours to choose from – see table an hour between waterings, since dry compost and soil needs below. What you sow and plant determines your salad mix for time to absorb water again – if you try to water all at once, some the whole winter and early spring so it’s worth some thought. of it runs off or through and down. I find this especially after I grow nearly one half Grenoble Red lettuce for bulk and long tomatoes, which continue to draw moisture from deeper down, harvests, one fifth mustards for both bulk and heat, a tenth of as a result of being watered less in early autumn to encourage spinach Medania and endive Fine Maraichere, and half that of their ripening. leaf radish and salad rocket, spiced up with small amounts of

Page 22 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 Fertility for winter vegetables I feed my soil undercover in May and find that a two inch layer of well rotted animal manure or homemade compost, sometimes with mushroom and municipal in smaller quantities, provides enough food for a year of growth. So when you have spread compost in spring, before planting summer vegetables, there is be no need to add more in autumn: the soil should still be fertile enough for winter vegetables. This is a great help in October when days and time are short, and every growing day is precious. Photos: Charles Dowding Charles Photos: Summer crops can be cleared and winter ones planted in a short Salads in the tunnel 9/4/15 space of time. Eliot Coleman advocates the secondary-cover approach but his Weeding latitude in Maine equates to the south of France and sunshine hours in Portland, Maine are 165 hours on average in January, as In a no dig system with correct watering, weeds barely grow in much as the whole of December, January and February combined winter. We never weed the polytunnel, just pull the odd weed in Somerset. Also the American climate is continental with much seedling while picking, to keep it spotless and give no sanctuary drier air than we have normally, allowing extra covers to be used for slugs. with less concern about mildew on leaves for example. Watering Winter and spring harvests On average, once soil is fully moist by the end of October, I water Pickings through late autumn are usually followed by a lull when monthly until February, by hand. Usually it’s with two 12 litre it turns cold and the days are at their shortest, with only a few watering cans filled from butts which are usually replenished small leaves to harvest. Keep plants tidy at this and all times by through winter. Also, I use the water from washing salad leaves, removing yellow or diseased leaves, together with any weeds and except in cold, damp weather. By mid February I increase to slugs, and water sparingly if at all. As light levels increase rapidly watering fortnightly, then weekly in March and sometimes twice from late winter and temperatures too, you notice leaves improve weekly in April if the sun is bright. Watering amounts depend in quality – becoming larger, thicker, glossier and also more on soil and climate and a good rule of thumb is to have a dry numerous with every passing week, until by late March there can surface before watering again. This reduces slug numbers, weed be a major abundance, until plants start to make flowering stems. germination and leaf disease. Aim to water on a bright day when Many of the first flower buds and stems are good to eat, until the leaves can dry quickly. stems become more woody, and the flowers of winter purslane are a feast for the eye as well. Once plants are making more stem Polytunnel ventilation than salad, I twist them out and spread 5cm (2”) of compost, to You want airflow all the time, but also ensure that plants are have soil ready for planting summer vegetables from late spring. sheltered from continual breezes. On cloudy and windy days I Charles Dowding keep all four-door panels in place, both ends, and the three-inch gap above them at both ends allows enough air to ventilate the tunnel. Longer tunnels need more Salad plant Sow First pick Last pick Qualities open space than this, or a door panel Parsley Aug Oct-Nov May Rich flavours removed, for air to flow through. Wild rocket Aug Oct-Nov Jun-Jul Spicy, good in spring Frost protection Land cress Aug Oct-Nov May Pepper flavour Sorrel (broad & Buckler) Aug Nov Jul Lemon flavours In Somerset, I can manage without Spinach Early Sep Nov Jun Many sweet leaves using any interior fleece, almost all Ruby chard Early Sep Nov May Great colour, space at 10cm (4”) the time. In the rare frosts down to -8C Lettuce ‘Grenoble Red’ Early Sep Nov Jun Hardy, abundant, long-lived (18F), plants survive although lose a bit Chervil / dill / coriander Early Sep Nov May Top flavours of quality. Months such as December Endive (frisée & scarole) Mid Sep Nov Early May Abundant 2010 are exceptions and I found fleece Winter purslane Mid Sep Nov Late Apr Mild taste, flowers in April covers worthwhile then. Bear in mind Pak choi Mid Sep Nov Apr Mild, crunchy stems when using a fleece cover that you are Mustards (many kinds) Mid Sep Nov Early May Great colours & tastes increasing humidity as well as reducing Salad rocket Mid Sep Nov Early May Peppery light levels and at our latitudes there Leaf radish Late Sep Nov Late Apr Large, radish flavour is not a lot of spare light in midwinter. Mizuna Late Sep Nov Late Apr Many mild leaves

Winter salads under cover, for planting in October

Page 23 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 Building carbon in farm soils

“The health of soil, plant, animal and man is one and indivisible.” So wrote organic pioneer Eve Balfour in 1943 in ‘The Living Soil’. Since then, we have moved to industrial agriculture dependent on agrochemicals, heavy machinery and fossil fuels. In so doing, soils in the UK like those in other countries, have become severely depleted especially where cereals and other annual crops are grown. Nearly all the organic matter stored in the soil – that precious resource upon which we all depend for food – has been ‘mined’ and converted into ever-increasing crop yields supported by artificial fertilizers. But fast-forward to 2014 and many carbon-conscious farmers and growers are not just endorsing Balfour’s message, but are also putting it into practice with enthusiasm. Soil carbon and climate change tyre pressure and soil compaction. No ploughs or rotovators are used, only shallow discs and harrows and these techniques Agriculture is a major contributor to global carbon emissions, but can lead to a significant increase in earthworm populations and the impact of farming on climate change can also be substantially improved soil quality. Whilst some of these techniques are not reduced. Farming and forestry are almost unique as industries practical in organic horticulture, it’s important to learn lessons that could absorb more carbon than they release. The atmospheric from other farming colleagues where possible. carbon that could be absorbed in well-managed soils is extraordinary. Soil carbon expert Rattan Lal estimates the potential Maximising carbon gains for soil carbon sequestration across the world as “equivalent to The next step maximises carbon inputs to your farming system. a draw-down of about 50 parts per million of atmospheric CO 2 The main ways are adding compost, manure, biochar, green by 2100”. This amazing figure proves that fixing carbon in soils manure and cover crops. Rob Richmond is a dairy farmer in is one of the few practical means we currently have to actually Gloucestershire and he used a Nuffield Scholarship and a world- reduce global atmospheric CO levels. Building up organic matter 2 wide tour to study how to increase soil carbon and then adapted in soil is a win–win situation for climate change as well as for soil practices he witnessed on his own farm. Rob talks about three health and crop yields, and must become the focus of farmers types of organic matter: green, brown and black. Green carbon everywhere. includes lush cover crops, good food for soil bacteria. Brown Minimising carbon losses carbon includes crop residues, mature cover crops and animal manures that become stable organic matter. Black carbon is the Building soil carbon is relatively straightforward: minimise carbon most stable form, including mature compost and biochar, and has losses to the atmosphere and maximise additions of carbon to the a very important role in soil stability. soil. Preventing carbon losses is commonly overlooked but is of critical importance. Soil carbon is converted to CO by oxidisation, 2 Measuring organic matter the most common causes being soil erosion and cultivation. • Treat each field separately. In my business, I aim to put some of these techniques into practice and my strategies include: • Measure in spring or autumn avoiding hot, cold, dry or wet extremes. 1. Minimising the depth and frequency of cultivation - this can be easier said than done, being dependent on weed • Measure at least a month after any cultivation. Take a burdens, whether there’s a green manure to incorporate and sample core 30 cm deep using a soil auger or spade, but the weather conditions. But being conscious of absolutely removing the top 5cm that may contain un-decomposed minimising major soil oxidation is very important. organic matter.

