Autumn 2019 No.48 The

ORGANICThe journal of the Organic GROWER Growers Alliance

Mulch systems and rotational no-till in vegetable farming p20 Meet the growers p11

Comfrey p26 Agroforestry at Gibside p32

Scottish veg day at East Coast Organics p18

Page 1 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 IN THIS ISSUE The ORGANIC GROWER

Kate’s Comment...... 3 The Organic Grower is edited by Phil Sumption, with help from Carolyn Wacher and Kate Collyns. If you have any news, events News...... 4 or ideas for articles please get in touch. [email protected] Horticultural hindsights: Kevin O’Neill...... 7 Thanks to all our contributors. Adverts: John Crocker [email protected] Nutrient cycling...... 8 Copy date for next issue: November 15th 2019 The Organic Grower is the membership magazine of the Organic Maximising Organic Production Systems..... 11 Growers Alliance CIC (OGA). Views expressed in The Organic Grower are not necessarily those of the OGA or its committee. Every effort is made to check the factual accuracy of statements made in the The Lilliston rolling cultivator...... 14 magazine, but no guarantees are expressed or implied. In particular, readers should satisfy themselves about the authenticity of products Desert Island Grower: Nir Halfon...... 16 or inputs advertised. Material may not be reproduced without prior written permission. Printed by Severnprint on 100% recycled paper using vegetable based Simon White...... 17 inks and powered by renewable energy, with a view to seeking out more environmentally friendly mailing solution on all future copies. Overwinter growing in polytunnels...... 18 Organic Growers Alliance CIC Company No. 11551999 Mulch systems and rotational no-till...... 20 Registered in England and Wales

Aminopyralid...... 23

The Penpont Project...... 24 Editor’s notes Welcome to the Autumn issue of The Organic Grower! With Comfrey...... 26 plummeting temperatures there is a definite nip in the air. Hopefully with evenings lengthening you can catch up on your Farming for health...... 29 reading of the OG and think about contributions for the coming Getting off the plastic treadmill...... 30 issues - we count on our members to keep us grounded! One benefit of being based in Germany is that the organic sector Agroforestry at Gibside...... 32 here is thriving and I can get to visit organic farms that are a little different to the UK. Read about my inspiring visit to Bio-gemüsehof Book review: Agroforestry Handbook...... 33 Dickendorf and their pioneering field-scale rotational no-till veg growing on p20. I do miss the UK farm walks though and, if you Nature notes – nuts!...... 34 weren’t there either, you can catch up on the Scottish growers event The wealth of fields and nations...... 35 on p18 and the Agroforestry Innovation Network workshop on p32. Getting together with other growers is really valuable, not just for Events...... 36 information gathering and sharing but also for business reasons. Meet the growers in Ireland who have joined together under the Maximising Organic Production Systems (MOPS) scheme to work OGA CIC Directors together to supply growing market Kate Collyns Wiltshire 07957 615199 [email protected] Chair demands and ensure sustainable Adam Keeves Oxon [email protected] Treasurer/minutes continuity of supply (p11). Tony Little Wales [email protected] Wales You may also be inspired by the Pete Richardson Wiltshire 07821 403739 [email protected] Penpont Project, where OGA Antonia Ineson Scotland 07872 057985 [email protected] Scotland members Vina and Gavin Hogg are Ben Raskin Wiltshire 07990 592621 [email protected] SA liaison/Future Growers harnessing young people’s passion Jason Horner Ireland ++35 3876 454120 [email protected] Ireland/N. Ireland for conservation and the natural Jim Aplin Worcs 07796 317542 [email protected] Secretary/events world to effect tangible change (p24). Ellen Rignell Devon [email protected] Membership Phil Sumption, Editor

Cover: Johannes Storch with MulchTec planter at Bio-Gemüsehof Dickendorf (Photo: Phil Sumption)

Page 2 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 Speaking of mentors, James Smith stepped down as a director over the summer, and we are very grateful for his years of work Kate’s comment on the old OGA committee and new directors’ board, sharing his expertise in growing and also fund-raising, as well as keeping his What interesting times we are living finger on the pulse of the growing scene in the north of England. in indeed. As I’m writing this politics We are therefore actively looking for more represention in the north has taken another turn for the surreal of England, to ensure we don’t become too south-centric: otherwise with the prorogues gallery: it’s very we have little representation on the board between the Midlands difficult not to get caught up with and Scotland. Please do get in touch if you might be interested in politics, policy and lobbying at what getting more involved, even if it’s just to find out more. feels lilke such a critical time for growers, the food industry and all of us as individuals too. I So back out into the fields we go, doing our own small bit to have attended several meetings in the last few months which ground the discussions of climate change, food security and food have had the unknowns of Brexit waving us in the face during miles into the soil we work. My squash and pumpkins have done discussions, but we have tried to second-guess outcomes as best very well again, which is a sure sign that we’ve had plenty of sun; we can. At the English Organic Forum meeting in June we decided now it’s time to bring them all in, and reap what we have sown - to send the draft English Organic Action Plan to Defra, which has which feels as apt in the fields as it does in Westminster. taken a couple of years to take shape and nail down; this was just Kate Collyns, Chair Organic Growers Alliance days before the National Food Strategy led by Henry Dimbleby was announced, and we have invited him to our discussions too, in order to make clear the benefits organic can offer to health, environment, emissions and many more areas.

In the same week I attended the Soil Association Farmer & Grower Board meeting, where we talked about the Agriculture Bill which is supposed to go through next spring; we saw market reports which showed that fruit and veg has been the biggest organic produce growth area, up 26% from 2014-2019, driven by organic carrots and salads (mostly via supermarkets). A third

of new applicants for certifcation with the Soil Association are Photo: Kate Collyns fruit and veg producers, and most of these are small-scale veg Kate’s pumpkin patch producers. On the next agenda is the pressing issue of on-farm plastics (packaging and other use on farm), which promises to be an interesting dicussion, along with the new set of standards.

The Fruit and Veg Alliance is continuing its good work, pushing for government to work on joining up thinking when it comes to food production and health, and we continue to hold roundtable edible horticulture meetings with Defra staff and ministerial representatives. However, getting out into the fields and getting our hands dirty are what we are about, and without us food producers the whole country would grind to a halt very quickly. Practicality is the reason the OGA is putting on our own conference on October 22nd in Bristol: if you haven’t booked your tickets yet, please hurry as we’re close to selling out! All eight sessions have been put together by growers, for growers, with practical and useful take-away info at the heart of them all (check out the OGA website for details). We will be including a session on mentoring at the conference, with details of our latest plans for a mentoring scheme run in conjunction with the LWA, CSA Network and Ecological Land Co-operative. We’re planning on launching this pilot scheme in early 2020, so please look out for the Expressions of Interest forms that we have links to on our regular monthly e-newsletters, and come along to the mentoring session too to find out more. Photo: Phil Smption Healthy soil under mulched brassicas. Biogemüsehof Dickendorf. See article p20

Page 3 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 OGA/organic news Organic Matters: UK Horticulture News and events Conference – Get your tickets now Have you got something to share? Let us know and we can share Organic Growers Alliance launches Organic Matters, the first UK with the OGA membership. We send out a monthly e-newsletter horticulture conference created by growers, for growers. Dedicated to all our members, and we can put news or events on the website. exclusively to exploring innovative solutions and technical issues in There are some amazing events (full list on back cover or on UK organic and sustainable horticulture, Organic Matters fills a vital our website) coming up this Autumn including our very own gap for UK growers of all kinds. Both experienced and new entrant Starting a Sustainable Horticulture Business. Kate Collyns (chair) growers are invited to join this day-long conference where growers is leading this intensive workshop day at Abbey Home Farm, nr can connect, share new ideas and learn about pioneering techniques. Cirencester, which will cover fundamentals in business with a Taking place on 22nd October 2019 at the Trinity Centre in Bristol, Q&A, a grower-led farm tour and of course a delicious organic Organic Matters will be a day-long event, featuring 8 x 90-minute lunch. Full information is on our website where you can also buy technical sessions. Hear from growers and researchers at the tickets for £19.50. forefront of horticulture, covering subjects such as Soil and Plant Members’ directory Analysis Techniques and Planting for and Introducing Beneficial Insects. A full list of sessions and confirmed speakers is available We are slowly building a map and directory of our members in on our website. the members’ area on our website. If you would like to share your information with other OGA members, please email me and I can We have now sold 50% of tickets so get yours before it is too late! add your name to the map. This is all part of building a strong We are excited to tell you that an affordable lunch will be on offer network of growers across the country. by Bristol caterers Pitchfork. We will be organising a location for an evening-before get together and there will be an opportunity Introducing new (ish) committee for a farm walk at Sim’s Hill Shared Harvest on the Wednesday member – Pete Richardson following the conference. We welcome Pete back to Get your tickets online here: https://helmtickets.com/ the OGA committee after events/4238/organic-matters-uk-horticulture-conference a few years break. Pete Partners and Sponsors has been growing Soil The conference is being made possible by our partners and Association certified veg sponsors, many of whom are exhibiting at the conference so you for 25 years at Westmill can find out more about what they do and their products. They Farm and Coleshill walled include; Soil Association, Ecological Land Co-operative, Dejex, garden. His enterprise BHGS, Delfland, Chelsea Green Publishing, 42 Acres, Green Owl included no dig tunnels and Media, Terrateck, Edgcumbes, Organic Herb Trading Co. 30 acres of field scale crops which were sold through Full information about all our partners is on our website. We multiple outlets including; box scheme, restaurants, shops and an still have a few stall spaces left, so please get in touch if you are honesty hut. Pete sat on the SA Farmer and Grower Board for ten interested. years. Currently he is taking a pause at present after passing his Bursary tickets available business on to a younger grower. We have bursary tickets available for trainees, apprentices and Olivia James low waged. Please get in touch (via email) if you would like a ticket. They cost £15 for the day. Organic Growers Alliance Admin Assistant Volunteer [email protected] Would you like to volunteer at the conference? Volunteering Want to grow organic strawberry plants? involves either a morning or afternoon shift helping stewards, setting up, clearing up and anything else that needs doing. There are, as far as we know no UK organic growers of PHPS In exchange for 3-4 hours we will give you a free ticket to the certified strawberry plants. We feel there is a good demand and conference. Please email [email protected] if a market opportunity. If you are interested contact Olivia and you are interested. we can put you in touch with advice and help from experienced growers. [email protected]

Page 4 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 General news Food, Farming and the Climate world and are capable of adopting low carbon farming methods to protect healthy soils, water, insects, birdlife and weather Crisis: LWA report conditions we depend on to feed the future. Foresters protect and The Landworkers’ Alliance manage our valuable forests to capture carbon while providing (LWA) supports the rising sustainable energy and building materials. tide of climate activism The evidence and policies outlined in this report provide a roadmap with the launch of their for communities across the UK, farmers, foresters, and politicians Food, Farming, and the alike to advocate for a system where everyone has access to an Climate Crisis policy report, abundance of local food produced in a way that cools the planet. explaining how we can feed people and cool the planet. We all now need to stand together with farmers and land workers in organising for and demanding deep political change to support Our food system is a food system where everybody, regardless of income, status or responsible for a total of background, has secure access to enough good food at all times; 30% of the UK’s greenhouse without compromising on the wellbeing of people, the health of gas emissions. This Food, Farming, and the Climate Crisis: the environment and the ability of future generations to provide contribution includes; food How we can feed people and cool the planet for themselves. packaging, waste, haulage, Ele Saltmarsh, Adam Payne, Jyoti Fernandes for The Landworkers Alliance. 2019. Published by Oli Rodker, refrigeration and land-use changes overseas for animal feeds Our Future in the Land and bulk commodities – in addition to direct emissions from UK The actions we take in the next ten years, to stop ecosystem farms. The comprehensive report explains how we can reduce the collapse, to recover and regenerate nature and to restore people’s 30% contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from our health and wellbeing are now critical says The Food, Farming and current food system. Countryside Commission. In a report published in July they set Across the UK today thousands of small-scale farmers and out radical and practical ways for policymakers, business and foresters are successfully demonstrating that a range of tools – communities to respond to the challenges. from alternative production models to innovative climate-friendly Healthy food is every body’s business farming techniques and local supply chains are capable of not only reducing agriculture’s carbon footprint – but also of mitigating the • Levelling the playing field for a fair food system – good food impact of historic emissions. We are showing how farmers and must become good business foresters can cool the planet by creating local supply chains, re- • Committing to grow the UK supply of fruit, vegetables, nuts building community food systems, integrating forests, wetlands, and pulses, and products from UK sustainable agriculture, deep pasture and hedges into their land management systems. and to using them more in everyday foods

The report lays out a progressive policy framework that could • Implementing world-leading public procurement, using this support both established land workers and a new generation to powerful tool to transform the market immediately reduce the impact of UK agriculture on our climate • Establishing collaborative community food plans to help – as well as the policies required to prepare for an inevitable inform and implement national food strategies and meet the transition to low-carbon diets. different needs of communities around the UK

The report argues for policies that support a transition to “less and • Reconnecting people and nature to boost health and wellbeing better” production and consumption of animal products, which Farming is a force for change, unleashing a fourth agricultural supports the livelihoods of livestock farmers raising animals on revolution driven by public values pasture and waste food, while transitioning away from factory • Designing a ten-year transition plan for sustainable, farming. We also need much more support for more fruit and agroecological farming by 2030 vegetable producers supplying the fresh fruit and vegetables • Backing innovation by farmers to unleash a fourth agricultural essential to low carbon diets. revolution Choosing where we buy our food and how it’s produced is a • Making sure every farmer can get trusted, independent powerful way individuals can look at addressing their own advice by training a cadre of peer mentors and farmer carbon footprint, and many are already making those choices in support networks the face of a broken food system. • Boosting cooperation and collaboration by extending support Farmers have always stood up to the challenge of feeding the for producer organisations to all sectors

Page 5 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 General news • Establishing a National Agroecology Development Bank to for Agroecology, Water and Resilience at Coventry University, accelerate a fair and sustainable transition Innovative Farmers is inviting growers who would like to join a field A countryside that works for all, and rural communities are a lab to assess the effectiveness of alternative non-plastic mulches. powerhouse for a fair and green economy Working with researchers at CAWR, growers will design a practical on farm trial to test a number of alternatives, such as biodegradable • Establishing a national land use framework in England and non-plastic films. A launch meeting will be held on Thursday inspires cooperation based on the public value of land, September 26th at Ryton Organic Gardens near Coventry for any mediating and encouraging multipurpose uses farmers who are interested in joining the field lab. Please contact • Investing in the skills and rural infrastructure to underpin the [email protected] for more information. rural economy • Creating more good work in the regenerative economy ‘Organic’ vertical urban farm • Developing sustainable solutions to meet rural housing need Sky Greens, an urban farm in Singapore has been awarded the • Establishing a National Nature Service that employs the world’s first national standard for organic vegetables grown energy of young people to kickstart the regenerative economy in urban environments, developed in Singapore to address Swedish organic on the rise key challenges such as limited land, lack of soil and water and higher operating costs from energy consumption and manpower In 2018 20% of Sweden’s agricultural land was organic: 609,100 constraints. Urban farms worldwide, including importers, hectares of organic land, an increase of 31,900 hectares (just under exporters and retailers can apply for the SS 632 certification. 6%) compared to 2017. Dr Allan Lim, chairman of the Food Standards Committee, Of the total organic farmland, 536,500 hectares were completely said: “The certification may allow local urban farms to expand converted to organic production, an increase of 8% from 2017. into markets outside of Singapore. Having a national organic A decline in the rate of adjustment is evident in 2018. The area certification will help local urban farms to be on equal footing undergoing conversion to organic production was 72,600 hectares, with the US for instance.” Sky Greens harvests 500 kg of produce which corresponds to a decrease of 11% compared to 2017. such as mini cai xin, jie lan and Chinese cabbage every day that are sold at FairPrice Finest stores. The farm grows 10 times as In 2018, nearly 5,700 farms farmed organically, an increase of many vegetables as traditional farming, using up to 9m-tall tiered 1% compared to 2017. Arable land that was used organically towers holding rows of Asian vegetables. The rotating metal accounted for almost 19%, while nearly 30% of the country’s towers housed in glass buildings allow all plants to get a uniform pasture was organic in 2018. Cereals, oilseed grass and green amount of sunlight, so there is no need to use LED lights, as many fodder increased in 2018. The cultivation of food potatoes was urban farms do. They are rotated by a water-pulley system, using unchanged. The grain area increased by 7% compared to 2017. The gravity from collected rainwater, and the same rainwater is used area​ of ​autumn wheat and rye wheat, on the other hand, increased for growing the crops. Sky Greens now grows only mini plants, the area of ​​haystack. The proportion of spring cereals increased which pack more nutrients than mature plants and mature before in 2018 compared to 2017 for both oats, barley and spring wheat. pest problems appear. The crops are grown in organic compost The oil plant area increased by approximately 500 hectares in made up of Nespresso recycled coffee grounds, chicken manure 2018. The total oil plant area was 7228 ha. Västra Götaland County pellets from local farms and vegetable waste from Sky Greens. and Östergötland are dominant in autumnal cultivation. In 2018, mowing and grazing increased by 9%. The green fodder www.blackberrylane.co.uk area increased by 22% in 2018. A change that can be seen as a result of the difficult drought. - order online BroadForks, Glaser Collinear & Alternatives to plastic mulch Oscillating Hoes, Wheelhoes, Soil A new field lab looking at alternatives to plastic mulches in Blockers, Korean Ho-Mi, EarthWay horticulture is launching on September 26th Seeders - and much more Currently plastic films are widely used in organic agriculture as unique garden tools which really make a difference . . . an effective weed control that replaces the need for herbicides, however concern is growing about the use of plastics, both for Tel. 07792 592068 the environment and their impact on the soil when they degrade. Building on a pilot project funded by Organic-PLUS at the Centre for catalogue

Page 6 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 Horticultural hindsights – Walcot Organic Nursery on climate change

As always, growing young fruit trees organically is a challenge. To me the growing season, which is from early May until mid September, is in two halves. First, there is the rush of early weed growth and various pests – slugs, caterpillars, aphids which always threaten to overwhelm the little fruit trees just starting to grow. Then there is the second part when the fruit trees have got through all this competition and really get growing in late June through July, then slowing down in August onwards but continuing to grow.

What I have found more difficult this year is pest damage. When I started the nursery some 20 years ago, I thought I had thrown the knapsack into the long grass, but as the years have passed I have had to modify my thinking, particularly recently. Particularly aphids on apples, they are always an issue late May/early June. I have tackled these by spot spraying with a contact insecticide, Pyrethrum, which is moderately successful. I now conclude that spraying the whole crop with some systemic pesticide would sort things out. But I have come to accept some damage because the majority of the trees are unaffected and it’s great to see ladybirds and their larvae predating. Photos:Kevin O’Neil Walcot Organic Nursery in August

Another pest that has affected our little orchard badly this year has been the Winter moth. The females lay eggs close to where the new leaves will grow and they emerge with impeccable timing to feast in early spring!

I feel that climate change is affecting our operation and that now I have to don the spray suit to use approved products to break the cycle. Not what I want to do. I did a spraying course about 30 years ago – I need a refresher! I feel odd taking a spraying course when growing organically!

Anyway, once the mad rush of early summer feeding and competition was over, the trees have grown well. Plums have The most difficult aphid is the Rosy apple aphid which curls the leaves and distorts growth. gone mad, you can almost see them growing. Cherries have been a disaster - I think some cold spring weather burnt the newly Pears have increasingly had their difficulties. We have had a small emerging foliage. Apples have been as reliable as ever. quantity of Pear Leaf Blister Mite affecting some trees for a little 63x90 Ad CSH.qxp_63x90 Ad CSH 13/06/2018 17:29 Page 1 while, but its effects reduce as the summer develops and trees Kevin O’Neil grow out of the early infestation. However, this year its presence Phone,Order Post by or Online has increased sharply but after consideration I put it down to the warmer summers and milder winters. Growers of a wide selection of fruit trees for all situations

Detailed catalogue available 01905 841587 Walcot Lane, Drakes Broughton, Pershore, Worcs WR10 2AL www.walcotnursery.co.uk

Pear leaf blister mite damage

Page 7 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 Nutrient cycling

Adam Keeves submitted this essay on nutrient cycling for his MSc in Organic Farming, and shares it here to help others - concentrating on nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and how to practically reduce deficits and surpluses (although a wider knowledge of all nutrients and components of fertility is vital to attaining good yields, healthy plants and environment).

Nitrogen (N) is an essential part of amino acids, proteins and N P2O5 K2O nucleic acids, aiding root growth, photosynthesis and the uptake kg/t % kg/t % kg/t % of other nutrients. Phosphorus (P) is second to nitrogen in its Farmyard 7 25 3 60 8 60 capacity to limit productivity and an essential nutrient which manure operates functions such as photosynthesis, nitrogen fixing, Chicken 24 60 22 60 14 75 flowering, fruiting and root growth. Plant-available P (soluble P) manure is only found in small quantities in the soil: P is mostly held as Green waste 8 10 3 40 6 50 organic P, secondary compounds and within mineral surfaces. compost Potassium (K) is essential for photosynthesis, protein synthesis, Table1: average Kg/t of nutrients for chicken manure, cattle manure and green nitrogen fixation, translocation of sugars, control of water and waste compost and the % available in the year of application (SRUC, 2019). adapting to environmental stress. K exists only as cation and the The unbalanced nutrient stoichiometry of commonly used manures plant available form is only present in small quantities. in comparison to crop use often leads to the oversupply of P on organic farms which could lead to environmental degradation and inhibit nutrient uptake. In these cases application rates should be brought into line with crop use. Manures and composts can only provide a maximum of 15–25% of the N demand, with efficiency in the range of 30–50%. For this reason use of green manures or direct N input before and during crop growth is essential to good yields. Nitrogen fixation Plants only uptake nitrogen in soluble organic N and two inorganic forms: nitrate and ammonia. N-fixation is the process

of breaking the triple bond of N2, found in the atmosphere by microorganisms which can be free living in the soil or through symbiotic relationships with plants. The symbiosis can provide

Phosphorus cycle (Nosworthy, 2015) around 150kg/ha/N/yr, although the rate of fixation is highly variable due to parameters such as varieties and percentage of legume content in green manures.

The fixation will be reduced with high levels of ammonium, which means that after two years a green manure will fixate half the amount of N. Incorporation after two years will see the most profitable use of green manure in cropping systems, as longas molybdenum, iron, phosphorus and sulphur are in balance. Symbiotic crops could also be chosen to fit into rotations where low N may be an issue such as growing field beans. Mineralisation of N and P Around 95-99% of soil N is in organic forms, present as amine groups such as soil organic matter (SOM) or plant residues. These Potassium cycle (Nosworthy, 2015) are broken down by enzymes produced by microorganisms, plants Nutrient supply and soil animals by the process of mineralisation into nitrate. Manures and composts are an important source of nutrients The integration of diverse rotations, cover crops, composts, that are readily available, held or assimilated in colloids for later crop residues, manures and reducing tillage all aid the building utilisation. Nutrient content is highly variable dependent on type, of SOM. Well-timed tillage can be a useful tool to stimulate the constitution and management, so batch analysis is recommended. conversion of SOM, but too high intensity can lead to the reduction

Page 8 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 of labile SOM (no-tillage soils averaged 37-54% higher). It is this Release of fixed K exploitation (and formation) of organic matter which forms the foundation of organic agriculture. Available K is taken up by plant roots and through an equilibrium process replenished from non-available sites. The extent to The N benefits from cover crop (CC) incorporation mostly occur which this occurs is variable. Soil types with sandy or low CEC within the first year, but can last at a lower rate for several years soils replenish K slower, which may cause deficiencies and dependent on the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C:N). The timing of the application of K fertilisers may be needed to maintain crop incorporation should be balanced with reducing leaching and productivity. Incorporation of crop residues can provide an allowing time for mineralisation of the CC in the first year. CC important tool in preserving K. should be incorporated early in the spring to reduce competition with the subsequent crop for N. Transfers and transformations: Organic phosphorus also undergoes a similar process of Fixation mineralisation, but commonly occurs when additions to the soil As noted, ammonium, P and K can be held in exchange sites are below 200:1 carbon to P ratio. This process can often meet the within clays. P fixation (adsorption and precipitation) is variable annual needs of crops (5-20kg/ha/yr). due to the amount and type of clay present. Each soil has a P Nitrification fixation capacity, meaning that the application of P to a soil with high fixation capacity which is unsaturated will fix P making it Nitrification and ammonification are similar processes by unavailable to plants and risk P leaching if applied to a saturated autotroph bacteria, but ammonification is the oxidisation of soil. Adjusting P application to soil status is important avoid ammonium ions to nitrite then nitrates, and this process can either of situations. reduce pH levels and produce nitrous/nitric oxides emissions. To Ammonium and potassium also undergo fixation, but due to their reduce these emissions, good drainage (up to 60% pore space filled particle size can become entrapped in certain clays, particularly with water), maintaining soil structure, reducing compaction and 2:1 clays. This can reduce leaching, but for some soils can fix up to sufficient supply of Mg2 and Ca2 is essential to their operation 40% of N and large volumes of K. Their slow release may not be and stops the build up of toxic nitrite. quick enough for the maturity of some fast growing crops. Adsorption (N) Immobilisation Due to their positive charge, inorganic ammonium is held at Immobilisation can happen to both P and N and is the process exchange sites in soil colloids and is therefore less likely to leach. of plant available nutrients becoming locked up in organic forms The ammonium is readily available to plants through cation such as plant residues, root exudates or microbial biomass; but exchange, which is increased with optimal pH of 6-7.5, and liming as they decay and die, return to plant available forms. Microbial soils maybe necessary to maintain optimal conditions. Ammonium biomass can consume soil N when high C:N amendments are can also be adsorbed from the atmosphere, so strategic planting of incorporated leading to the building of SOM for future exploitation tree belts can be effective at reducing emissions and utilised by but in the short term reduce nutrient availability for crop growth. plants and microbes (possible 27-60% recapture). C:N between 20 and 40 will reduce immobilisation and avoid N Dissolution and Desorption (P) loading on the environment. P can also be held in inorganic unavailable forms at varying degrees Losses: Leaching (N, P and K) of accessibility at exchange sites in colloids. Dissolution (alkaline Nitrate, dissolved P and K are readily lost through the movement compounds and soils) and desorption (acidic compounds and of water. Leaching of P and N can cause serious degradation of soils) is the means by which they become available. Desorption aquatic systems through eutrophication and contamination of can be promoted by liming soils to a neutral pH, while dissolution water sources and crops. K is inert, although can cause economic can be encouraged by reducing the pH through applications cost for the farmer. Leaching is dependent on soil type, the rate of sulphur or high ammonia fertilisers. Both processes can be of water passing through the soil, the concentration of soluble encouraged by the addition of organic matter which blocks fixing nutrients and management practices. Irrigation above the water sites, but also encourages plant roots and microbial decay which holding capacity; application of manures during dry, frozen or compete for fixation sites. bare soils; application of manures before rainfall; over application Mycorrhizal fungi are also very important to P accessibility and the of manures/composts; early incorporations of green manure; reduction of tillage and possibly innoculation will help. Plants can also application of manure/composts which mis-match with crop be P-efficient and access fixed P in a number of ways, either through uptake; uncovered manure or compost; bare soils; and high their fibrous root systems and sometimes excreting acids (brassicas) stocking densities will all affect leaching. Avoiding these practices and acidification of the soils (legumes). Inclusion in rotations or green is key to reducing leaching but importantly budgeting and manures can be an effective way to make P available. designing rotations to supply nutrients to crops at the right time.

Page 9 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 For K applications, little and often as well liming acidic soils is key to reducing leaching, but also reducing the capacity to be fixed. Riparian buffers should be used to capture leaching or erosion. Soil erosion & crop off-take (N, P & K) Soil erosion is closely linked with leaching, but is mainly linked to tillage and particularly affects P. Soil erosion can be greatly reduced through reducing tillage, but there is a trade-off between not incorporating fertilisers to reduce erosion and the loss of nutrients both through gaseous emissions and/or leaching.

Crop off-take can form large losses of N and P but especially K, which plants can take up and hold onto more than they need for optimal growth. This can result in a serious K deficit and care should be taken to design a nutrient budget to rectify any losses. Denitrification (N) Denitrification is a collective term for the gaseous loss of nitrate by bacteria which obtains energy from the break down of organic compounds. The three main gases released from the bacteria are dinitrogen, an inert gas, but also nitrous oxide and nitric oxide leading to air pollution – specifically nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas. The proportion of these released gasses is subject to variations in temperature, pH, oxygen and concentration of nitrate and nitrite.

Anaerobic or over-fertilised soils can lose up to 60kg/ha/yr of N, but well-drained soils can lead to only 5-15kg ha/N/yr. Therefore, maintaining a neutral pH with good aeration of the soil is paramount through processes such as installing drainage and maintaining levels of organic matter. Liming is also important, Organic Apple Trees and careful management of irrigation, avoiding the drying out Over 500 varieties of soil. Split applications of fertilisers could be applied to reduce nitrate concentrations.