2. Using cover crops to reduce erosion and exposure of the • Walk a ‘W’ shape across the field, taking up to 25 samples soil to oxidation. Perennial crops are the best way to build in each field, mixed thoroughly in a bucket. up soil carbon and looking after what you’ve got, but in an • Remove weeds, stones or lumps of organic matter, and annual system, having the soil covered at least one year in put about 0.5 kg of this well-mixed soil in a plastic bag, four makes a big difference to the quality of soil. labelling it clearly with date and field number/name.

3. Using plastic mulches also reduces erosion and oxidation. • Send your soil sample immediately to an agricultural Hoeing or mechanical weeding are effective, but mulches are laboratory for soil organic matter analysis, asking for better for the soil. measurement by ‘loss on ignition’, with results to two Some arable growers are using sophisticated techniques to decimal places. improve soil organic matter levels. This includes satellite-guided • Repeat same time the following year. tractors that only drive over a fifth of any field, minimising tractor

Page 24 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 trends, so the farm as a whole must be considered by adding up measurements from all fields.

With this, you can see whether your farm management practices are losing, maintaining or building soil organic matter, and you can target management changes to individual fields. With an organic matter increase of 0.1% (e.g. from 4.0 to 4.1%), an extra 8.9 tonnes

of CO2 will be sequestered per hectare per year. This shows the huge potential of changing farming practices to climate change mitigation, while also improving soil health, yields and profits.

On my own land I have followed organic matter trends over the past five years, measuring every field every year. There have been My holding is next to the sea, so I use large amounts of seaweed, an some fluctuations across the same fields, but the average SOM excellent source of organic matter for my dry sandy soils. Like many change has been +0.5% over 5 years, or +0.1% per year. This has organic vegetable growers, green manures are also an important been achieved on land that is extremely sandy, which means any part of my crop rotation, with a quarter of my land at any one time organic matter gained can be very quickly lost in a cultivated being under green manures. The choice of species in the green system! These figures are heartening and show we’re doing manure is critical, and both scientists and growers are increasingly something right! finding that mixes of species can be more effective than straights Following such basic principles and practices as these it is possible at building organic matter levels. The main point here is that it’s not only to sequester carbon in soils, but also to improve soil important to experiment with the species you use and pay attention health and structure, increase yields and improve profits. The to which species or mixes will maximise carbon gains. Farm Carbon Cutting Toolkit website has many free resources It’s worth noting that perennial crops, whether apples, blackcurrants and detailed information on how to build soil carbon. Carbon- or nut trees, are inherently better for soils, requiring little or no conscious farmers and growers are doing it, providing accurate, cultivation and sequestering carbon through their root exudates. up to date and accessible information, to inspire, inform and enable positive change. Improving soil health Jonathan Smith Soil ecosystems are extraordinarily diverse and resilient, yet poorly understood. There are thousands of species of bacteria, fungi and CG ORGANIC GROWER may15 quarter cucumber v2.pdf 1 19/05/2015 12:03 insects in healthy soils, some beneficial to plants, others harmful. ‘Feed the soil, not the plants’ is an old mantra of the organic movement, and that is as relevant today as it was 50 years ago.

Taking another lesson from our farming colleagues, Martin Howard’s experiences are valuable. He farms beef cattle on 160 hectares in the Tamar Valley, and has seen life breathed back into his soils by a combination of minimising soil compaction from overusing his farm machinery, increasing soil aeration, and introducing beneficial bacteria and fungi using root drenches. He sows a diverse range of forage species, and applies compost COOL and manure, and has seen steady improvements in soil structure, pasture productivity, animal health and yield. Martin believes that AS A soil biology is the key to a healthy soil. This mirrors what scientists have proved, that a well-functioning soil ecosystem is better able to turn organic matter into stable soil carbon, so a healthy soil is CUCUMBER one that is better able to sequester carbon.

Measuring changes beneath your INCREASE RESILIENCE feet AND MAXIMISE YIELDS WITH OUR ENRICHED In order to understand what is happening to soil carbon, you need BIOCHAR SOIL IMPROVER to accurately measure the changes in organic matter every year. By doing this every spring or autumn, after a year you can see if levels are rising or falling. Different fields may show different

Page 25 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 The 2015 box scheme report You may recall reading in the Spring edition of the Organic Grower about a market report that was being conducted for the independent box scheme industry. The research was being carried out by British Organic Box Schemes (BOBS) and was primarily to ascertain whether or not there a need for an association or organisation providing industry specific services for UK box schemes. The research has now been concluded and the report written, and the findings are being officially published for the first time right here in the Organic Grower magazine.