Volatisation (N) Volatisation is also a gaseous loss of the N compound ammonia, through an equilibrium process. Once airborne, NH3 can lead to the acidification of soils, causing water eutrophication and forming 2.5 pm and issues such as asthma. Clay and humus colloids absorb NH3, so large losses are found when ammonia containing fertilisers are left on the surface or with soils with low levels of colloids. Manures should be incorporated quickly and not spread in dry conditions as this reduces diffusion. To conserve 90% of ammonia, FYM should be incorporated within an hour, and poultry within six hours. Herons Folly Garden Adam Keeves Fletching Street, Mayfield For a full list of references used for this essay, please contact the editor. East Sussex, TN20 6TE [email protected] www.heronsfollygarden.co.uk

Page 10 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 Maximising Organic Production Systems (MOPS) in Ireland The Problem: barriers to the development of Irish organic horticulture Sales of organic fruit and vegetables have risen considerably in Ireland over the past few years. According to Bord Bia (Irish Food Board) retail sales of organic horticultural produce alone rose by €7.5m in 2016. Much of the organic horticultural products are imported (>70%) and while this will be inevitable given the range of varieties on offer, Irish farmers are individually limited by a lack of capacity to meet consistent demand due to their small farm scale. Farm viability can be further compromised as the growers are inclined to produce the same crop, harvested at a similar time, causing unwanted surplus and wastage which undermines economic performance on each farm. Even with significant growth and clear market demand for organic food, there are still barriers to the future growth and development of organic horticulture in Ireland. For the continuity of supply barrier, there is a tangible solution that with an innovative approach, may not only be addressed, but actually demonstratively solved. A solution that may be replicated by others, it centres around the unique acceptance of organic producers to work together. Some three years ago, a group of organic horticultural farmers asked the lead partner in this project (Gillian Westbrook from the Irish Organic Association (IOA)) to find an answer to the following overarching issue: sustainable continuity of supply. Objectives of the project The project aims to achieve a practical and replicable solution to the problem of supply and demand of organic horticultural produce as well as making farms more sustainable through reducing dependency on nutrient imports.

The primary goal of the project is to design a cropping system to enable 11 farms to work together to supply growing market demands. This

PARTICIPATING IN will reduce dependence on imported organic horticultural products and shorten the supply chain in an Irish context. The different members of the Operational Group (OG) will work together to funded by outline a profile of each participating farm and identify markets that each farm business supplies to build a picture of current capacity on In Ireland the European Innovation Partnerships Initiative (EIP) each farm. Over the course of the project the grower will adopt the under the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 (RDP) is a cropping system designed for them, and integrate their farm into new co-operation measure under Article 35(1) of the regulation. the wider cropping plan, with the end objective of increasing overall These locally-led schemes promote local solutions to specific market supply from the group of 11 producers. issues and involve the establishment of Operational Groups (OG) to develop ideas, or take existing ideas/research and Within the group, comprising of 11 farms, there are some growers put them into practice by being hands on in terms of working who have an established retail supply, but for the times when their towards the resolution of a practical problem. To date in Ireland own farm is in deficit of a certain crop, they are forced to import, there have been two competitive calls for EIP projects. to keep their contract engagement, which is costly. For certain crops which perform well in Irish conditions, all of the group are The EIP-AGRI brings together innovation actors (farmers, growing that crop and often the same variety, harvesting it at the advisors, researchers, businesses, NGOs, etc) and helps to build same time, which causes an oversupply in volume as the local bridges between research and practice. Together they form an market has insufficient demand, resulting in wastage. Surplus EU-wide EIP network. EIP OG can be funded under the RDPs, production is a huge issue with significant financial implications. are project-based and tackle a certain (practical) problem or opportunity which may lead to an innovation. The OG approach From the supply chain perspective makes the best use of different types of knowledge (practical, scientific, technical, organisational, etc.) in an interactive way. Retailers and suppliers to retailers (packers & distributors) do An OG is composed of those key actors that are in the best not expect horticultural products to be available 52 weeks of position to realise the project’s goals, to share implementation the year, but they do require better continuity and optimised experiences and to disseminate the outcomes broadly. (extended) growing times for many crops. These comments have

Page 11 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 been echoed for many years and lack of accurate data on existing market demands, let alone future requirements, causes problems The MOPS growers for the growers. Uncertainty in what to grow, especially for the There are eleven organic growers on the MOPS EIP project, larger retail markets, tends to result in all the growers producing being run by the Irish Organic Association, and they form a the same crop, causing each grower to directly, and unknowingly central part of the OG. Twelve months since the start of the compete with one another, often having no alternative than to sell project the OG growers outlined their experiences of being their product for below or at production costs. involved in an EIP project. The retail requirements can and are expected to vary considerably over the duration of the project. As such, the results of the project Janet Power are not going to provide a silver bullet, but it is expected to deliver We are small specialised a tailored made cropping system that has the flexibility to react to organic growers based in Co. market demand. But first, we need to establish exactly what is the Wexford. So far it has been very market demand. Other smaller markets will also be considered as the interesting to be part of this group of growers are extremely mixed in terms of capacity, production dynamic project and we are Janet Power and Jenny Watkins from and location. Some of the growers will focus on developing their local very excited to see how it will Gorse Farm supply and only supplying others in the group with surplus product, progress over the next two years. Compared to other growers on while others will concentrate on the larger markets. the project we are relatively new to organic growing, and therefore Future-proofing knowledge to get input from the OG has been very beneficial as collectively there is a huge resource of knowledge among growers, and it is Another major issue facing the growers is the shortage of qualified great to have both access and input to that collective knowledge. advisors experienced in organic systems. There is currently only one expert in Ireland in organic field scale production, and this expert Patrick Frankel (who will act as a consultant for the project) is nearing retirement. For me it is great to get an opportunity Innovation is needed to collate and consolidate the knowledge base to have people visit my farm and give an by bringing together other experts that can work collectively to analytical opinion of what I am doing. deliver advice in the future. By working with a group of suitably We have the Field Data Collector coming qualified persons through this proposed three-year project, the to the farm every month and then the growers, the advisors and the horticulture scientists will increase agronomist at certain times of the year, their own understanding of organic cropping systems which shall so having that additional input is great. be recorded and disseminated to the wider community. Working with the agronomist on the cropping plan and managing The Opportunities: scale and it on a monthly basis has generated a lot of new information which geographical distribution is farm specific and really practical. We also operate a WhatsApp group which is a great way to sell crops to other members of the Unlike the conventional horticultural sector, the organic sector is OG as it increases farm revenue and reduces waste. made up of many small farms, widely distributed across Ireland. The scale and geographical location limits access to larger markets, Oliver Kelly but at the same time, offers a unique advantage if the growers Being part of the MOPS project is a great work and produce for the market as if they were one farm. way to network with other organic The differing geographical locations offer opportunity with growers. It has made me stop and evaluate regards to proximity to various commercial centres for distribution many parts of my business and see where Photos: Grace Maher purposes. Furthermore, the divergent characteristics of each farm, changes and improvements need to be including soil and weather (climatic) conditions, offer a wider made. It has also made me look at each crop on an individual basis ranging choice of crops and varieties. The geographical spread and see if they are profitable for me to grow or if I need to look at of this proposed group of organic growers will also provide for growing other crops. Having access to the Field Data Collector and variations in harvesting times, enhanced further by differing seed the crop agronomist has also been really useful for me. choices, resulting in extended production periods. Olive Thorpe Gillian Westbrook, IOA We have been organic farmers for over thirty years however there are Many thanks to Grace Maher of the Irish Organic Association for always new things to learn. Like

help with the article and permission to adapt the articles which first any business it is good to step back Patrick Browne appeared in Organic Matters. and evaluate what you are doing, Photo: Des and Olive Thorpe

Page 12 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 and farming is no different. Some enterprises on the farm are picture of what is going on at the farm and shone a light on what far more profitable than others and it is good to know how the is working and what may need tweaking. It has allowed us to different aspects of the farm are performing. MOPS has made us streamline things ranging from production to selling and has do this and it has certainly improved how we record information allowed us to become more organised and focused more on about the business. The Green Manure Trial is taking place on planning which in turn has allowed the business and farm to our farm and it is really interesting to see the results of the trial operate in a smoother manner. It has given us the chance to reflect and how it is impacting on the soil fertility in the trial area. and make changes which have been very useful. Emmet Dunne Deirdre O’Sullivan For me as a grower you are so busy Even though we have been growing growing and running a business that organic vegetables for a long time, you often become absorbed in your being involved in the project has really farm. Meeting and getting to know the opened up our eyes to lots of things. other growers on the MOPS project over the last twelve months For starters it is interesting to know the has been very important as there is a lot of shared knowledge and sheer scale of what the market is Deirdre O’Sullivan and Norman Kenny from Nurney Farm exchange of information. Also, if you are running low on a crop to looking for in terms of organic fruit and supply to the market it is great to know you can source product vegetables and the possibilities that exist out there, not only for the from the other OG members to ensure continuity of supply. MOPS growers but for lots of growers. Having the soil and tissue sampling has been fantastic as it has taken some of the speculation Padraig Fahy out of growing which is always nice. All of us at Nurney Farm are As a grower who operates in a range of really taking on board aspects of the cropping plan designed with the markets from direct sales to supplying agronomist but also other things like crop presentation and quality the major retailers MOPS has enabled management which are essential for all of our markets. me to focus on the needs of the market. Vincent Grace It has also indicated the future trends As a grower it can be hard to grow and run and growth areas and what crops are a business so being part of MOPS has really in demand which influences the farm cropping plan. I have really allowed me to organise the crop selection for enjoyed the videos made on the 11 farms. It is a really practical way the farm and fine tune my growing skills by to learn more about organic growing and how different growers working to a farm specific cropping plan. do things. It is great to access the analytical information from the The crop plan in conjunction with the data project such as the soil & plant tissue crop analysis, the use of the from crop and tissue analysis is very useful refractometer as a quality assessment and also the climate data in terms of organic management of soils and crops on my farm. specific to our farm. Working with the agronomist to implement our tailored cropping plan has been hugely beneficial. Kenneth Keavey Nick Cullen Here at Greenearth Organics we are really benefiting from the data about the soil and One of the most interesting aspects of being plants collected on the farm. As we have a part of MOPS is the opportunity to really particular interest in climate change it is analyse what is going on with your crops, in amazing to have the climate monitors on site terms of yields and monitoring them more Photos: Grace Maher to record data both for indoor and outdoor closely and also with the detailed nutrient analysis both for specific production. We have enjoyed working with plants and the soil. It gives you scope to monitor what you are the crop agronomist and have revised our cropping plan based on doing on the ground and see if you need to make changes to become this input. As we deal directly with the consumer, quality is hugely more efficient and ensure maximum production capacity is reached. important to us, to that end using the refractometer and brix Louise Rankin system has been very educational and improved our awareness about quality assurance which is essential for our business. For us at Moyleabbey it has been a really positive Grace Maher, IOA experience to be part of the Information on the European Innovation Partnership initiative can be accessed on the Department website at DAFM - European Innovation MOPS project. It has resulted in Partnership or by contacting [email protected] greater cohesion between the Projects developed under the EIP initiative are developed by Operational farm and business management Groups which will be funded under Ireland’s Rural Development as it has given us a bigger Programme 2014 – 2020. Liam Ryan and Louise Rankin Moyleabbey Farm

Page 13 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 The Lilliston rolling cultivator

The Lilliston rolling cultivator is a little known implement in the UK. It is widely used in North America as a cultivation and weeding implement. I am fortunate enough to have encountered this tool accompanied by a Lilliston enthusiast (agricultural engineer Richard Evans in the image below) when I joined the garden team at Old Plaw Hatch Farm in Sussex. We have three Lilliston tools: one for weeding potatoes on ridges, one for weeding row crops and the most recent one for gentle cultivation. Working on the latter one prompted me to write this article about these versatile and effective implements.

® ® Tilt Angle Adjustment ‡ The Lilliston® Rolling Cultivator® comes with three tilt angle adjustment positions. The adjustments are 0 degrees, 10 degrees and 20 degrees.

10° 20°

Spacing Adjustment ‡ Spider gangs can be adjusted in and out to achieve proper clearance around the crop.

Structure Angle Adjustment In essence, the Lilliston is comprised of several units of rolling ‡ Spider gang angle can be changed to increase or decrease the amount of soil moved. metal ‘spiders’ which breakup the soil surface and shift it slightly. ‡ The spider gang mounting plate is equipped with tabs to indicate angle severity. This allows the operator to make consistent settings across the machine. Each tab indicate 10 degrees of angle. There may be three, four or five spiders in a ‘Gang’. The spider arms are set at an angle which pushes the soil in one direction. There will always be a pair of gangs working one behind the other, each one shifting the soil in an opposite direction. They are marked as numbers 1 and 2.

®

Page 25 Form # B15-790 Use The Lilliston is hitched to the tractor via the three-point links. However, it sits completely on the ground with the side stabilisers loose to allow it to almost trail behind the tractor. It took me a bit of time to get used to the way it behaves in the field. We use it for all our tractor mounted weed control. We use a two-row implement with ridging bodies at the back to keep our potato crop clean. The Photos: Nir Halfon gangs are tilted to weed the side of the ridges and the ridging The arms on which the Gangs are mounted allow us to make several bodies reform the ridges behind it. I find that it works very well. adjustments. The first is the angle of attack which is the angle at Our three-row Lilliston is used for row crops on the flat. It has which the rolling spiders will meet the soil. The bigger the angle, discs in front and the Lilliston gangs after. The adjustments are the more effect the implement will have. The second adjustment very useful for different crops and stages of growth. For example, is the tilt at which the gangs are set on the implement. This allows if I am working with a young crop, the angle of attack can be for weeding on the sides of ridges. The last adjustment is a side reduced to protect the delicate plants. However, after planting shift of the gangs to make minor corrections for row spacing. All of leeks, I would increase the level of attack and speed. The result the adjustments are done with a number 19 socket which I always would be that the soil would ridge a little around the plants. make sure I have with me when I am using the Lilliston.

Page 14 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 I believe the main advantage of this implement is the way it cultivates the soil. As the spiders roll on the ground they shift the soil sidewise and leave behind them a crumbly and aerated surface. It disturbs only the top surface of the soil where most weeds germinate. As with any implement it needs to be used in the right conditions. Over the past six years of using it, I found it an effective tool in weeding and cultivating. It works well in combination with other tools such as discs and spring tines. It is highly versatile though requires a bit of skill and practice to get it to work well. I believe it’s worth trying and using more in the UK. Nir Halfon

Biodynamic Agricultural College

The last implement we use has no gaps between the gangs and the implement will gently cultivate the whole area. It is very useful to clean a cultivated area before planting or sowing. SUSTAINABLE FARMING AND GARDENING Speed of driving makes a big difference to the effectiveness WORK BASED & DISTANCE LEARNING of the implement. The faster one drives the more soil will be www.bdacollege.org.uk shifted. We use a small Massey Ferguson 148 in the garden FOR STUDENTS & PROFESSIONALS therefore, we can’t drive too fast. Speed isn’t an issue with the two-row potato ridging tool and the cultivating Lilliston tool. However, with the three-row one, there is an issue of accuracy. The nature of the work in the garden is that often students and volunteers drive the tractors when cultivating, planting or ‘Lillistoning’. Therefore, the rows are often not very straight or drivers are not very experienced. In this case, it is better to drive slow as an inaccurate position at high speed will cost the lives of a few dozen plants. I think this is the main disadvantage of the tool. Unlike a steerage hoe where there is more control, one needs to be more accurate with the Lillston. We set a marker on the tractor to mark the left hand row and generally as long as the driver follows the marker the crop is safe. Maintenance The Lilliston is very robust. It doesn’t get dragged through the soil so it doesn’t experience many breakages which other implements do. The main maintenance task is replacing gang bearings. This needs to be done every few years. As our machines are very old, every year we replace three to four bearings. The process isn’t very complicated when one knows how it’s done. One of the main challenges is finding the correct parts. The machine was developed in the US. Bearings and bolts are imperial and can be sourced in the UK. Other parts such as guards and spiders etc. can be purchased from the US (agrisupply.com or bighamag.com) or found second hand on ebay. Richard, our neighbour and Lilliston promoter, somehow magically manifests parts from his store of spares.