In total sixty independent box scheme enterprises contributed to British Organic Box Schemes the report, either by completing an online survey, participating in a telephone survey, volunteering information via e-mail (BOBS) or a combination of these. One of the key findings was that Membership of BOBS and the provision of these services will be the independent box scheme industry is very receptive to the free to all qualifying box schemes. For an organisation like BOBS concept of an industry specific organisation. 89% of online survey to be effective it needs close to comprehensive membership so participants agreed that there is a need for such an organisation membership fees should not be a barrier to this happening. The and 93% said that they would consider joining such an only thing asked in return is that the membership engages with organisation should it exist. In the wake of such positive feedback BOBS in the activities that will allow it to function properly and the decision has been made to pursue this idea and try to create achieve its objectives. this organisation, more of which later. The principle that underpins BOBS is an absolute belief in the In addition to this the research helped paint a picture of the state importance of the box scheme as a sustainable food distribution of the box scheme industry and highlight some of the challenges model, and that the box scheme industry will have a significant that face box schemes in the UK. The following are taken from the role to play as sustainability in both food production and food conclusions of the report... distribution becomes increasingly paramount. So if you are The research indicates that the independent box scheme an enterprise that engages in the activity of taking sustainably industry could experience a decline over the next decade. The produced food and distributing it, efficiently, in your local area majority of schemes are being run by the person who founded then BOBS will have your best interests at heart and will do what them and it is apparent that many schemes will cease trading it can to ensure your business is robust and to help your business when that person decides to retire. The rate of schemes ceasing to develop and grow. trading is greater than the rate of new box scheme start-ups. At the moment BOBS is seeking a modest amount of seed capital Only 15% of the schemes surveyed having been established to get itself up and running. If anyone has suggestions as to who within the past 8 years, meaning in ten years’ time there could could be approached in this respect it would be good to know. Once be fewer independent box schemes than at present. that has been achieved we shall go about building membership. If The research indicates that the service that would be valued there are any box schemes who are sufficiently interested in the most highly by box scheme enterprises is marketing support. BOBS proposition to register their intention to join at this stage we Only 8% of schemes surveyed are marketing themselves would love to hear from you. Any schemes who join ‘in principle’ according to a marketing plan. Given a list of industry services at this stage will be regarded as a founder member. that might be provided the most highly rated answer was The full market report and BOBS proposition will be distributed ‘marketing support’. to all box schemes who participated in the research. Copies will also be available on application to any other box schemes who On the back of this research the decision has been made to are considering BOBS membership and to other organisations to definitely proceed with the idea of creating this organisation, and whom BOBS would be relevant. the findings of the report have been invaluable in ascertaining which services would be most beneficial to the industry. The Duncan Catchpole services that BOBS will be offering include the provision of You can register for BOBS by e-mailing [email protected] templates and documents to help box schemes remain compliant with organic and legislative requirements, marketing assistance, Classified ad using group purchasing power to negotiate better deals on things For sale: Spader (‘vangatrici’) Sicma model V1003 120 - £1800 like packaging and industry monitoring. BOBS will also be taking Very good condition, almost unused. Requires min. 20-35 hp on some pet projects, such as trying to effectuate an admin system tractor. that can emerge as the industry standard, and trying to figure out a way in which organic certification can be more affordable for Email [email protected] or call small independent box schemes (yes, that old chestnut). 078 477 00438 for more details

Page 26 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 Grower profile: Simon Duffy

Hello, I’m Simon Duffy one of the growers at Farmstart. I currently have a quarter acre plot on the site and this is my second year on the project. Last year we were TestCroppers, (http://kindling.org.uk/TestCropper_news) learning how to take on the challenge of what, for me, was a very, very large piece of land. I share the land with my partner Emily and we get help from my teenage daughters, the Land Army and occasional friends. I’m from Derry in Ireland originally but I’ve lived in England, mostly in Manchester for more than 20 years. I heard about the project from an article in the local paper, went to see the site and filled in all the forms. I decided that I was really keen and persuaded my partner Emily into splitting the money to do it - I’ve always been into new things like this.

The Kindling Trust provided courses over the year to learn the many skills I would need: crop rotation, planning, green manures, book keeping and other useful things. We’ve had an established grower advising us and looking at our crops and we’ve also been helped by visits to farms and wholesalers and attended talks from experienced mentors. It has really progressed from when I first started and it seems to be coming together and getting better all the time. They are a great bunch of people with a really positive attitude and it’s great to be part of it.

I’ve wanted to do something like this since I was young and had a small allotment plot for years but mainly just grew stuff to eat myself Simon and Emily with the occasional glut that I gave to friends, so I had learned a The project has changed how I look at food now when I go bit about growing things but this was another world for me. You shopping. I’m a vegetarian and always bought a lot of vegetables, might not think a quarter of an acre is large but it is when you trying to buy produce from the UK but it makes my blood boil aren’t used to it. The farm is near a motorway and planes fly over when I see onions from Australia or carrots from Spain when I during the day but it’s actually in a lovely part of Cheshire, not know these veg can be grown here and be fresher, organic and have far from Dunham Massey Park on the crest of a hill, but you can a lower carbon footprint. This is what drives me now - trying to blank out the background noise and then it’s pretty quiet. At first produce organic food for the local market that doesn’t have such a we treated it just like an allotment, growing onions then parsnips, bad impact on the environment, and the first time we actually sold cabbages, carrots and fennel in small areas. By the end of the first some of our veg to the Manchester Veg People Co-op was a very year we had also added spinach, courgettes, beans and leeks. proud moment. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t eat organic food all The soil on the farm is amazing compared to the sticky clay of the time and sometimes, I eat junk food, but increasingly, I know my allotment and I was surprised when, by autumn time, we had that I will do this less. When we are weeding in the field I wonder grown about 200 kgs of vegetables. This might not seem like a lot if people even know where their food comes from or do they even but if you think of bagged supermarket carrots that is 200 bags of care? I’d like to think we are making an impact, even a small one. carrots! That’s a lot for a small first-time grower and considering Of course we have our problems with slugs, couch grass, weather, we only managed to clear and grow on about a quarter of the land, bad timing but that’s all part of the learning process. This year we it was a really positive start. intend to add salsify and scorzonera to our crop list and expand the amount of vegetables we grow.

It’s a constant learning process and a source of a deep fulfilment to both Emily and me, almost on a spiritual level. The connection with the land when you live in the city really chills you out and gives you time to think or just not think and zone out, but it’s hard work and I’m not sure where we will end up. Ideally, we would like at least a smallholding but sometime in the future, I really would like to be a full time grower if we can get some land and more wheel hoes.