Page 15 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 Desert Island Market Garden Nir Halfon

This issue it is the turn of Nir Halfon (Grower at Plaw Hatch Farm) to be cast away. He can rescue a few items to establish a market garden. Due to limited space, he is allowed to bring five of his favourite varieties of seeds, one tool, one book and one luxury item.

Rescued Why? Pic 1: Squash – Squash are a big favourite to grow and to eat. I love the variety of colour and shapes. Buttercup Buttercup has good flavour, size and flesh.

2: Spring Wintergreen just keeps giving juicy sweet leaves. One year we had it cropping from greens – November until July. Wintergreen

3: Sweetcorn Nothing sweeter than corn on the cob fresh off the plant. As described by Tamar Organics – Golden ‘Golden Bantam is an early and sweet non-hybrid which has been used as a basis for many Bantam of the modern hybrids that are available today. The kernel size is larger than modern types so it is really substantial and satisfying to eat. A real classic.’

4: Leeks – I love growing and harvesting leeks. Muddy winter mornings in the field are why I do this Giant Winter job! Described by Kings as ‘an excellent late variety producing heavy thick stems that will stand in the ground for a long time.’ Giant Winter is a good reliable old variety without any bells and whistles.

5: Hamburg This is a good dual use vegetable. I managed to grow it once a couple of years ago. Parsley Germination can be difficult but once there is a plant, you can harvest good parsley leaves and a very flavoursome root.

Tool: If there is only one tool I can take, it’ll be the small garden fork or as we call it kleine Hand gartengabel. It’s useful for turning beds, planting and hoeing. The hand made copper one garden fork from www.implementations.co.uk is a real treat (I haven’t got one yet...) (preferably, hand made Book: It’s a good book with easy explanations and simple ideas for biodynamic gardening. Maria Thun Gardening for life

Luxury: It’s quite relaxing... Crochet needle and wool

Page 16 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 100% peat-free Simon White 1975-2019 Proven peat-free growing media and ingredients • Sylvamix® Natural Melcourt’s Soil Association-approved sustainable peat-free growing medium is widely used throughout the UK for a wide range of applications from seed sowing to containerisation

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It is with great sadness that we report the death of Simon in July. He fought a losing battle with cancer.

Simon joined the Sarvari Research Trust soon after its inception in 2002 and helped build up the Trust. He had little background in biology but had a real passion for the work and very quickly became an expert in potatoes and late blight. Using lab experiments rganic Plants and field trials he quickly sorted out the best Sarpo clones and Vegetables, salads, herbs, helped submit these for National Listing and commercialisation. strawberries and flowers. He put his back into growing seed and sorting out the intricacies For field, polytunnel of preparing the seed for market and competing with the big boys and greenhouse production. of the potato world. He was unusually good at presenting his Wholesale, nursery shop work at an open day or at an international conference – in fact he and mail order. was a natural. SMALL PACKS Collaborating with Dr Katherine Steele of Bangor University, he www.organicplants.co.uk completed a Masters degree and was well on the way to earning himself a PhD. We hope some of the seedlings he raised might OR BY THE TRAY www.delfland.co.uk become a new generation of Sarpo varieties before too long. Simon was a joy to work with. His sound practical knowledge of seed potato production and his problem-solving skills – which Growing with you... were second to none! – made a huge contribution to the work of Sarpo Potatoes Ltd in Wales. His quick (if dry!) wit and love of Delfland Nurseries Limited craft ale meant spending time with him on and off the field was a Benwick Road, Doddington, March, pleasure indeed.

Cambridgeshire PE15 0TU He is survived by his wife, Kate, and a young son and daughter. Tel: 01354 740553 Fax: 01354 741200 David Shaw Email: [email protected]

Page 17 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 Overwinter growing in polytunnels in Scotland – East Coast Organics

Being an organic vegetable grower is a challenging job, and August is the time when the weeds can be rampant, the slugs and other pests and diseases hit, the weather varies between hot, muggy and torrential downpours and many customers go on holiday. Maybe time for a meeting in Scotland? Roz Corbett from the Land Workers Alliance and Taybank Growers Cooperative and myself from OGA and Myreside Organics, decided to organise one. This was partly following the cancellation of a planned Jean-Martin Fortier tour but also because there hasn’t been a meeting for organic veg growers in Scotland for some time. We began by asking a few growers what they would like as a focus, and most popular were the overwintering of veg in polytunnels, finance and pricing and dig/no dig cultivation - although there was enthusiasm for discussing much more. Meeting in mid-August also meant that ideas about overwinter growing could be put into practice this season, if people moved fast!

The event was widely advertised, through OGA and LWA networks but also those of Nourish and the Soil Association, with on-line tickets set up by the OGA administrator, Olivia James. East Coast Organics (ECO), run by Mike Callendar and Fu Aykroyd, was a great place to hold the event. Their son Robbie produced delicious organic meals, almost entirely using produce from the farm, and a barn was cleared for us to meet in. We kept the cost as low as possible and ECO offered camping space and a meal for the night before to help people who were travelling long distances.

About 45 growers turned up (others told us they wanted to come but couldn’t), of all ages, some with many years of experience of running their business, others who are just beginning their growing. Two interns joined us from an organic agriculture course in Aarhus University in Denmark, currently on work experience at Tomnah’a in Perthshire. There were people working to produce veg for Locavore in Glasgow, which is a shop linked with the growing business, others growing for their own box schemes, like ECO, or Photos: Antonia Ineson Mike Callendar in the East Coast Organic orchard. for selling direct through farmers markets, to restaurants and so on. Sam started the day by suggesting that being clear about your It was striking that many of the people there didn’t belong to either goals when planning overwinter growing is important. Should we the OGA or the LWA. Tickets were a bit cheaper for members, be growing veg over the winter at all? The importance of getting back copies of the OG were displayed and both Roz and I spoke breaks from working was discussed, and also whether the soil in about the work of the groups and encouraged people to join - but tunnels benefits from a rest. He went on to cover more technical there is clearly a need to encourage more growers to get involved. aspects, like the crucial date when day length falls to ten hours Building a stronger network of growers was one aim of the event, (21st October in Comrie) and most plant growth slows or stops. both for general support and possibly practical cooperation. One He recommended the website: www.johnnyseeds.com, a site grower said he has a paper pot planter, and that possibly others offering useful planning tools in its Grower’s Library. could use it, another talked about a pop-up shop run by and Rosy grows on land shaded by hills to the south in the winter, and selling veg from several small scale growers. What about more spoke about which crops worked and which didn’t over winter in organic grower meetings in local areas? her climate. She referred to Charles Dowding’s sowing table but There were presentations from three growers, Rosy McLean pointed out that sowing dates need to be earlier in Scotland for the from Meadowsweet Organics, Falkland in Fife, Sam Parry from plants to get large enough for the crucial date. Tomnah’a, Comrie Croft in Perthshire and Maggie Sutherland, Maggie, supported by her son Ian who was in the audience, talked Natural Vegetable Company near Inverness. All spoke about about the process of moving to a no-dig system at the Natural their experience of winter growing for their local markets in Vegetable Company, a long-established market garden supplying the increasingly unpredictable local climates and economy, and boxes and restaurants in Inverness. Ian has recently returned to raised many questions for everyone to think about. Their slides work on the veg, and this has led to a review of working methods, can be viewed on the OGA website. particularly around cultivation and composting.

Page 18 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 The topics of pricing and making a living from growing organic veg came up throughout the day. A workshop on this led by Jo Hunt from Knockfarrel Produce had been planned, but unfortunately he had to cancel Squash in an ECO polytunnel due to ill health. Instead, a self- led group discussed this, and it was clear that there is sufficient interest to explore this in depth in a future meeting. Mike from ECO led a farm walk around the field veg and the polytunnels on site. ECO also has a farm shop and tunnels a few miles away, and the farm has chickens, sheep, pigs and alpacas alongside the veg for their box scheme. Box delivery is by electric vans, charged from solar panels on a barn roof via storage in large- scale batteries. Pete Ritchie, from Whitmuir Organics, Nourish and the Scottish Organic Producers Group, raised the question of what is needed to make the jump from the present, very marginal level of organic veg production in Scotland. How do we achieve a level which would ☎ contribute significantly to stopping climate change, supporting 01775 840592 ✉ [email protected] human health and biodiversity, all of which are priorities for the Gosberton Bank Nursery, Gosberton, Spalding, Lincs, PE11 4PB Scottish Government? Access to land, funding for infrastructure Biodynamic and Organic Plant Breeding and Seeds Limited, trading as Seed Co-operative Registered under the Co-operative and Community BeneÞt Societies Act 2014 as a like large glasshouses, efficient and sustainable routes to market - Community BeneÞt Society, registration number 7013. what are the levers and who can move them? On behalf of the OGA, I attend meetings of the Scottish Organic Forum and spoke briefly about the current Scottish Organic Action Plan (which runs to 2020) and the need to move from producing documents to implementing them. Should we expect growers to be the ones moving towards a sustainable veg growing system, beyond growing and selling their produce? Similarly, the OGA committee is often asked to send a representative to many meetings, all of which are relevant. However, becoming involved in climate change, land, housing, biodiversity, training and apprenticeships, water, food poverty and justice, GM, etc., is a huge task and decisions have to be made about ARE YOU AN ORGANIC priorities for the organisation. Working with the LWA on this event OR SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS? has meant that we reached people that the OGA alone might have missed, and joint working where possible seems very constructive, Do you sell direct to the public? while maintaining the identity and focus of each organisation. Are you struggling to maintain One key lesson for future events is to always have microphones a Facebook page? Is a monthly and speakers – the torrential rain on the barn roof did not help e-newsletter a distant dream? the afternoon session, but luckily it didn’t last long! There was a lot of exchange of local experience and knowledge, but the day did Let Green Owl Media help with your illustrate a demand for access to technical advice and training in social media and digital marketing organic horticulture, as well as the value of meeting and talking to other growers. Comments on the evaluation form included “Seeing “Weekly chats with Green Owl really help focus on marketing. Our website and social so many young and aspiring growers – what an enjoyable and media are now the only advertising we use for our box scheme. It is money very well spent!” heartwarming gathering” and “This was my first growers event. Sonia Oliver, Coleshill Organics I felt very welcome. Good to hear from other people in the same email [email protected] industry.” Next year, then? call 07958 720827 www.greenowlmedia.co.uk Antonia Ineson, OGA and Myreside Organics

Page 19 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 Mulch systems and rotational no- till in vegetable farming Vegetable farming can be very damaging to soil health and soil structure. Reducing tillage in horticulture and particularly organic systems is challenging and no-till is the holy grail. Johannes Storch of Bio-Gemüsehof Dickendorf in Germany is pioneering the use of mulches in field-scale organic vegetable production and has developed machinery to transplant directly through the mulch.

Johannes Storch is passionate about soils BIO-GEMÜSEHOF DICKENDORF and soil health: “We have to be honest, 2 even in organic vegetable farming we • 4.6ha vegetables, including 1650m decrease soil quality and humus content. protected cropping It is a very intense system. We must look to • 4ha permanent pasture nature. In nature the soil has permanently • 0.2ha forest active roots with life in the soil and is • 1.2ha buildings and infrastructure permanently covered. The exceptions are • 350-450m above sea level deserts and in vegetable farming we often 0 imitate these deserts and we wonder why • Average annual temperature 7.6 C our soil fertility is going down. We need • Average annual rainfall: 858 mm permanent cover and permanent roots • Soil type: loam and pseudogley in our soil. This is quite a challenge, (our • Organic matter: 3.5 to 4.5% systems) need re-thinking and we need • German soil classification (Ackerzahl): more research, but this is the way we can 20-55 (0-100 where 100 is best) be sustainable, especially with climate change. This is the way we need to travel.” • Farm team: Seven, including an apprentice. Photos: Phil Sumption Johannes Storch demonstrates soil fertility in the • Direct marketing through markets, farm brassicas shop, home delivery (third party) and their own restaurants. “All measures taken in regard to crop rotation, fertilisation and tillage must aim to increase root production” from Healthy Soils, Sick Soils, Sekera 1984 Step 4: Harvest mulch material from other fields (grass fields, grass/ clover, cover crops), as the in situ crop is not enough to suppress the Johannes advocates regenerative farming but acknowledges that weeds on its own, especially if the cover crop is not yet flowering “in vegetable farming we have the problem of very low density on as it can re-grow. The material is picked up and is chopped with the ground, we don’t get the intense root systems that you get in a loader wagon to 5-10 cm. The shorter the chopped material the pasture or with cereals.” denser the mulch and the less the light can get through.

Six steps to soil health Step 5: Spreading transferred mulch on the stubble. Exact They have created a system to use cover crops, grass and silage as spreading and short stubble are crucial for a successful crop. They mulch and to maintain cover and plant roots in the soil as much as are looking for 8cm average thickness when spread and around possible for soil health. 12t Dry Matter/ha. They must be very efficient when spreading it, Step 1: Mechanical loosening of the soil through bed preparation in as they never have enough material. the autumn to break up compaction and deal with perennial weeds. Step 6: Transplanting. They cut the layer of mulch open, plant the Step 2: Sow a winter annual cover crop (60% rye/triticale, 20% transplant and then press to close it again. They have developed vetch, 20% peas). They don’t use a frost-killed green manure as their own machine to do this – the MulchTec planter (see p22) it would be dead in January and that would leave a few months without living roots and the soil would become re-compacted. The Crop rotation for sufficient mulch aim is for permanent root activity and the soil in April is stabilised They have found that they never have enough material to mulch by the roots. But, how to plant into this? everything. On average 3ha of grass is needed to mulch 1ha of Step 3: Flail mowing the cover crop. They mow very close to the crops (1ha per cut). So, in order to avoid importing material from ground leaving a very short stubble. The cover crop can be up to outside the farm they have developed a seven year crop rotation 2.5m high and takes some handling. They have to mow twice to with five years of vegetable cropping and two years of biomass cut all the material. (mulch) production.