Page 27 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 Success depends on courage: German organic science conference

Every two years scientists meet in a German-speaking country to exchange and discuss the latest results from organic farming research. The latest conference, held on 17th-20th March 2015 in the East German town of Eberswalde, was the 13th of its kind and entitled, ‘Success depends on courage’. Of the 109 talks and 96 posters presented at the event, there were nine papers on horticultural issues. Nutrient management soil, which was shown to significantly increase with the duration of organic management. The authors conclude that the nutrient Four contributions focused on nutrient management. In a study composition of compound organic fertilisers makes it difficult to from Iceland, Christina Stadler asked which fertilisers could achieve balanced nutrient budgets; for example, composts lead to replace mushroom compost in greenhouse vegetable growing. In oversupply of P, Ca, Mg and Na, whereas alternative fertilisation the past, mushroom compost had been found to be contaminated strategies using commercial organic fertilisers may easily lead an with conventional chicken manure, and therefore its use was oversupply of sulphur. Therefore, new and more balanced organic prohibited in July 2013. In a greenhouse experiment, Stadler tested fertilisers should be tested in future research. the response of rye grass growth and N use in mushroom compost, Christoph Stumm and Ulrich Köpke presented fertilisation which typically shows N contents around 2%, as well as different systems for stockless arable and horticultural production. organic substitutes. These included grist from faba beans, white Of the on-farm trials presented, one was a field experiment clover residues, organic fertiliser obtained from the fish industry, studying organic cauliflower on a nutrient-poor site. Fertilisation plant compost, composted manure from horses, cattle, or chicken treatments included silage, biogas digestate, lucerne pellets and and a commercial organic liquid fertiliser. Rye grass dry matter hair meal pellets. In comparison to the unfertilised control plots, yield was mostly dependent on N content of the organic fertiliser. significantly positive fertilisation effects on total fresh matter In comparison to the treatment with the mushroom compost, rye yields of cauliflower plants were only observed with lucerne grass yield was significantly higher after fertilisation with white pellets and hair meal pellets (with mean total yields of around 30 clover, the fish industry product and the liquid fertiliser. It was t/ha). However, all fertilised treatments significantly increased concluded that replacing mushroom compost in greenhouse the proportion of marketable yields. cultures is not a problem.

In a similar trial reported by the same author, a selection of these Plant protection organic fertilisers was tested on tomatoes in two years and peppers Three contributions revolved around plant protection issues in in one year. In this greenhouse experiment, the soil was high in horticulture. Guendalina Barloggio showed new possibilities of organic matter (21-22%). The treatments included the mushroom controlling the cabbage moth (Mamestra brassicae). In particular, compost, undersown white clover, fishmeal, composted cattle the approach involves the mass release of a tiny wasp, the egg manure and a commercial fertiliser, applied at 200kg N/ha. parasitoid Telenomus sp. This beneficial insect has a higher Yield levels were lower than in previous years (around 10-12 parasitation rate than previously used Trichogramma wasps. kg/m2 marketable tomatoes and 3-4 kg/m2 marketable peppers). A genetic biomarker was developed to prove the identity of However, differences among the fertilisation treatments were not Telenomus sp. In the future, this marker will be used to check statistically significant, even when compared to the unfertilised efficiency of biological control of the cabbage moth in field trials control. Weeding (hoeing) was reported to increase soil nitrate throughout Europe. levels in this trial. In a related paper, Henryk Luka discussed the use of biodiversity Sabine Zikeli reported results from a survey of nutrient for pest control in cabbage production. Specifically, the use management in vegetable production in southwest Germany. of flower strips for attracting and supporting parasitoids of They conducted a survey on ten organic farms, with half of them cabbage moth was studied over four years. The females of the being certified by Bioland and the other half by Demeter. Data on parasitoid Microplitis mediator benefited from buckwheat, vetch organic fertiliser application rates and yields were obtained over and cornflower. Importantly, its host, the cabbage moth, did three years. In addition, soil samples from 22 greenhouses were not respond positively to these plants. In field trials, companion taken. In comparison to Bioland farms, the Demeter farms showed plants significantly increased predation and parasitisation of high surpluses of N, P, Mg, Ca and Na. Bioland farms also showed cabbage moth eggs and led to higher abundances and species more strongly negative balances of K than the Demeter farms. richness of ground beetles. In one out of two years, flower strips However, plant-available K content in the soil was still high to very led to significant yield increases in cabbage. Future research will high. All greenhouses showed an accumulation of total P in the study these systems on a larger scale.

Page 28 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 carrot yield was reported as 40-45 t/ha. It was concluded that costs associated with weeding in carrots are highly variable and are difficult to predict. The results of this study will be used to inform and optimise robotic weeding in carrots. Plant breeding & attitudes In a paper on alternative plant breeding strategies, Sally Howlett (from the Organic Research Centre, UK) reported the findings from a field trial conducted in southeast England, comparing genetically diverse sprouting broccoli populations and a hybrid (Santée) under organic conditions. Results of this three-year study (SOLIBAM) showed that mean total yields were highest in the hybrid but that yield stability over time was higher in the populations. However, within each trial year, the populations also showed relatively high variability of the time to maturity. This may limit the adoption of sprouting broccoli populations on commercial farms.

Finally, Irwa Issa and Uli Hamm looked at attitudes of 266 Syrian Photo:s Organic Research Centre Research Organic Photo:s ORC SOLIBAM broccoli population trials at Wakelyns fruit and vegetable producers with regard to conversion to organic Susanne Fittje surveyed the costs and success of hand-weeding farming. It was found that the majority of farmers currently hold of carrots under organic conditions over three years, in Saxony positive views about organic agriculture, and already use at least and Lower Saxony. Investigations were performed on five organic one of the practices that are part of certified organic production. carrot fields. Weed occurrence was shown to be highly variable All contributions are available on organic e-prints (http://www. (7-256 plants/m carrot row, with a mean of 48 plants/m). The orgprints.org/). time needed for hand-weeding ranged from 80 to 430 hrs/ha. On average, the efficiency of weed control was 78% (range 63-93%) Thomas Döring and was strongly dependent on the weeding person. The total Humboldt University, Berlin Apprentice corner Future Growers On a cold March weekend early this year, our current group of Future Grower Apprentices met up for the final event in their two- year apprenticeship. This time the farm visits had been selected and organised by the group, with the intention of visiting small- scale vegetable growers that could provide a blueprint for the type and scale of enterprise that they have in mind for their next steps.