Page 20 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 Rotation Dry Matter balance (t/ha) and still had a yield of 24t/ha, as compared to 30t/ha in 2017 (with tillage, no mulch). In situ Demand Balance Year one Brassicas 6.7 15.0 -8.3 Year Six: Carrots. Year two Biomass 10.4 0.0 +10.4 Carrots are grown without mulch. The cover crop is top-dressed Year three Medium to high 6.8 11.1 -4.3 with 30-60kg N/ha (flaxseed press cake) to produce more biomass. N-demanding “We’re like the biogas guys, we see it as a crop” Johannes said. This crops year on 15th May they harvested the biomass and took it away, Year four Lettuce and 5.9 12.4 -6.5 and flail mowed very close to the ground. Then on 19th May they herbs rotavated as shallowly as possible undercutting the cover crop Year five Onions and 3.9 6.7 -2.8 to 5-8cm deep. It would be better if we could rotavate at 3 cm. carrots Carrots were then sown on the 4th June. Carrots are undersown Year six Carrots 7.0 0.0 +7.0 in July/August with clovers before the canopy closes to maintain Year seven Biomass 17.0 0 +17 root growth in the soil. Previously they intensely cultivated over a period of six weeks in order to produce a tilth, which is a waste as it is time that could be used to produce biomass. The way they do it Year One: Brassicas now is more efficient and maximises time for biomass production

They start with two cover crop mixtures. For early plantings they and soil regeneration. After harvest in October a triticale and use winter rye in the mix as it is earlier flowering and for the vetch cover crop is sown. later plantings they use triticale. For some crops such as Brussels Year Seven: Biomass sprouts that over-winter, it is not possible to sow a cover crop. The In the final year of the crop rotation they produce two biomass very first plantings are done without mulch, as the soil is cold and crops. The first is the over-winter cover crop. The second biomass with mulch there is more frost damage. crop of oats/peas/vetch and sunflowers is conserved as a silage Year Two: Biomass crop in September, as no mulch is needed at that time. Silage is a The brassicas are followed by a biomass production year because flexible mulch source that can be used at any time. Silage has the a lot of nutrients are available and the roots can cause problems advantage that weed seeds are killed by lactic acid fermentation. for following crops such as beetroot. After the over-wintered However, there can be emission damage to young transplants brassicas they sow vetch/peas/oats whole crop silage mix in so you need to wait until there is no smell (1-2 weeks) before March undersown with grass/clover. They take a silage cut of 7t planting, or irrigate first. DM/ha and a subsequent cut of 3t DM/ha from the grass/clover. Rotational balance Then more cover crops (rye/triticale/vetch) are sown. On average last year they used 16.8t/ha of mulch. In the rotation Year Three: Medium and high N-demanding crops they have a surplus of 144kg N/ha, which Johannes suggests goes High or medium nitrogen demanding crops like beetroot, squash into humus formation. Evidence is provided by earthworm counts and sweetcorn are grown. Beetroot is grown without mulch as which, in a trial were highest in the mulch no-till plots (356/m2). they haven’t found a way of drilling crops into the mulch. Some Counts where they used a roller crimper were 214/m2 - lower crops behave differently under the mulch – they have to clean the as the long material is not as accessible to the earthworms. The small roots off the celeriac that grow under the mulch. mulch plot after tillage had 272/m2. Year Four: Lettuce and herbs Trials have shown that some N-demanding crops such as Brussels Early plantings are without mulch and later plantings with mulch. sprouts need extra fertilisation at the start as they can’t utilise the They need open soil for plantings in the spring when the soil is nutrients from the mulch and won’t make it to harvest. For this still cold, as the soil heats up much faster without mulch. Also reason, they use under foot dressing when planting. Nutrients heat radiating from the soil keeps frost at bay. The mulch acts as are not all available at once and may be used by following crops. a layer of insulation. Therefore, they only start using mulch from Availability depends on the C:N ratio of the mulch material. the middle of May onwards. For short-term crops such as lettuce Grass/clover has a C:N ratio of around 12 and 50% of N is and kohl rabi they flail any crop residues and re-use the mulch, available in about eight weeks. When you have a C:N ration of 25 which makes it more economic. nothing is available in this time frame. There is also a much higher N loss from gas emission from grass/clover. Year Five: Onions and carrots Onions are the only crop they plant early into mulch. They use Johannes prefers to use manure and fertilizers on the cover crops silage as no biomass is available at that time of year (April). In than on the vegetables directly and says that “the effect is much 2018, which as in the UK was a very dry year, the mulch saved the nicer on soil fertility”. Also, they do not use so much grass/clover onion crop. They irrigated (17mm), which they don’t normally do in the system as it would produce too much nitrogen and they would over-fertilize the vegetables so there would be a surplus.

Page 21 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 Weeds are generally controlled with the mulch The MulchTec planter but annual weeds such as fat hen can come in When they started mulching in 2011 they needed to find a way to plant through the when too much soil is moved at planting, or mulch by machine. So, they invented one. It has taken a few years to develop to the a stubble is mowed too tightly. The previous stage where they are now marketing it, with the first five machines sold last winter. cover crop e.g. oats can become a weed but has no effect on yield and they are not worried about The most important component, them seeding. Occasionally they need additional which they had to invent is the weeding – this year 80 hours/ha were needed to cutting unit. That consists of a rogue sow thistle in the onions. wheel with blades driven at high speed with electric motors powered Pests are less of a problem under mulch e.g flea by a PTO-driven generator which beetle and cabbage root fly, but rodents can be produces 48 volts and supplies the an issue in the tunnels. Slugs are less of an issue cutting units with 8 kW of power than one might imagine, but they do use ferric and also powers the carousel phosphate pellets. Diseases are less as the mulch planting machine. Up to six units reflects light which lowers humidity in the crop. can be run together. Mulching in the tunnels The mulch is lifted up a bit and cut at speed (adjustable up to 3300 Some of the surplus of dry matter in the field rpm according to mulch thickness). rotation is used for the beds in the tunnels. The The height of the cutting unit is The cutting unit paths are sown to grass, in order to save on dynamically adjusted via a parellelogram to allow blockage-free planting on mulch and also to keep roots growing. uneven ground. They use two-stemmed, grafted tomatoes as it The carousel planter has a minimum row spacing of 36cm and intra-row from 10cm. makes it much faster when they put the mulch The planting share follows in the slit created. A finger wheel grabs the leaves and keeps on the beds by hand after planting. They water them upright so they are not covered by the mulch, followed by the press wheels, from above (at 30cm height) in order to wet which close the slit of the mulch layer. Compressed air can adjust pressure on the press the mulch so that it is active and decomposes. wheels according to soil type and conditions. If they used drip lines under the soil the mulch would not decompose. In the autumn they take A fertilisation system can be added to place fertilizer in the furrow underneath the out the tomatoes (or other crop), cultivate the transplant, allowing easy access to nutrients. whole tunnel and allow it to dry to prevent re- The price is around €4000 per cutting unit and the frame and PTO costs €8000 growth of the grass before planting corn salad, (€25K for 4-unit planter). lettuce or kohl rabi over-winter. Concluding thoughts The quality of the crops and the soils at Dickendorf shows that the system is working well. Some crops such as fennel and kohl rabi that need constant moisture do particularly well under mulch. Others such as lettuce, which grows flat and close to the ground are more of a challenge. Leeks, which they can’t ridge up get less of a white shank, so they choose their varieties carefully, but is less of a problem as they direct market. Direct-drilled crops are presently not possible with mulch.

What is impressive is the thinking behind the system and the constant drive to improve and innovate for the benefit of soil health. Phil Sumption

More information at: www.mulch-gemusebau.de Photos: Phil Sumption Brassicas being planted with the MulchTec planter A condensed version of this article first appeared in Vegetable Farmer magazine.

Page 22 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 Aminopyralid – the herbicide that hasn’t gone away Aminopyralid (AP) and its close ‘cousin’ clopyralid (CP) contamination have been increasingly detected in compost this year - a real headache for market gardeners and domestic growers. It can have devastating effects, wiping out entire crops. Key symptoms are distorted leaves and growing tips on tomatoes, potatoes and other veg affected by the herbicide.

This is a particularly potent herbicide. It does not degrade in composting, it is found in hay, grass and silage cut from sprayed fields and the chemical passes through feeding animals into their manure.

Almost every day Charles Dowding and myself have been hearing about new cases of contamination, not just in animal manures but also in council waste composts and bagged composts from various companies. For the past decade I have been advising people using horse manures, which seemed to be the most affected, to check for AP contamination. However, I recently discovered that horses are

not allowed to graze on land previously sprayed with AP or eat Photo: Stephanie Hefferty Aminopyralid damage in potatoes or be bedded using products which have been sprayed. It is only heap was spread on a different part of the garden and beans, with licensed for use with cows and sheep - yet in our experience of dahlias and other plants included as an experiment. We were able talking with growers across the UK and worldwide, horse manure to show this to the consultant from Corteva who agreed that it is the key affected manure/compost - yet it is only licensed for use clearly showed AP contamination. with cows and sheep! Clearly something is not working with the current legislation. Charles has since made two videos explaining what happened here and detailing some of the cases we have encountered. A meeting this summer with a consultant from the company, Corteva Agriscience, part of Dow Chemical, who manufactures AP is turning up in some, but not all, horse, cow and chicken both of these chemicals revealed that they have received very few manure, small animal poo/bedding, council green waste compost, complaints. Therefore, it is hugely important that anyone who straw, hay, grass and some branded composts from shops. It is thinks they have been affected by AP or CP contamination reports a potential problem for everyone, even veganic growers. The it - details of how to do it at the end of this article. Otherwise it will contaminated compost starts to break down in contact with soil still be seen as an occasional problem. bacteria and in the past, tests at Homeacres suggested that spread as a mulch, it takes around 12-15 months. AP was approved for use in the UK in 2005 as a herbicide that targets mainly broadleaved weeds including ragwort. It didn’t take long What you can do before allotment associations were reporting catastrophic damage If you think you have aminopyralid contamination, contact: caused by people using contaminated composted manures on https://www.corteva.co.uk Corteva’s Technical Hotline: 0800 their plots. Use was suspended in 2008 and new legislation 689 8899 or e-mail them at: [email protected] brought in, the theory being to prevent the herbicide from leaving The Health and Safety Executive www.hse.gov.uk the land where it was sprayed and contaminating other land. How to test for aminopyralid - The Bean Test However, the problem did not go away. In 2011 George Monbiot wrote an article explaining some of the serious consequences Beans, peas, tomatoes and white clover show aminopyralid of the herbicide and called for a suspension of sales, but that contamination quickly. Fill some pots with contaminated compost didn’t happen. It has continued to be a problem for growers and and others with a known ‘safe’ compost, certified organic composts gardeners alike, which has increased significantly this year. are fine. Sow the seeds and wait for approximately 3 - 4 weeks. If the plants in both composts look healthy then all should be well. In April, Charles noticed that a small area of broad beans were Alternatively, sow some clover which detects tiny amounts of AP. looking pale, weak and distorted, unlike adjacent beans which were growing well and they displayed the distinctive signs of Stephanie Hefferty Stephanie Hafferty is a professional organic no dig kitchen gardener, writer and AP contamination. This area had been mulched with compost chef, specialising in seasonal plant-based food. containing a small amount of bedding and manure from the See also articles in OG5, OG9, OG10, OG12,OG13 and OG19 neighbouring stables and shows that AP is so strong that even a Sign petition on change.org small amount can contaminate. The remaining compost from that https://www.change.org/p/dow-chemical-ban-dow-chemical-aminopyralid-herbicides-in-uk

Page 23 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 The Penpont Project Environmental charity Action for Conservation has unveiled the largest youth-led nature restoration project of its kind in the world in an effort to reverse devastating ecological breakdown and create a global gold standard for youth-led environmental action. Taking place on the 2,000-acre upland Penpont estate in the heart of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales, the pioneering ‘Penpont Project’ will be run by a Youth Leadership Group of twenty 12-17 year olds from diverse backgrounds. Under their management, the project will restore habitats and ecosystems and explore innovative farming and forestry approaches to provide a healthy support system for people, biodiversity and agriculture.

Harnessing the passion of the young to effect tangible change The Youth Leaders will work in collaboration with tenant farmers, landowners, academics and local stakeholders to create a world- leading example of how young people’s passion for conservation and the natural world can be harnessed to effect tangible change.

The project is launched against a worrying backdrop when it comes to the natural world. In the UK, 56% of species have shown a decline in numbers between 1970 and 2013. The UN’s recent landmark report found that 1 million animal and plant species face extinction globally, threatening food security, livelihoods, economies and health. The charity behind the initiative believes a Children gather outside the Stables at Penpont for the start of the base line survey project of this scale will motivate other young people to take action data collecting. to protect the natural world, as well as acting as an inspirational “We are at a critical juncture when it comes to our environment. case study for embedding youth leadership in conservation efforts A recent UN report calls for transformative change to avert an elsewhere in the UK and across the world. extinction crisis. Now is the time to take positive action to reverse Action for Conservation ecological and climate breakdown and there is compelling evidence to show the value of restoring nature to halt biodiversity loss and Hendrikus van Hensbergen, CEO of Action for Conservation, act as a natural climate solution. With young people making their which uses pioneering approaches to engage and inspire young voices heard through the climate strikes, there is no better time to people to become the next generation of environmental change- build on this energy with a transformative youth-led project here in makers, comments: “As the largest truly youth-led nature the UK. We hope the Penpont Project acts as a beacon of hope and restoration initiative on the planet, the Penpont Project will inspiration for like-minded initiatives the world over.” demonstrate just how effective young people can be in driving impactful environmental efforts. Involving young people from all Unique opportunity backgrounds in environmental decision-making from the outset is The Youth Leadership Group is made up of volunteers from the key to unlocking a greener future for everyone. This group will a diverse range of backgrounds who all share a passion for the create a game-changing example of how young people can work environment and conservation and have participated in Action collaboratively with local stakeholders to protect the natural world. for Conservation’s Youth Ambassador Programme. Sixteen year old Willow, from Cardiff, who is one of the inaugural members of the Youth Leadership Group, comments: “I’m so excited to be part of the Penpont Project. It is a unique opportunity to transform a landscape through hands-on restoration efforts and inspire others to take action themselves. The natural world is in real trouble, in Wales and beyond, and we need to work together to find creative ways to turn this situation around. By working with the tenant farmers, landowners and conservationists I really hope that we can demonstrate the value of putting young people at the heart of positive environmental change and inspire other projects to take a similar approach.” Davina Hogg, owner of the Penpont Estate, where the restoration project is being launched, adds: “We’ve long prioritised Photos: Action for Conservation Students studying the habitats along a stream and collecting information

Page 24 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 people to show how nature restoration can go hand in hand with sustainable farming practices, to make sure we maintain healthy soils, clean water and vital wildlife species long into the future.” Collaboration in action The project will see the youth leaders undertake ecological surveys of an initial 322 acre site alongside pupils from neighbouring schools. They will then collaborate with local stakeholders, leading academics and conservationists to design and implement restoration plans for the area, design outreach and education activities, evaluate financial models, and develop a programme of communications to keep the public up to date on progress. The project timeline is open-ended with all efforts geared towards

Photo: Action for Conservation solutions that are low input and high impact, relying on natural

Students from Newport’s John Frost High School, in the wildflower meadow processes to drive change and secure long-term, sustainable learning from botanist Mark Spencer outcomes. With time they hope to extend the approach to adjacent sustainability when it comes to the running of Penpont Estate, land, creating larger areas of habitat and ensuring connectivity. but over recent years we’ve been looking to engage with Action for Conservation and the Youth Leadership Group also hope environmental efforts on a larger scale. Working with Action the area will act as an educational resource for young people from for Conservation and enabling the Youth Leadership Group to across the region in the long-term; providing them with a place to work with our tenant farmers to restore habitats and ecosystems experience nature, see the impact of restoration efforts up close, and is a fantastic opportunity to not only safeguard the future of inspire them to lead initiatives in their own communities. this beautiful land, but also to create a shining example of how You can learn more about Action for Conservation and the conservation efforts could and should be run.” Penpont Project at: Gareth Davies, a tenant farmer whose family have farmed the estate https://www.actionforconservation.org/penpont for three generations, added: ‘This is an inspiring project and we are Gavin Hogg looking forward to working together with these passionate young