Thanks in large part to the organisational skills of Abbey Home Farm apprentice Jolke de Moel (who also represents the Future Growers on our steering group), we visited Kate Collyns at Grown Green, Ed Hamer at Chagford Community Market Garden and Photo: Rachel Harries/Soil Association Harries/Soil Rachel Photo: Ashley Wheeler at Trill Farm. All are growing on less than four With Ashley Wheeler at Trill Farm acres, on rented land, and represent a mix of marketing routes, be staying on there for the remainder of the season, and Cara selling to shops, restaurants and cafes; and, at Chagford, one of Wheelan continues to make her mark on Growing with Grace in the earliest and most successful community supported agriculture Lancashire. schemes in the UK. So what will our apprentices do next? We look forward to following their progress. By the time you read Henry Allison (apprentice at Daylesford Market Garden) is this, we will have also welcomed our newest Future Growers - 14 looking for growing jobs in the southwest. Harry Neve is playing trainees and apprentices just starting out on their journey. a leading role at Barcombe Nurseries, while Louise Coombes To find out more about the Future Growers scheme please visit: and Liam Wood (apprentices at Radford Mill Farm) have just www.soilassociation.org/futuregrowers established their own enterprise: Bengrove Market Garden in Somerset. Jolke de Moel (apprentice at Abbey Home Farm) will Rachel Harries [email protected] Tel: 0117 987 4601

Page 29 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 A ‘retrospective’ interview with Jiri and Nikki - ex staff of Hankham Organics

In October last year I thought it might be fun and interesting to interview a couple of our team who were due to be moving on to pastures new. I was curious about what had motivated them to seek work with us, what they had got from their time here and any advice they might have for others interested in a job. Nikki (28) grew up locally and has been working for us since summer 2012. She recently decided to try and join the police. Having passed the entrance requirements and undertaken the initial training and exams in her own time she is still waiting for confirmation of a placement. With recent cuts the whole recruitment system seems to be quite insecure and to date (June 2015) she is still working with us while tentatively poised to take the next step into her new career choice. Jiri (34) only worked for one season but made quite an impact, both socially and professionally in his time with us. The relocation of his partner to Paris left him with a tough but clear choice and he is now labouring with a team of his fellow countrymen in and around the French capital while his partner continues her teacher training and working as an au pair.

To start things off, would you tell us a little about your background?

Jiri: “I’m from a small village in the Czech Republic, 1100 people, I studied IT then worked in mainly factories, small companies, all of it was indoors. When I came to England seven years ago I was in the kitchen, working in hospitality, but started getting fed up and left to visit South America. When I came back I wanted to work outside.“

Nikki: “Career-wise I wasn’t ever too sure or certain what I wanted to do, I always wanted to go traveling, see the world. Job-wise I worked at Gardeners Books after finishing school and progressed upwards from warehouse to customer services but got to a point where I’d just had enough of office work and the office politics. And then I thought I’d try something working to help people so went down the care route. I found it quite emotional and you can’t give much time, which I found difficult. It was so rushed I Photos: Pete Dollimore Pete Photos: couldn’t give the service I wanted to provide.” Jiri: Took it all in his stride

What made you apply for the job? Nikki: “For me it was triggered by when our car got set on fire [random arson attack!], at the time I was looking for a new job Jiri: “When I saw this [job ad] it seemed like a great opportunity to and thought, ok, so I need somewhere closer to home! I had seen try something like this as also I worked with food, I cooked food, the job advertised previously and it did appeal as soon as I saw it. and this growing is connected. And also there was driving which I like hard work as well, a challenge, and a new and exciting route, I like, it fulfilled my expectations very well because there’s many I’ve always liked being outdoors and this was the first opportunity different things going on here, it’s great!” to work while being outside.”

What were your expectations and how did they compare to the reality?

Nikki: “I knew what the place looked like, we used to walk by here when I was younger and it was derelict. It was a lot bigger than I remembered and is well kept now. I didn’t realise how big the company would be, you’ve got a lot of customers as well, I didn’t expect so many, which is good!”

Jiri: “I applied for the driving job, that was the main thing, I didn’t know about boxing scheme, Miles asked me some questions and it was the first time I came across it. It was a big thing, I didn’t expect this number of customers and was very surprised. My interview was later on and it was dark, when I saw the place first Nikki

Page 30 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 time in daylight I was nicely surprised. I had worked a little outdoors in Czech, my Organic Grower Position on Established Organic Farm parents have a fruit and vegetable garden but I hadn’t thought much about the scale of this. The summer temperature in the greenhouse was surprising! But also how we do things, techniques and I didn’t We are looking for a manager to grow produce and run think much about packing, this takes a lot our local box scheme at Organics To Go - on a 10 acre of time, bagging and boxing produce, not registered organic holding with six 50 metre polytunnels. just growing and delivering.” Located in Carmarthenshire, Wales, we have been trading Nikki: “I expected outdoor work but since 1999. didn’t realize how much was both grown Options to buy, or buy into the business, and purchase the and bought–in here. Now I know how land and farmhouse. long it takes to grow stuff and it all makes a bit more sense. Because I’ve never worked in a similar environment before Contact Roger Hallam at [email protected] I didn’t have too many expectations, I suppose winter is more of a challenge but I love it. I guess it’s harder that you initially think. I was concerned that there wouldn’t be enough Help promote the OGA work for everyone when I first turned up but there seems to be a We need to grow our membership to continue to improve our constant flow of jobs.” services to members. We have leaflets and back copies of the What are the best and worst aspects of the job and what skills magazine available on request. Let us know if you would like have you found most helpful. any, if you have an occasion to spread the word. We may also be Nikki: “I love working in the greenhouse, that’s my favourite, able to provide an OGA banner, given notice. I don’t mind what I’m doing. When we do a job getting muddy or pouring with rain I just love it even more, you get a real sense of satisfaction afterwards. I like packing in the pack-shed too but Postgraduate Diploma and MSc in not all day. Van delivery is more stressful, I liked it but after a year it starts to take its toll. You do start to feel quite tired by the Organic Farming end of the week having done early deliveries, working in a hot greenhouse, constantly on your feet. Picking and packing the SRUC offers this high-level taught postgraduate course on a part-time salad in winter; you don’t realise how cold your fingers can get, online distance learning basis. Supported by a number of residential study weekends throughout the year, the course allows students to study in their and in the greenhouse in summer, I have to admit, it is really hot, own home or workplace. the extremes of temperature are challenging.” The course aims to enhance organic businesses and promote careers in organic consultancy, farm management, inspection, certification, marketing Jiri: “What satisfies me is that we are growing the food and the and research, etc. quality is high and you take it home, you cook it, the taste is good Topics covered include: • Organic Crop Production and it’s good for your body. For me it is so satisfying when you see • Soils and Nutrient Cycling • Organic Forage and Livestock Production the customers face and they are really happy and generally they • Environmental Issues • Food Quality are nice people who care about themselves and the world. • Marketing

I like the smell of the greenhouse, the humidity and I really like The course starts each year in September. Applications, assessed individually on academic qualifications and working with tomatoes, y’know to train them and pick them. experience, are invited throughout the year. The colour and the smell, even clearing them, it’s really good. I For further information please contact us or take a look at the postgraduate like the delivery driving but not three days running, that much courses page on our web site. concentration and the early starts, it’s tiring. I like the variety of having both the driving and horticulture.”

Contact Dr Lou Ralph PeterDollimore e: [email protected] t: (01224) 711218 Grower/Director Hankham Organics www.sruc.ac.uk/learning

SRUC is a charity registered in Scotland, No. SC003712

Page 31 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 A horticultural costings system fit for purpose Making financial data ‘fit for purpose’ for small-scale growers was the mission we set ourselves as part of Organic Centre Wales’s BoBL (Better Organic Business Links) project. There is an absence of tailored information on the viability and productivity of market gardens and small-scale horticultural holdings growing for supply chains in Wales (but of course not just Wales!). The problem is exacerbated by a lack of financial skills/knowledge of new entrants, for example on setting prices, estimating the cost of production and uncertainty about choosing a business model. At the Organic Research Centre (ORC), we have been wanting to include material in the Organic Farm Management Handbook that will be more appropriate and applicable for complex small-scale horticultural systems, but have been hampered by lack of data and funds. Horticulture Wales has recently developed gross margin data and calculators for conventional field-scale production; but it doesn’t take into account the lower or different input costs, higher labour requirements and the inclusion of fertility-building leys in organic systems.

However the application of standard gross margin data to small- available (see OG26), and Excel spreadsheets can be used. These scale horticulture remains problematic: small-scale operators can can be linked to shared calendars on email clients such as Outlook typically grow and market more than 60 different crops, often in or Yahoo, to set reminders for sowing dates, transplanting and succession throughout the season. The production of mixed salad harvesting – though these have to be flexible of course, according bags (see OG29), one of the most important crops for small growers, to the season and events! Some use a monthly desk calendar. can involve the harvest of 10 or more crops from polytunnel and Whichever system you use to keep records, it will work best when field, which makes it much more difficult to work out gross margins information is recorded on a regular basis – so not the night before than for a field of potatoes! Cropping areas are frequently between the inspector calls! The options are: 100 and 1,000m2, and rotations include crops for fertility-building; • Keep a crop diary. Jon Goodman has a model for an online but standard data sets are published per hectare and assume crop diary available at http://goo.gl/y5oHrE, developed at annual harvesting rather than growing in succession. They also do Daylesford as part of his Soil Association Apprenticeship. not cover likely costs that are incurred when setting up a stall on a Old school paper diaries can also work well, but set-aside farmer’s market, or setting up a box scheme. regular times for entering data onto the computer. Jean- Workshop and survey Martin Fortier (The Market Gardener – reviewed in OG30) uses a loose-leaf binder for each crop and records for each In the last issue (OG30), we reported from the workshop we held cultivar, seeding, planting dates, number of beds, yields and at the Organic Producers’ Conference in Solihull last November other notes. to discuss how growers approach their planning before each growing season, how they are recording their outputs, costs and • Record all operations on sheets of paper adjacent to the farm how they are evaluating the financial viability of their business. plan on the office wall. This is the approach that Manchester To further inform the process of developing a tool, a survey was Veg People take with a sheet per crop or field on which labour distributed to organic growers through the OGA prior to the hours for operations, cultivations and so on can be recorded. conference (see box opposite). • Use GoogleDoc forms. This is an excellent option to easily input and organise data. It can be set up as an App so that Elements of crop planning a number of different workers could input their labour via a Mapping out your holding and dividing up your available land smartphone or tablet, which is then automatically recorded into plots that can be used as rotational blocks is an essential onto an online spreadsheet. There is a tutorial here http:// first start. This can be done using farm maps, enlarged ona www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AXO9vnoJns&feature=you photocopier (in a library if necessary) or digitally using aerial tu.be photos or a mapping tool such as www.magic.gov.uk. The • Daily worksheets. There are examples of these on the Veggie plot or bed numbers can be superimposed on top of the plan Compass website: we have adapted some that can be used as in powerpoint, photoshop or other software tools. The maps part of the costings tool below. Each worker needs to fill in a can be used on the computer or printed out for the farm office. paper (or electronic) sheet daily with their hours allocated to New maps can be used each year with the crop groups and crops different tasks/crops which can be in greenhouse, tunnel or allocated to the appropriate bed or plot. field, or general tasks such as cultivation or selling which are Creating a crop calendar is essential: the options are again paper not crop specific. or electronic, or a combination of the two. Software tools are