Page 25 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 Comfrey – participatory research and fertility building

This article draws on work to evaluate the HDRA/Garden Organic Members’ Experiment Programme which has now been running for over 60 years. More information is available in an e-book written by Francis Rayns, Gareth Davies and Margi Lennartsson. https://indd.adobe.com/view/7fca5eed-b3e8-4c92-be11-df955280a832

Common comfrey (Symphytum The study of comfrey by HDRA was a very officinale) is a common wild plant that early example of participatory research. was known to medieval herbalists. Lawrence Hills, its Director until 1985 and Throughout the 19th century, several then its President, was at the centre of a nurserymen included a range of communications network that stretched varieties in their catalogues as across the globe. A pattern of ‘Members’ ornamentals and the value of comfrey Experiments’ soon became established; these as an agricultural fodder crop was were designed each year by Hills (although described in a number of text books. they were often inspired by suggestions It sparked the interest of Henry that had been sent in by members or Doubleday (1813-1902), a Quaker correspondence with other researchers) and businessman from Coggeshall in were then carried out by individual farmers Essex who attempted to make a glue or gardeners. The results were returned and for stamps from comfrey as a result the findings reported in the Association’s of reading about its mucilaginous quarterly newsletter. In the beginning there content; he wrote to the Head was strong emphasis on comfrey research but

Gardener at St Petersburg Palace in the same model was used to investigate plant Photo: Garden Organic Russia for new stock and was sent Laurence Hills in the comfrey patch at Bocking varieties, pest disease, weed management, some seedlings that appeared to be green manures and composts. Hills was also a rare hybrids between S. officinale and S. asperrimum that were prolific author and speaker and included the latest findings in his variously named as S. x uplandicum or S. peregrinum. He planted books, newspaper articles and talks he gave around the UK and these out and made measurements of the yield they achieved, abroad. Gradually the Association expanded and other staff took publishing the findings in the Gardeners’ Chronicle. on those responsibilities. HDRA was given a new working name of Garden Organic in 2005 but several Members’ Experiments are The development of comfrey as a crop of agricultural interest still conducted each year. was thoroughly described by Lawrence Hills in his book Russian Comfrey (Hills, 1953) and updated in Comfrey, Past Present and Future Much of the early comfrey work was concerned with quantifying (Hills 1976). It was because of widespread interest in growing and the differences between the various ‘Bocking’ strains that were using comfrey that led him to establish the Henry Doubleday characterised by Hills and named after the town of Bocking in Research Association (HDRA) – named after the Victorian pioneer. Essex where HDRA was then based - he considered this was very HDRA was formally registered as a charity in 1958 but built on the important in order to optimise the use of the crop for particular ‘Comfrey Races’ that had been run since 1954 in collaboration with purposes: ‘We need any member who has cut and weighed this Newman Turner, editor of The Farmer; participants from across the year to send in his figures giving the total number of plants, their world measured their comfrey yields and competed for the greatest individual weight and the dates of his cuts. The best number to annual ‘cut’. There was a very wide range of yields, depending weigh is 16, and yields are calculated by us to acre scale’ (HDRA on genotype, climate, soil and management; the winners were Newsletter 2, 1958). It was generally concluded that the greatest farmers in New Zealand and Kenya. Throughout the 1950s, Hills yields were obtained from Bocking 14 and Bocking 4. Although visited many growers of comfrey across the country: ‘In this first Bocking 4 was arguably more palatable as a food for animals season I saw more different comfrey plots than ever before, and it or humans it was Bocking 14 that was most widely distributed taught me that I was wrong when I attributed the difference in stem by HDRA (at least in the UK) and, later, by other commercial thickness and yield to rich or poor soil and neglected cutting. I had organisations: ‘The thin stems, high potash and high allantoin assumed that when Kew regarded comfrey as a species they were of this variety, which is rust resistant, make it perhaps the best right, though I could see it was a variable one, and every one of British garden variety’ (Hills, 1976). Sales of Bocking 4 by HDRA the individual growers assumed that what they grew was the only were stopped in 1967 because the stock had become infested with cultivated comfrey’ (Hills, 1976). comfrey rust.

Page 26 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 The animal feed value of as they were slaughtered, to check for liver damage. It was also comfrey was the original suggested that Members who had regularly drunk comfrey tea motivation for its cultivation could have their blood tested and sent off for analysis. Debate on by 19th century farmers and this issue continues, with some scientists considering that the risks the reason for its production may have been overplayed whilst others believe the concerns to by many of the early HDRA be well-founded. members. The leaves were Many active HDRA participants were eager to develop the known to be high in protein, traditional use of comfrey in medicine – one of its traditional minerals (especially potassium) names was ‘knitbone’ and there was a widespread belief that and vitamin B12. Hills asked it could help with ailments such as arthritis and asthma. Hills for contributions for the always emphasised the need for a fact based approach: ‘We do Newsletters and provided not want to raise false hopes, we are searching for evidence that guidelines for the information what has been tested by tradition and the experience of modern that was needed: ‘Please send in One of the first HDRA publications was a booklet entitled ‘Quaker Comfrey’ so farmers works for human beings’ (HDRA Newsletter 2, 1958). The your stock feeding experiences that it would be acceptable for a North newsletters contained many very detailed reports from members, - horses, cattle, pigs, sheep, American audience as the word ‘Russian’ was politically sensitive at the time. describing the benefits that consuming comfrey or applying it goats or whatever you have fed externally had brought for a wide range of diseases and injuries it to. We needs facts of quantities fed, egg and milk yields and live suffered by themselves, their pets or their livestock. The collection weight gains. Hundreds of people feed comfrey, their stock like it of anecdotes such as these was obviously very subjective so and it pays but we need details. We can make no claims without attempts were made by the organisation to formalise the collection figures behind them’ (HDRA Newsletter 2, 1958). of such information with the aid of members who were doctors or Many of the early HDRA members were enthusiastic eaters otherwise medically qualified. A number of collaborations were of comfrey in various forms and regularly contributed recipes attempted with universities or other organisations but medical for using it in a variety of ways - as a green vegetable (rather research was really well beyond the resources of the organisation. like spinach), in soups, as a flour made from the dried leaves As both the membership of HDRA and the participants in or in alcohol. It was particularly popular as ‘tea’ – an infusion experiments became dominated by gardeners rather than of the dried leaves. It was well established that comfrey was a farmers, greater attention was paid to the potential of comfrey in good source of protein and minerals but a key finding was that maintaining soil fertility in horticultural production. Considerable it also contained high levels of Vitamin B12. Members were effort was put into finding out if comfrey enhanced the quality of encouraged to investigate possible varietal taste differences: ‘We the crops to which it was applied. For example, potatoes grown on need experimenters with space to plant two each of four kinds, the Bocking Research Ground using comfrey, compost or chemical willing to experiment on taste differences, ideally vegetarians or fertiliser were sent out to members for taste testing, although the non-smokers’ (HDRA Newsletter 2, 1958). There were repeated results were inconclusive: ‘You will see how many varying factors attempts made to ‘conserve’ comfrey so that it could be eaten there are to take into consideration to prove what every organic throughout the year (by either humans or, indeed, animals – as gardener feels to be true – that he can tell the difference between dried leaves or as ‘flour’ made from leaves or roots). In the mid- shop bought potatoes and his own’ (HDRA Newsletter 11, 1961). 1970s there was a hope that concentration of the proteins could be accomplished by microbial fermentation: ‘We need the help of It was found that comfrey foliage contains nitrogen and biochemists and bacteriologists to get this off the ground, because phosphorus in comparable concentrations to farm yard manure if we can, we have the possibility of a grant to take this further’ (FYM) whilst potassium levels could be much higher (Hills, 1980). (HDRA Newsletter 62, 1975). These nutrients can be supplied to crops in a number of different The Comfrey Crisis The possibility that comfrey could be poisonous was first mentioned in an HDRA Newsletter in 1963 but in 1978, in the light of new information, the HDRA committee decided that the organisation could no longer endorse the internal consumption of comfrey by animals or humans. This ‘Comfrey Crisis’ resulted from work on pyrrolizidine alkaloids and liver damage conducted by Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia. A special ‘Comfrey Restoration Fund’ was started and an appeal made for all farmers who had fed comfrey to their animals, for at least a year, to have post mortems done Photos: Garden Organic

Page 27 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 ways and this knowledge was refined both through a series of worked by stimulating growth through foliar feeding. Mrs Judy formal Members’ experiments organised by HDRA and as a result Morris also tried this against whitefly ‘The comfrey spray was of individuals reporting the results of their own independent extremely effective and although I had to continue spraying with investigations: it I never had the swarms of whitefly again. It had no effect on caterpillars though’ (HDRA Newsletter 100, 1985). Comfrey as a mulch Comfrey leaves can be spread on the ground around a mulch between Comfrey today tomato plants or fruit bushes where they can suppress weeds and The hope of Hills and other early HDRA members that comfrey break down to release nutrients into the soil: ‘A leading exponent would become a major crop for human and animal nutrition of this system is Mr Jack Temple of ‘Here’s Health’ who has grown was not fulfilled, largely because of increasing concerns about tomatoes in the same greenhouse for twenty years, using comfrey its potential toxicity. However, comfrey has become very widely and compost alone, without steam sterilising his soil’ (Hills 1980). grown by organic gardeners as a source of soil fertility and the Comfrey in garden compost techniques developed by the HDRA membership as a result of their participation in the experimental programme, are now The high nitrogen content of comfrey means that it must be commonly described in authoritative gardening books, websites mixed with other materials to make good compost: ‘Many vegan and other media channels. A 2018 survey conducted by Garden gardeners use comfrey as a compost activator because they will Organic confirmed that the plant is grown by gardeners across reject all animal matter, even household liquid activator’ [urine] the whole of the UK; 62% believed or were certain that they were (Hills, 1980). One regular Member’s experiment participant, Mr using the variety Bocking 14. Rainbach, explained: ‘I make my best compost ever by adding a cut of comfrey when preparing a heap’ (HDRA Newsletter 15, 1963). Lawrence Hills was always keen to engage more with commercial growers: ‘We have 124 organic market gardeners, according to our Comfrey in growing media computer printout, and we should like to hear from any of them who In response to the work of one member using a peat based tomato have used comfrey liquid manure for tomatoes, either at the roots or growing media that included comfrey, Hills wrote: ‘I would as a foliar feed’ (HDRA Newsletter 82, 1980). Researchers at Coventry particularly appeal to those who have the time space to try also two- University are currently revisiting the use of comfrey by growers as thirds peat to one-third comfrey, mixing in both chopped and un- part of the EU funded Organic-PLUS project (https://organic-plus. chopped comfrey leaves. The questions are 1) which heap breaks net/). This is concerned with finding alternatives to contentious down best? 2) Do they heat up? 3) Which heap finishes with the inputs in organic agriculture, including the use of animal manures driest material by the spring? We would like reports and samples and animal by-products in horticulture; these are often derived from because we would also like to know just how far the tannins in the conventional farming and increasing numbers of vegan consumers peat have conserved the nitrogen and how much of the other plant find them unacceptable. Despite the early work done by HDRA there foods stay soaked in the peat’ (HDRA Newsletter 1982). have been very few reports of the use of comfrey for crop nutrition Comfrey Liquid in the scientific literature. More work is still needed to understand its nutrient dynamics and how it compares to other plant feeds in terms An HDRA member, George Gibson of Guernsey, wanted a of efficacy and environmental impact. Novel ways of processing the convenient source of potassium feed for his commercial tomato crop comfrey will be investigated such as anaerobic digestion - this could and so developed ‘comfrey liquid’ made by steeping comfrey leaves bring other benefits such as providing energy for heating. We are also in water until they break down to give a liquid that is particularly interested in the attitude of growers to producing such materials on- high in potassium. It can also be done without the water with the farm rather than buying them in – locally sourced fertility may be leaves just packed in a drum or pipe and pressed down with a more sustainable but obviously entails extra work. weight. Many members reported on their own refinements of methods for making comfrey liquid, for example: ‘A number of you It can be concluded that comfrey is a plant that was a focus of have been making versions of comfrey liquid manure for tomatoes, much attention early in the history of the organic movement but and we shall be doing it on the Trial Ground this year….. Mr F Roscoe perhaps remains rather underutilised, at least by commercial reports [on the ring culture method]… Mr C Bickerstaff reports [on growers. It is to be hoped that current investigations may allow its using diluted liquid comfrey] (HDRA Newsletter 37, 1969). potential to be fulfilled. Pest control Francis Rayns Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience, Coventry University Over the years there were several indications that applications of comfrey could repel pests. For example, Mrs Holman reported ‘I References take 8 good sized leaves and roughly chop them, place them in Hills, L.D. (1953). Russian Comfrey. Faber and Faber, London. a pan and simmer for 20 minutes. Once cool I use it as a general Hills, L.D. (1976). Comfrey, Past Present and Future. Faber and Faber, London. protection against pests, particularly against peas and beans’ Hills, L.D. (1980). Fertility Gardening. Henry Doubleday Research Association, (HDRA Newsletter 97, 1984). Hills considered that this could have Braintree.

Page 28 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 Farming for health: turning aspiration into reality Suddenly talk of ‘healthy and harmony’ in farming and food is everywhere but what does it mean? Very few producers farm and grow for health. Do we even know how to do it? Lawrence Woodward is part of a new initiative called Whole Health Agriculture which seeks to build on organic principles and practice to “make health infectious”.