Page 32 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 Summary of survey (15 respondents) What system do you use for accounts/tax returns? The majority are using spreadsheets and/or an accounts package: Quicken(2), Quickbooks (2), Money Manager (2), Quickfile, TAS Books, Sage. Do you find your records useful for forward planning?Most (11) found their records useful, though 4 only sometimes. What unit do you use most, when planning your business? The most common unit used is m2 (9), followed by metre rows. Other units used were bed length and number of plants for transplanted crops. Other methods included length (5), then hectares (2) and acres (1). What categories do you use for forward planning? Individual crops (13), place in rotation (9), plot (2), crop group (1), all depending on crop (1). What recording system do you use for recording incomes for sales? Cash book (4), spreadsheet (8), accounts package (9). At what frequency? Daily (6), weekly (6), monthly (5), yearly (1). Do you record sales according to sales channels? Yes (12), No (1). A variety of outlets were listed: CSA, wholesale, retail, farmers markets; often recorded by individual customer, such as invoicing retail outlets. Are you recording sales according to some crops or crop categories? No (3) Yes, individual crops (11). One CSA records according to shares, one records down to the level of variety in some crops. One uses crop groups “(GM, brassica, umbellifer, legume/allium, cucurbit/beet/other), then divide these into what I’m growing (e.g. brassica - mostly kale & PSB). Same for tunnels too.” What recording system do you use for costs? Cash book/paper (2), spreadsheet (6), accounts package (8). At what frequency? Weekly most common (7), some daily (3), monthly (3) and yearly (1). Do you attribute costs to crop categories? Mostly no (10), but 4 do. “In the sense that we record harvest times per crop”, and “for example only brassicas use Enviromesh, so the mesh costs have to be paid for by the brassicas (same would be the case for polytunnels etc.). Other comments included “only direct costs” and “where possible”. We listed a number of cost categories that are commonly used in planning data. Please tick the ones you find useful and score how they are easy to record or allocate for each crop/crop category. Direct cost for each crop. Most respondents record seed costs, growing media, crop protection, fleeces (allocated to crop category). But some things such as heat used for propagation, manure and fertility-building crops were thought to be difficult and not done. Labour costs, casual costs paid. Less than a third of respondents recorded labour costs per activity, citing difficulties of allocating to tasks, especially when using volunteer labour. Own hours was the easiest to record/allocate. Fixed costs/overheads. Land and rent, interest and bank charges, wages for paid labour were all recorded by many (but fewer than half the respondents found it relatively straightforward to allocate to crops). Investment. Relatively easy to allocate to crops. Maintenance. Again relatively easy to allocate, but fewer doing it apart from obvious jobs such as machinery repairs. Other categories. Transport was generally thought OK to allocate; storage, communications and promotion not so easy. Features of the costings tool requirement of the crop, which is how the Manchester Veg People do it. Of course, a month in June, with higher light • The crop is the main unit of enterprise, but crop groupings levels and temperatures, would be more valuable than a are summarised with net margins. month in January; but incorporating that into the tool would • One of the fundamental features of the tool is the use of require a different level of sophistication! m2 months. We adapted the method from Kate Collyns’ • Choose the level of detail you require. If it is easiest for you Gardening for Profit, who worked out the fixed costs of her just to record the costs according to crop group, e.g. brassicas, growing space, which is apportioned to the crop grown, alliums, salads, cucurbits, then do that; but if you prefer to according to the time it is in the ground. This is important enter the detail for individual crops, you can. We recognise as it enables us to compare a rocket crop, which might be in that some operations and costs are easier to record on a field the ground for less than 2 months with a purple sprouting or holding basis and divided up accordingly. broccoli crop, which could be growing for 11 months. We • Recording labour costs is difficult, as demonstrated in the like this approach as it gives more realistic costs for short- survey, but it is perhaps the most important for growers to get term catch crops. We use it for allocating all costs that are a handle on. We have different options for recording this and not crop-specific. Another way of doing this would be to you should decide which works best for you. As with other allocate things such as overheads in proportion to the labour costs you can record the level of detail you want. Many tasks

Page 33 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 might be non-crop specific, and these should be recorded so • In the tool we have chosen to allocate labour costs (total they can be divided up amongst crops on an area basis. At costs) according to the hours spent on that crop. This one level you can just record all work on a particular crop, doesn’t distinguish between the cost of different labour which is the approach that Veggie Compass takes (a project (such as volunteer/contractor/skilled employee), but gives at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that involves the an indication of how labour-intensive a crop is. The tool development of whole farm profit management tools, www. generates a figure for average cost per hour, which could veggiecompass.com), dividing labour into non-crop specific be frightening as it may appear well below minimum wage! field growing, crop specific field growing, non-crop specific This figure is used to allocate the costs to crop or crop group. harvest and packing and crop specific harvest and packing. • Fertility-building is a very important part of organic systems Under our tool you could do the same, but also choose to and I have often argued that it should be considered as a crop tease out the tasks for each crop, such as: planting/drilling, in its own right, and the most important crop in the rotation. tractor work, hand-weeding, pest control, crop training, Individual crop gross margins often ignore this. We list it as irrigation, other. You could focus on one category you want a crop with a negative margin and share the costs amongst to nail down, such as hand weeding; record everything; or the crops in the rotation. We also generate a figure to indicate just put it all in ‘other’. the proportion of fertility-building crops in the calendar year.

The tool - step-by-step The tool has a step-by-step approach, each step being a separate inter-linked worksheet

Step 1: Map out your holding and plan your rotation; measure out each plot. It is important that the area includes wheelings, paths and so on for comparison purposes.

Step 2: List all the crops you grow, their areas (including wheelings, paths and so on) and time in the ground. We have tried to list the most commonly grown crops and have grouped them into what we think are sensible groupings. However you might wish to enter your own crops, instead or in addition to those listed, or change the groupings as appropriate to your system and rotation. These will be entered automatically into the other sheets.

Step 3: Record your overheads here, per year, and they will be directly allocated to the crops according to space and time.

Step 4: List your investment costs here and the period of time it is sensible to spread them over. We have listed field, protected cropping and general investments separately so that they can be allocated appropriately.

Step 5: Record all direct costs that are not crop-specific, such as costs of manures. If you record these directly per the crop, then don’t put them here since they would be counted twice.

Step 6: Record any costs that are directly related to the individual crops. There may be costs that are specific to a group of crops, such as fleece for brassicas, Bt for brassicas and so on. These costs can be spread evenly over those crops.

Step 7: Inputting crop by crop labour data: the more detail the better - since it will better inform costs of production - but it is a balance between ease of recording and info gained. The non-specific crop labour is divided up amongst the crops according to time spent in the ground and area of the field.

Step 8: Gathering sales data. For some outlets this is relatively easy, such as sales data from invoices to shops and restaurants; but markets can be more problematic. We have designed a form to help that involves recording what you take to market and what you bring back, and the price that the item was sold for. If the final takings are put in then the sales of all items are adjusted to fit, recognising that it can be difficult to reconcile the two, because there is a tendency to be generous with quantities weighed for customers and some produce may be sold at lower prices at the end of the day or given away.

Your summary sheet allows you to compare the cost of different crops and crop groups and their margins. You can then drill down into the detail to see where those costs are incurred and how your system can be improved.

We will be working on the tool and refining it further, and making Management Handbook, and for sharing between growers. it available online through ORC, OGA and OCW websites, very Phil Sumption soon! Volunteers to road test it would be very welcome. We will also do a webinar and have step-by-step video instructions to Organic Research Centre make the process as painless as possible. We are hoping that it can be used to generate benchmark data, for use in the Organic Farm

Page 34 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 Welsh Spring Fair Earlier in the year, following on from my attendance at the Landworkers Alliance (LWA) AGM last year, we talked further about how our two organisations could work together to reach out to more people. We were conscious of not attempting to reinvent the wheel and also of duplication, but many LWA members are involved in small-scale horticulture. Therefore, it made sense for us to explore a membership offer to the LWA that allowed their members to access the OGA magazine and forum whilst the two committees worked on ways that could be of benefit to both organisations.

For a small organisation like the OGA, reaching out to all parts of the UK is difficult, especially when much of our membership is based in the South West. So when the opportunity arose to attend an event in South Wales, we decided to give it a go with the LWA. We booked a space in the Sustainable Living section of the Spring Fair, which was previously known as the Smallholders Show and is held annually at the Royal Welsh Showground at Builth Wells. Although basically an agricultural show, small-scale is the name of the game, but the event attracted over 40,000 people over the two days. The weather was kind, which I am sure contributed to the numbers of visitors and there was a good feeling around the various stalls and events being held.

In the end, our stall was a joint venture between OGA, LWA and the CSA network and adjacent to the Transition City and WWOOF stalls. Organic Centre Wales also had a stall there including a ‘make your own wood fired pizza’ and so there was a lot to see and talk about to the visitors. It was interesting to meet many small farmers, growers and smallholders operating in Wales and they seemed impressed by our attendance and very interested in the Organic Grower magazine. Many were involved in some form of food production and as there are only a few organisations representing this group at a Welsh government level, many of them feel a little isolated from what is happening in the wider UK. On the Saturday afternoon I chaired a session exploring how the needs of this group could be better supported and represented and although a bit thin on numbers, it was useful event for the contacts that were made and the ideas that we discussed. Alan Schofield

Page 35 - The Organic Grower - No 31 Summer 2015 Events Soil Association farm walks Wednesday 15th July 2015 - Gold Hill Organic Farm, Dorset, Tuesday 7th July 2015 - National Organic Combinable Crops DT11 8HB Started on one acre of no-dig raised beds, now 8 2015.More than just cereals! View ORC trials and more at Shimpling tunnels and 2ha field veg supplying own farm shop, wholesale Park Farm, Suffolk. www.organicfarmers.org.uk/national-organic- and box scheme. combinable-crops-2015/ Wednesday 29th July 2015 - Strawberry Fields, Lincolnshire PE22 Saturday 11th July 2015 - CSA Network UK Conference and 8DR “2015 marks 40 years of organic growing for Strawberry AGM. Canalside Community Food CSA, Leamington Spa. Fields, a 53 acre horticultural unit in the Lincolnshire fens. A family concern, involving two generations. We grow a very Monday 20th July 2015 - Improving soil fertility with wood- extensive range of crops for a wide range of outlets.” chip compost. Tolhurst Organic nr Reading. Get inspired with Tolly! 10.30-2pm. Workshop and farm walk soil covering fertility, Wednesday 12th August 2015 – Shumei Natural Agriculture, rotations, green manures, weed and pest control. £10 plus £15 Wiltshire, SN11 8YF “Shumei use no chemicals, no fertilisers, no lunch. [email protected] animal manures. We also practise seed saving and with some crops we do continuous cropping (no rotation). ” (See OG 28) Tuesday 21st July 2015. A countryside stewardship and organic farming workshop. Courtyard Farm, Norfolk, PE36 5LQ Soil Thursday 27th August 3015 - Trill Farm, Devon EX13 8TU. Trill Association workshop hosted by Peter Melchett. Farm is an educational establishment with the aim of promoting healthy and sustainable living. Includes Ashley & Kate Wheeler’s Friday 24th to Sunday 26th July 2015. The Biodynamic Care of 1ha growing enterprise. (See OG Fruit Trees.With Erich Will, Hawkwood College, Glos. Thursday 24th September - Barcombe Nurseries, East Sussex, Friday 24th July 2015. Applied Agroecology Workshop - a BN8 5TH. 4ha organic veg, including 0.5a protected cropping. day with Jairo Restrepo. Ragmans Lane Farm, Glos. £50. Includes the legendary solar powered lazy-weeder (See OG30)! [email protected] All of the farm walks are free. Timings as follows: Saturday 25th July 2015 - Soil chromatography workshop. With Jairo Restrepo. Ragmans Lane Farm, Glos. £50. 16.30pm : Arrival with refreshments [email protected] 17.00pm: Host provides an overview of the holding

Wednesday 8th to Thursday 9th September 2015 - Designing the 17.15pm - 19.15pm Farm walk World We Want. 12th International Permaculture Conference in London. https://www.ipcuk.events/conference 19:15pm: Departure

Wednesday 16th September 2015 - Rijk Zwaan & Soil Association More farm walks and booking at www.soilassociation.org/ Organic Open Day. Huntstile Organic Farm, Somerset, TA5 2DQ farmwalks

Thursday 5th November 2015 - Soil Association National Soil Symposium, Bristol www.soilassociation.org/soilsymposium The Wednesday 27th to Thursday 28th January 2016: Organic Research ORGANIC GROWER Centre’s 10th Organic Producers’ Conference, Bristol. As usual the OGA will be involved in organising the grower sessions of The Organic Grower is edited by Phil Sumption, with help from the conference, so get in touch if you have ideas for workshops or Kate Collyns, Carolyn Wacher, Dom Marsh, Charlie Swallow and Sam Eglington. Additional proof-reading by Isabeau speakers. Email: [email protected] Meyer-Graft. If you have any news, events or ideas for articles please get in touch. [email protected] Thanks to all our contributors. Adverts: John Crocker [email protected] Join The OGA! Copy date for next issue: August 15th 2015 Receive four copies of The Organic Grower, access the online The Organic Grower is the membership magazine of the OGA. Views expressed in The Organic Grower are not necessarily those of the OGA forum, technical articles and back issues, plus much more! or its committee. Every effort is made to check the factual accuracy of Membership - £35 statements made in the magazine, but no guarantees are expressed or implied. In particular, readers should satisfy themselves about the Apprentice & student membership - £15. authenticity of products or inputs advertised. Material may not be reproduced without prior written permission. Overseas members (PDF copy of magazine only) - £25 Join online: www.organicgrowersalliance.co.uk www.organicgrowersalliance.co.uk

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