We are facing a worldwide health crisis – in our natural Of course, from experience and R&D we do know some resources, in our ecosystems, in crops, animals and things: we know the characteristics of well functioning humans. Dis-ease (I use that term deliberately) is rife in all and long lasting organic systems which, the United of these areas; and it will overwhelm us if we continue our States Department of Agriculture described in 1981 as: folly of failing to recognise that the health of all of them is “Organic farming is a production system which avoids not just inextricably linked but is one and the same. or largely excludes the use of synthetically compounded Organic farming came about as a direct response to that fertilisers, pesticides, growth regulators and livestock threat. It is the only farming and growing system consciously feed additives. To the maximum extent feasible, organic systems built on a concept of health. Whatever the merits of such things as rely on crop rotations, crop residues, animal manures, legumes, agro-ecology, ‘agricology’, precision farming, low-input farming, green manures, off-farm organic wastes, and aspects of biological regenerative farming, pasture-fed farming or any of the other pest control to maintain soil productivity and tilth, to supply plant buzzword farming approaches, they are not conceptually or nutrients and to control insects, weeds and other pests. systemically build around health in the way that organic farming is. “The concept of the soil as a living system….that develops…..the The idea of ‘the living soil’ and Lady Eve Balfour’s memorable activities of beneficial organisms… is central to this definition” phrase “that health – whether of soil, plant, animal and man – is one and indivisible” highlights the philosophy and concept of health Here we can see what organic farmers do not do, what positive which is the fundamental basis of organic farming and food. But the things they do instead and the context in which they work; i.e. the reality is that few farmers and growers actually farm for health as living soil. a priority output. There is an assumption that if we don’t do some This context was further expanded by IFOAM in its organic things and do others then ‘health’ will happen. It’s a sort of comfort principle of ecology which “roots organic agriculture within blanket rather than a management strategy. In fact, we don’t really living ecological systems. It states that production is to be based know how to manage the dynamic of positive health. We are not on ecological processes, and recycling. Nourishment and well- clear about how it works, how it’s transmitted, how and why some being are achieved through the ecology of the specific production farms and holdings ooze health so much it smacks you in the face environment. For example, in the case of crops this is the living and others don’t – even when they seem to be doing the right things. soil; for animals it is the farm ecosystem; for fish and marine The goal of Whole Health Agriculture – which was launched at organisms, the aquatic environment.” the Organic Congress in 2018 - setting out to explore and develop I am convinced that much of the variability in the quality and these concepts and their practical application: and to tell the story success of organic production and in the quality of organic food of positive health management and the need for it. is due to the degree to which farmers and growers follow and WHAg is looking for people – farmers, nutritionists, medical put into practice these precepts and characteristics. But I am professionals, consumers, in fact citizens of all types to join us in equally convinced that how they are followed and practiced – the this investigation, this development and in spreading this message. nature and nuance of their management - is the critical factor. From organic farming to whole health agriculture Furthermore it seems to me to be likely that ‘communication’ or ‘transmission’ factors which make the whole greater than the ‘sum I started in organic farming in 1975 in a direct response to the oil of the parts’ is determined by the quality of that management. crisis of those years. The question of “How do we feed ourselves I postulate that it is this which is critical in achieving a consistent when oil runs out?” soon became “How can we feed ourselves and and long term dynamic of health and well being. Its why some maintain a civilised society in a world of finite and diminishing farms ooze health and others don’t. resources?” These questions were the driver behind the formation and work of Elm Farm – the Organic Research Centre – for the Whole Health Agriculture believes that understanding this and 30 plus years I was involved there. But over that time I became making positive health management a central part of organic increasingly obsessed by health questions; what makes a ‘healthy’ production is vitally important. We are hoping others will agree farm? What qualities does it have? How are these passed on in its and will join us in making it happen. food and environment to people and animals? Lawrence Woodward OBE https://wholehealthag.org/

Page 29 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 Getting off the plastic treadmill

Over the 16 years I have worked in horticulture there has been an ongoing discussion around plastics use, which has hugely intensified as public opinion has caught up with the science. Perhaps one of the starkest warnings of how bad the situation is, came with the announcement that 83% of drinking water samples from around the world now contains microplastics1. It is now impossible to escape exposure, and I wonder whether plants irrigated with water containing microplastics will take in those plastics through their roots, thus creating another entry point into the food chain.

Horticulture offers a perfect example of how dependent we, as a reuse a plastic bag, it is still most likely destined for landfill once it society, have become on plastics. Our seeds often arrive in plastic has been used to exhaustion. packets, we sow them into plastic trays, with plastic labels, pot A possible solution for fresh produce packing would be for some on into plastic pots, cover the ground in plastic to protect the soil form of deposit return system that mimics the reusable glass milk and suppress weeds, grow under plastic in polytunnels, train our bottle model. Customers would buy items such as salad in reusable plants up plastic strings, harvest the produce into plastic boxes and solid containers that could easily be washed and returned to the then pack it into plastic bags. This makes it a daunting task to wean grower ready for re-use. Perhaps the easiest way to envisage this ourselves off plastic, especially as the alternatives are often more is with a box scheme where individuals receive the same boxes expensive and/or more time-consuming to initiate. But I believe each week. There is no reason why it could not also work through that done well, an operation that is able to reduce its plastic use, more traditional means of retailing. There would be an associated especially on packaging products for sale, can potentially reap a cost in terms of time for the producer, but if well marketed it substantial financial reward. One of our local milk suppliers has appears that customers will pay more and there could actually be recently reintroduced re-useable glass bottles with a £1 deposit an increase in sales as a result of switching to such a system. and it has been very encouraging to see how many people have switched to glass despite the extra cost and inconvenience. Growers as consumers When running a fresh vegetable market stall in Glastonbury, I As well as offering our customers opportunities to reduce their found it incredibly challenging to not put fresh leafy produce into plastic, I believe it is important that we remember our role as plastic bags. Some dedicated customers would buy items such as consumers. Companies such as Tamar Organics have been selling chard in paper bags, but if they were not able to get them straight most of their seed in paper packets with environmentally sensitive home and stored or eaten that day, they would often be wilted dyes etc. for years, and we can help them by choosing their seed by the evening and find their way into the compost bin. This is of over other companies who still use plastic packaging. course the argument put forward by the plastics manufacturers, There are some areas of plastic use that are harder to address. Seed who point to the environmental cost of wasted produce. In the trays and pots are almost universally made out of plastic. Eliot end, I resorted to using degradable and (when it became available) Coleman sows into compost blocks, which as well as reducing biodegradable plastic bags. reliance on plastic has the additional benefits of less root binding Degradable? and so can be considerably faster to plant out. However, in my experience making the blocks is far more time consuming when However, it now appears degradable plastics may be worse as they compared to using module trays. For this reason, when I was just break into microplastics in the environment. Biodegradable running a market garden on my own, I nearly always opted for bags can often be made from GM ingredients and there is also the the module trays. I also experimented with biodegradable pots issue of using land that could be producing food, being used to most of which were reusable after one season’s use. But around grow the raw materials to produce the bags. I am also not always 5% broke when I was planting out and I also found they are more convinced that they are truly biodegradable, as sometimes they rigid than conventional plastic pots, which inhibited removing the need to be composted at a high temperature. Our local authority plants ready for planting, thus adding more time to the job. removes all bags from the municipal compost collection and incinerates them to avoid any non-biodegradable bags ending At Schumacher College, we have recently been grappling with up in the compost. There is also some confusion in labelling; a microplastics in our compost. Until recently, many people were few years ago I ordered 500 biodegradable bags online, but unaware of the plastics used in teabags - another example of how when they arrived, the bags were clearly labelled as ‘degradable entrenched plastics have become in our everyday life. We get plastic’. Another issue with some biodegradable bags is that through a massive amount of teabags in the college and after much they breathe, which makes them little better than paper bags for debate it was decided that we should landfill the teabags until keeping produce fresh. Some growers I know have decided that the companies remove the plastics from the bags. As a life-long re-using plastic bags that customers have washed and returned composter I find it very upsetting to see tea bags going in the bin, is preferable, but you do have the challenge of food safety with although it is also difficult to see plastic containing teabag skeletons produce that is to be consumed raw. However many times you littering our compost. We have boycotted teabags that come

Page 30 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 individually wrapped in plastic bags, and have been informed that beds and others we mulched after planting. The onions that went Clipper have stopped adding plastic to their bags, so once their new into the ready mulched beds have suffered greatly as a result of bags come into stock we can add them to our compost once again. slugs hiding in the mulch. Which of course is the ongoing issue with mulching in the UK! At this year’s Oxford Real Farming Conference Tunnel and crop covers we heard Johannes Storch talk about planting straight into There are two areas, neither of which seem to offer very easy uncultivated ground mulched with rye3, and we plan to experiment solutions, polytunnels and crop covers, but it is hard to imagine with this technique in 2019 season but again, my fear is slugs. any kind of market garden operating in the UK climate without There are no easy answers to the plastic issue in market gardening, them. Whilst the plastic covering a polytunnel should last for a but there are ideas and techniques being adopted. It can also be number of years, they will still invariably end up in landfill and a difficult to know which is the best route to follow. Dowetry worse case example was seen in Spain where a whale was found to to reuse the plastic as much as possible, look for biodegradable 2 have died having swallowed plastic from a polytunnel . An ideal alternatives or give up plastic altogether? As outlined above solution is a greenhouse, but very few market gardens can afford it seems that there is generally a price to be paid in terms of a greenhouse especially if the land holding is rented. Also, on a cost and extra work for the growers. There are also items such smaller scale I have noticed the anti-spot tape on tunnel frames as polytunnels that are hard to do without but perhaps better degrades over time, adding more microplastics to the soil. recycling is the answer there? While most market gardeners I Within the tunnels, I have experimented with jute twine for know won’t appreciate extra financial costs or time pressures, my training crops such as tomatoes, rather than the more commonly hope is that over time customers will vote with their feet and be used baler twine. My preferred method for anchoring the string, willing to pay extra for produce that is less plastic-reliant. Without is planting the crop over the base of the string. When I did use that support it is hard for growers already operating in challenging the jute twine, I found that the combination of wet at the base of conditions to make the leap. the string and the weight of the plants broke the twine around Colum Pawson August time. This meant I had to retie all my plants with baler Colum has worked on various market gardens since 2003 and is a Teacher on twine, which was incredibly time consuming and I also suffered the Sustainable Horticulture course and Deputy-Head Gardener at Schumacher damage to the plants that fell. There has been a recent discussion College. The College produces a large proportion of its fresh produce from its five acre organic agroforestry demonstration field near Totnes in South Devon. on the Facebook UK Organic Market Gardeners’ Page (highly 1 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/06/plastic- recommended), where triple ply jute twine was suggested and I fibres-found-tap-water-around-world-study-reveals hope to try this next year. 2 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/whale-dies-after-eating-polytunnel- 8qr8fd0kqw2 Crop covers again offer difficult choices. Black plastic offers an 3 invaluable tool for market gardeners in weed suppression and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdilNGygeHo clearing ground as does fleece at the extremes of the growing season. Plastic is also helpful in protecting bare soil when a crop or green manure cannot be sown. At Schumacher College we aim to cultivate as little as possible, a tactic aided by black plastic use. I have tried using biodegradable mulch in the past, but it is very expensive, and can be quite fragile. It is unable to cope with established plants and weeds such as couch grass will go straight through it. It can work well when placed on bare ground and planted straight into. Some argue the extra cost of the mulch is more than compensated for by the reduced need for weeding and increased moisture conservation (although it is important to not cover dry ground - as crops may then suffer through lack of moisture). I don’t know of any alternatives to fleece, which we found invaluable this May with the late frosts.

We are currently experimenting with ramial wood chip for its associated soil benefits and as a weed suppressant. Our over- wintered onions and garlic did very well with a wood chip mulch that was added after they were planted and as a result, the weed burden has been minimal. Also, the soil underneath looks much better than it usually does when exposed to winter weather and subject to the minimal protection offered from onion foliage. With our spring sown onions, we planted some into previously mulched

Page 31 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 Agroforestry for healthy soils: management and maintenance With growing interest amongst farmers and land managers in planting trees, an important part of the design process is considering the long-term maintenance and management of these more complex systems. This August the Organic Research Centre (ORC) agroforestry team hosted a workshop on the beautiful National Trust Gibside Estate, just outside Gateshead, in Northumberland. The last of a series of events guiding farmers and others through the process of designing and establishing agroforestry systems, this workshop focused on maintenance and management of silvoarable and silvohorticultural systems. The aim was to share experiences, good and bad, between those already on the agroforestry journey and those just starting out. Gibside Community Farm biomass willow (Salix viminalis) failed to establish in spring 2018, most likely due After the initial welcome and introduction, the group visited to the lack of irrigation during a very hot Gibside Community Farm (GCF), perched at the top of the hill summer; the group haven’t yet decided on the edge of the Gibside National Trust Estate. The Community what species they will use to replace Farm is a Community Supported Agriculture Scheme which aims these trees. The fruit and nut tree rows to produce healthy organically grown produce for members and consist of a windward row of ‘tougher’ for sale locally. They currently have 30 members. The 25-year species including apples, cobnut, agricultural lease of the field from the landowner the National damson, greengage, with rhubarb Fruit trees and rhubarb Trust, was finalised in 2017. The Trust bought the field as part of planted under the trees. The leeward tree an estate which was threatened with being an open-cast mine. row has more delicate species including pears and plums. The main The 5.8ha site is very windy, has 750mm annual rainfall spread purpose of the shelterbelt is to eventually shelter the field from the evenly across the year and stands at 150m elevation. The soil is a prevailing south westerly winds, with a secondary purpose of food glacial clay loam with quite a few stones and rocks. The design of production, as a ‘food-forest’. Five tree rows wide on 2.5m spacing, the field and tree plantings was a collaborative effort with GCF it has been planted with more resilient bushes on the windward members and led to an opportunity for inter-plot agroforestry rows side, two rows of smaller, fast growing trees and then two rows of (as an alley cropping design) and area for a productive shelterbelt. full height trees. The planting includes walnuts, sweet chestnuts, Tree planting started in 2016 on a diverse apple orchard, followed crab-apples and cobnuts, as well as some more unusual non-natives by the shelterbelt and agroforestry rows in winter 2017. Tree such as chokeberries, Eleagnus (Autumn Olive), Japanese plum shelters were used to protect the new plantings from deer, with yew, bay trees, Szechuan and Nepalese pepper trees. spiral rabbit guards on the new shrubs. Mycorrhizal fungi were Jo Smith and Sally Westaway, ORC used on all trees. The Tree Council gave funding for 75% of the apple trees, while the Woodland Trust supported the other trees. The Agroforestry Innovation Networks project This workshop was part of the three-year EU-funded AgroForestry Innovation NETworks (AFINET) project. Since 2017, ORC has been working with partners across nine countries to get farmers and other practitioners together. The aim has been to work together to bridge the knowledge gaps and overcome perceived obstacles to agroforestry for the benefit of their farming businesses and the environment. Here in the UK we have held 11 workshops hosted on agroforestry farm across England and Scotland

Photos: ORC attended by just over 300 people, of which an average half have Mick Marston describes the tree choices for the productive shelterbelt been farmers and growers. In addition to these workshops, the There is a seven-course rotation within the crop alleys, with a cycle project has produced a wide range of user-friendly outputs of potatoes, brassicas, allium, umbellifers, squash sown into long including focused technical factsheets, innovation tutorial term clover, followed by two more years of clover. The tree rows videos and a searchable knowledge hub. Check out the website contain hazels (to cut for poles), basketry willow, and two rows www.eurafagroforestry.eu/afinet for more details. of fruit and nut trees with alder for nitrogen fixing. Two rows of

Page 32 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 on or harvest when closely surrounded by a crop. The key to Book review getting benefits rather than problems lies in design, particularly when planting perennials as you can’t change your planting The Agroforestry programme one year to correct last year’s problems. Handbook: A chapter on agroforestry systems design takes you through this Agroforestry for the UK process, from a general discussion of the concepts and elements to practical considerations in specific circumstances. Subsequent Edited by Ben Raskin and Simone chapters deal with three main different types of agroforestry – Osborn Soil Association silvopastoral, silvoarable and hedges. Growers will be naturally pb 150pp. drawn to the silvoarable or alley cropping chapter as the most relevant to horticulture, and they may be disappointed not to find more mention here of systems that crop vegetables in the alleys, I’ve got to admit to a very selfish reason for wanting to review this but the points raised are highly relevant to growers. book as it gave me a chance to read it at the first opportunity and The last and longest section deals with the economics of draw lessons from it. I’ve had an interest in agroforestry for nearly agroforestry and I found this the most difficult section of the book, 20 years, and been actively drawing up plans for two years in as I expect many others will. That’s in the nature of analysing the some detail for planting my own fields to alley cropping, starting costs and returns of diverse, new enterprises and forecasting farm this winter. budgets – but it’s an unavoidable necessity; if a plan isn’t viable, Well-advanced with my own plans but not far into this Handbook, it’s not sustainable. The Handbook details different methods of I found myself re-examining and in places altering my plans, and analysing and predicting outcomes, both productive and financial, not just in the fine detail, even the orientation of the tree rows. I’ve on a whole farm and individual component basis, and explains been handsomely paid for this review, with good advice before how to use and put them together. The examples used in model even writing it! spreadsheet calculations seem foreign when they include costs based on economies of scale, or returns based on the conventional Over the past couple of decades the body of information on wholesale market (calabrese at £422 per tonne, any takers?). But agroforestry has grown. Research, trials and advice and there’s the principles and techniques behind the applications can be used enormous potential for soil and environmental sustainability effectively for more diverse and smaller-scale systems – even if and business profitability in greater and better use of trees on some figures have to be plucked out of the air or left blank. farms. The UK has lagged behind other countries in developing agroforestry in practice, largely due to government policy (or lack The whole of this book is jam-packed with information – the of it) and a tenancy system that works against long-term plans. authors don’t believe in wasted sentences. References I followed We’ve also lacked a basic go-to source of information about the up added real detail to topics in which I was particularly interested. full range of issues to consider on UK farms. It’s not a blueprint for what we can do on our own holdings; those answers only come from considering the soil, environment and The OGA’s Ben Raskin and Simone Osborn from the Soil businesses of our own holdings. But this Handbook can be an Association have provided us with this go-to source, with invaluable tool to make sure we ask all the right questions and contributions from a number of experts in the field. It’s a help us find the answers. It’s well worth getting. comprehensive Handbook for farmers and growers, both organic and non-organic, covering agroforestry in its many forms, from Jim Aplin use and management of existing trees and hedgerows on farms Free to download at https://www.soilassociation.org/farmers-growers/ technicalinformation/agroforestry-handbook/ or contact Ben for a hard copy. to complex cropping systems; not an encyclopedia or summary of the academic literature, but a working book to help farmers plan.

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Page 33 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 Nature notes – nuts!

It’s mid-July when the squirrels start on the hazel nuts, ripping off whole clusters, biting through the tip of each developing nut and nibbling out the tiny infant kernel, before discarding the ruined bundle to litter the ground beneath. What a waste! Can’t they wait a month until there’s something there worth having, or better still until late September when the mature nut is packed with 16% protein and 60% fat? It’s what the dormouse needs to fatten up and keep itself fit for life after a sleep of six months. Enough also to sustain the mice and voles, and the nuthatches and tomtits, that 150 years ago never had to cope with the demanding competition of grey squirrels. In a well-ordered countryside there’d be a bounty on the creatures, or better, a population of martens which, now pushed to the margins, are skilled killers of squirrels. Either would leave more nuts for the rest of creation as well as reduce the damage done to timber and nestlings.

But the temptation to have a go at them when still The most remarkable example of this propensity that I green and only half-hard is understandable, given witnessed involved a well-grown autumn cauliflower the great effort that rodents and birds have to put which, when cut, revealed the score or more of acorns into penetrating the fully ripened shell. Of all that had been rammed into the narrow spaces between the rodents the squirrel is best equipped for this the bases of the leaf-stalks. challenge - holding the nut with its forefeet and The hazel is a long-lived tree, constantly regenerating gnawing a groove at the apex until a small hole is from its stool and (here at least) quite capable of made. It then inserts its lower incisors and uses perpetuating itself through the odd nut that happens them as a crowbar to part the shell. Other, smaller to get buried in some suitable spot. What route the rest animals with smaller paws and lesser teeth need of its annual crop of fruits and leaves takes back to the to work longer and with greater determination soil’s carbon store is of no moment, it will be feeding before reaching any consummation. When we organisms of one sort or the other on the way there. The lived in our caravans in the lee of a tall hedge of hazel we were natural world is infinitely fecund. It has its seasons of course and its sometimes entertained (and sometimes irritated) by the sound of generosity is not constant. Nor is its fecundity without fickleness, small rodents rolling nuts around above us in the narrow space as growers well know. But when there’s food to be had, there’s between ceiling and outer skin as they grappled with the task. food to be had and it’s a free-for-all. Winter storage exceptional and Comparing the weight of a hazel kernel (even if the wild is only half the squirrels’ attempts at it are far outweighed by their spendthrift that of the cultivated, which come at about 1.4 g) to the weight of a nature. Carefulness seldom come into it. Take what’s best now, mature female field mouse (at 14 g) you can appreciate that there is don’t leave the choicest bits to later – something else will have every incentive to keep at it. them! See the scattering of half-chewed flesh and discarded pips The squirrel (650 g) is a vigorous and apparently highly-strung left by birds beneath a fruiting bush in autumn, the one bite taken animal with a liking for chucking things around. When we grew out of each swede by a passing deer, the peas or sweetcorn trashed parsnips on a fair scale they took a fancy to them and would carry overnight by a gang of badgers. ‘Waste’ is a loaded word to apply reject roots (unlike badgers they didn’t dig for them) up into to this behaviour and surely not one that nature recognises. What nearby trees and shower the surrounding ground with coarse one organism leaves behind is another’s sustenance. Everything is flakes of peel and other bits that they discarded from the feast. sooner or later on the way back to what it was, and every route there (unless fire comes into it) involves a good deal of digestion, a Now in mid-August, when the developing kernels have expanded process that reaches its end in the soil. to half fill the shells, the litter beneath the hazels increases. Some of the shells have been pecked by birds but it is still mostly the work Waste is something that we humans create, largely because much of squirrels, several of the nuts now expertly parted into neat of what we leave behind is now outside the cycle of digestion, empty halves but plenty just dropped and forgotten about. Later being either toxic or resistant to decay, or both. Our carelessness on they will put some effort into stowing away part of the harvest, is seldom benign. Back in the spring and needing material for a usually in a random way by pressing individual nuts into soft deer fence I contacted Shaun at the sawmill up the road to be told ground but sometimes in small caches. They’ve been known, from – ‘I don’t know Tim, I’ll get it somewhere but I’m short of wood.’ tracks formed in snow, to at least occasionally set a definite course When I saw him later, with long strainers that he’d had to buy-in for these. Even if the act is random, what looks like a good place from elsewhere, he explained the problem. A fleet of articulated to bury nuts will also look like a good place to find them – so the lorries takes full loads of subsidised timber week after week from scheme works well enough. It also provides hope for scavengers Devon to Kent to burn in a power station. There’s no such profit in and, in those that get missed, for the tree’s posterity. Many other local trade. Who cares? Carbon to carbon dioxide, a sawyer short rodents store autumn food, sometimes – as dormice and water of wood – that’s nuts for you! voles – within reach, never mind memory, in their winter nests. Tim Deane

Page 34 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 The wealth of fields and nations As we end bad practice and attempt good practice, so farm and garden soils can accumulate some vital biomass and biodiversity. But that increase in soil biomass will always end at an optimum point, at which the farmer/gardener can only attempt a balance – a stable, living mass. That balance is precarious, because it is subject to human fallibility, unpredictable weather and very human choices, such as attempts to cultivate, or harvest – to salvage something, in unsuitable weathers.

Even here, in temperate Wales, such unsuitable weather is becoming diminishes a common good. If one field receives biomass grown more and more frequent. This season we’ve had extreme rainfall, in another field, the sum of the two masses will end as less than extreme heat and extreme winds – all of which are likely to grow the original mass, which had been thriving in the soil and plants of worse. It’s plain that unsuitability will accelerate – that is, current the two separate fields. Although soil biomass will increase in the human cultures will be increasingly ill matched to the weathers, importing field, it will increase by less than the loss of biomass in which once sustained them. The lovely yeast of soil, which gave rise the exporting field. The sum of the biomass of both fields will be to a more or less stable harvest, will be diminished by flood, drought, smaller and atmospheric CO2 will increase accordingly. Where is wind and human desperation. However skilled we are and however the missing mass? In energy (heat), gas from un-cycled fermentation hard we struggle, beyond an optimum point, we will not ‘draw and in leached minerals from the importing field and in cascading down further carbon’ onto our virtuous fields and gardens. diversity and mass of soil fauna and plants in the exporting field.

Anyone who raises an eyebrow at the word, desperation, is We could imagine a world without artificial fertilisers, in which those plainly not a grower or farmer. who are powerful appropriate green wastes and sewage for their high- Even in perfect weather, the best husbandry can only aim for yielding, money making fields, while the disempowered struggle to balance, while knowing that it will often fall short of that balance scratch a living. As always with inequity, overall yields will fall, while – all farming and gardening disrupts the natural ecology it has a few become rich. Overall photosynthesis will fall, along with the replaced. I think we should begin with that primary knowledge. shrinking soil biomass and increasing atmospheric CO2. We should also assume that inevitably, we will make mistakes. The human economy is also an organic system. Adam Smith, the Our task is to grow food, while causing as little ecological and moral philosopher, observed that economies with high wages and atmospheric harm as we can. We will cause climate heating and low profits achieve the ‘greatest wealth of nations’, while those with we will disrupt natural systems – knowing that, is the best frame low wages and high profits achieve the least. of mind to learn how to limit that disruption. That equity of wealth distribution, applies equally to both economy There are outrageous claims for farming and gardening systems, and ecology of fields. Of course, a field which is most knit inside which ‘draw down carbon’ into their lovely soils. These claims are the webs of its ecology, achieves greatest economic success. But that often made by the ‘newly-enlightened’ - those new farmers and success can only be achieved for a community of fields, if so called, growers. Also claims made by writers and journalists passionately wastes (wages) are distributed fairly between all fields. If the biomass applying a revelatory idea – a permaculture; an agroecology - and (wages) are taken by an elite group as profit, then the wealth of the too easily finding evidence for their own virtue. It is used to promote nation of fields will fall. produce in marketplaces and since it is often a genuine, if deluded aspiration, there are few of the kindly, who would rock its boat. The greenhouse effect of lifeless gases will increase to the same degree. If we consider organic as a method which attempts as best it can, to imitate the optimum cycling of organisms, then we have in the Having left fossil mass to lie quietly sequestered in its strata and word, a fine rule of thumb for farming and gardening. And it is true having ended the burning of living biomass (the lungs of lovely that the linear gift of sunlight can repair some very human cracks in Earth), and having re-arranged our ways of life to do without what our attempted cycles, but only to a point. That point is an optimum those fires and explosions have brought us – suburbia, the family (durable maximum) photosynthetic leaf area, much of which will car, aviation… we must look to Adam Smith’s prescription for a bio- have disappeared down those cracks. massive wealth of nations. Like sunlight, there are other linear contributions, which are often Fields can shrink from the compass of oil-power to the compass of accepted as a gift from nowhere. They are no such thing. They manpower and we must limit growing areas to just our dietary needs have come from somewhere - an emptying hole in the ground, a – and I’d say, pleasures. Meanwhile, we must let the wilds expand – broken organic cycle in someone else’s field or from a once-vibrant only the wilds can ‘draw down carbon’. They are Eden. Sorrowfully, ecosystem, such as a forest. we cannot escape the Fall. As the poet, Edwin Muir tells us – “Time’s handiworks, by time are haunted. He continues - blossoms of grief Many practitioners have made outrageous boasts of soil and charity bloom from these darkened fields… Strange blessings, sequestration by importing large amounts of mulching material. never in Paradise, fall from these beclouded skies.” They import from another’s impoverished organic cycle. In short, this is either narcissism, or simple anti-social behaviour – it Patrick Noble

Page 35 - The Organic Grower - No 48 Autumn 2019 Events Monday 16th September 2019: Seed harvesting, processing and storage. Real Seeds, Pembrokeshire. With Ben Gable and Kate McEvoy (Real Seeds). [email protected] Wednesday 18th to Thursday 19th September 2019: Tech & Bio. International trade fair for organic and alternative farming techniques. BUSINESS Bourg-lès-Valence, France. https://www.tech-n-bio.com Thursday 26th September 2019: Alternatives to plastic mulch? Field lab, Ryton Organic Gardens, Coventry. [email protected] PLANNING Saturday 28th September 2019: Business Planning for a New FOR A SUSTAINABLE HORTICULTURE Market Garden with Kate Collyns – OGA event at Abbey BUSINESS WITH KATE COLLYNS Home Farm, Cirencester with lunch and farm tour. 10-4 booking [email protected] Thursday 3rd October 2019: Beneficial insects in organic greenhouses and polytunnels. Northdown Orchard, nr Basingstoke, Hants. Contact [email protected] Monday 14th October: Improving Soil Health on Horticulture Operations - Trill Farm with Niels Corfield https://www.facebook.com/nielscorfieldland/events Saturday October 19th 2019: Landworkers’ skills - Salad growing www.trillfarm.co.uk Tuesday 22nd October 2019: Organic Matters: UK Horticulture Conference hosted by OGA, Trinity Centre, Bristol. Tickets organicgrowersalliance.co.uk available now! Contact [email protected] Wednesday 23rd October 2019: Improving Soil Health on Horticulture Operations Pt1 Feed Bristol, with Niels Corfield https://www.facebook.com/nielscorfieldland/events Wednesday 23rd October 2019: Soil nutrient management. Workshop run by Mark Measures Associates at Abbey Home Farm, Cirencester, Glos. https://info925698.wixsite.com/mark-measures Wednesday 23rd October 2019: Chemical free weeding demonstration day, Royal Agricultural University Saturday 26th to Sunday 27th October 2019: Health, Harmony and Holism – Evolving biodynamic food, farming and gardening. The Biodynamic Association Conference and AGM 2019. Glasshouse College, Stourbridge. http://www.biodynamic.org.uk/ Monday 4th November 2019: Improving Soil Health on Horticulture Operations - Pt1 Foundation and principles- London. Hawkwood Nursery. https://www.facebook.com/nielscorfieldland/events Tuesday 5th to Wednesday 6th November 2019. BioFarm 2019 – Ireland’s Biological Farming Conference. Midlands Park Hotel in Portlaoise. National Organic Training Skillnet. Saturday 9th November 2019: Seed Co-operative AGM and open day. Gosberton, Lincs. https://seedcooperative.org.uk/ organicgrowersalliance.co.uk/organic-matters/ Monday 11th to Tuesday 12th November 2019: The Wales Real Organic Matters Conference Food and Farming Conference. Aberystwyth University (Penglais 9.00-18.00, Tuesday 22nd October Trinity Centre, Trinity Rd, Bristol BS2 0NW Campus). https://wrffc.wales/ Wednesday 8th & Thursday 9th January: Oxford Real Farming Conference http://orfc.org.uk/ www.organicgrowersalliance.co.uk

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