Yet another excellent production from Peak Moment Television. This film makes some really good points about the resources used to create and maintain ornamental gardens and lawns. This guy even grows food on his roof.
Yet another excellent production from Peak Moment Television. This film makes some really good points about the resources used to create and maintain ornamental gardens and lawns. This guy even grows food on his roof.
With the ever increasing promotion of so called 'superfoods' it is alarming to find that one of them contains worrying levels of arsenic. According to a report in New Scientist, 22 Aug 2008, levels of naturally occurring arsenic are above the so called safe limits in rice bran. China has down rated its recommended safe level of arsenic but other countries have not followed its lead.
Some people are predicting that water is the next big environmental issue. We are using far too much and changing rainfall patterns are set to make things worse. So, as gardeners, how do we use water?
There seems to be two main responses to the needs of plants: the first is 'leave it to nature' i.e. if it rains they will get water if not they will shrivel up and die. The second response is to water as soon as it stops raining for a couple of days. Often this involves getting out a hose pipe and sloshing water around. The net effect is a lot of wet foliage and dry soil. In between those extremes the plants might get what they need and produce a good harvest.
Water is as crucial as fertliser. If you want a good harvest then it is essential to provide enough water. The big problem is knowing how much is enough as different crops need differing amounts of water at different stages of growth. Experience is the best teacher here.
Another important aspect is how you water. Standing above your plants with a spray from a hose does little. The old custom of watering the foliage in the evening can do more harm than good because the leaves stay cool and wet overnight which encourages fungus. Water is needed on the soil, not on the leaves and is required at any time of the day that the plant needs it.
It goes without saying that using rain water is far better than tap water except on newly emerging seedlings in the greenhouse. Rainwater can promote 'damping off' which is a fungal disease that causes young seedlings to fall over in their thousands.
As organic gardeners we need to think about water use, learn what plants need and use water carefully to increase yields.
There seems to be two main responses to the needs of plants: the first is 'leave it to nature' i.e. if it rains they will get water if not they will shrivel up and die. The second response is to water as soon as it stops raining for a couple of days. Often this involves getting out a hose pipe and sloshing water around. The net effect is a lot of wet foliage and dry soil. In between those extremes the plants might get what they need and produce a good harvest.
Water is as crucial as fertliser. If you want a good harvest then it is essential to provide enough water. The big problem is knowing how much is enough as different crops need differing amounts of water at different stages of growth. Experience is the best teacher here.
Another important aspect is how you water. Standing above your plants with a spray from a hose does little. The old custom of watering the foliage in the evening can do more harm than good because the leaves stay cool and wet overnight which encourages fungus. Water is needed on the soil, not on the leaves and is required at any time of the day that the plant needs it.
It goes without saying that using rain water is far better than tap water except on newly emerging seedlings in the greenhouse. Rainwater can promote 'damping off' which is a fungal disease that causes young seedlings to fall over in their thousands.
As organic gardeners we need to think about water use, learn what plants need and use water carefully to increase yields.
Growing vegetables on a large scale can mean using huge amounts of water. So does processing the harvest ready for supermarket shelves.
An article in The Guardian recently highlighted the vast quantities of water used in processing. It seems absolutely crazy to me that the demand for squeaky clean produce is pushing the world to water shortages. Years back veg always came with some soil still attached, that was the norm. But then we bought them loose, by the pound or one at a time. Now everything has to be so very clean in comes plastic bags but at a price.
It really is about time we weaned ourselves off this 'perfect produce' addiction and went back to more sensible ways of producing fruit and veg.
An article in The Guardian recently highlighted the vast quantities of water used in processing. It seems absolutely crazy to me that the demand for squeaky clean produce is pushing the world to water shortages. Years back veg always came with some soil still attached, that was the norm. But then we bought them loose, by the pound or one at a time. Now everything has to be so very clean in comes plastic bags but at a price.
It really is about time we weaned ourselves off this 'perfect produce' addiction and went back to more sensible ways of producing fruit and veg.
The blog is experiencing some technical problems after a software upgrade. We are working on getting things back and hope to restore normal service ASAP.
Update 23 Aug, 1715. Most problems fixed now except that the forum is not working as it appears not to be supported by the new version of the software.
Update 23 Aug, 1715. Most problems fixed now except that the forum is not working as it appears not to be supported by the new version of the software.
There was a good piece on Channel five news tonight about pesticide residues and the decrease in minerals in fruit. It's good to see these issues being raised on peak time national news. I am waiting for the government to wheel out some tame scientist to tell us it's all perfectly safe and there is nothing at all to worry about! See the Ch 5 blog piece here.
Buying locally produced food is an excellent idea. I have said before that there are problems in the UK as the infrastructure has been dismantled over the years as production and consumption are dominated by a very few large supermarkets. It is still possible to get local food but it's not easy.
The buy local campaign has also become a bit of a cause for many environmental groups. Again, I don't have a problem with this but if it just means using a locally run shop to buy the same imports that would have been supplied by a national chain then nothing is gained. It should mean buying locally produced products from local outlets.
My point is that we need to be careful that buy local is not just another marketing ploy. Groups need to be very explicit as to what 'local' means. I would 'local' products should have been produced within 50 miles of where they are sold. If that could be achieved on a large scale then it would be a very positive outcome in terms of energy use, CO2 production.
The buy local campaign has also become a bit of a cause for many environmental groups. Again, I don't have a problem with this but if it just means using a locally run shop to buy the same imports that would have been supplied by a national chain then nothing is gained. It should mean buying locally produced products from local outlets.
My point is that we need to be careful that buy local is not just another marketing ploy. Groups need to be very explicit as to what 'local' means. I would 'local' products should have been produced within 50 miles of where they are sold. If that could be achieved on a large scale then it would be a very positive outcome in terms of energy use, CO2 production.
I have often heard it said that potatoes 'clean the ground'. I have never been sure exactly what that means or how it happens. A few years back I was talking to a well known organic gardener who commented that the gardener did all the work by digging a trench, planting the tubers, earthing them up as they grew and then digging them out. The ground gets dug over twice in one season! Personally, I always use trowel to dig out a small hole and then drop a tuber in it.
The other thing that bothers me about the often heard advice on allotments re planting a crop of potatoes on new, rough ground is that they do MUCH better on good soil. They are heavy feeders and need a lot of water so don't do that well on rough, dry, infertile land. So, if you want to really get things going treat your spuds with care, plant in good fertile soil, give them a chance to perform and they will reward you well.
If you want to break up soil, and mine nutrients from deep down, then grow a green manure such as grazing rye.
The other thing that bothers me about the often heard advice on allotments re planting a crop of potatoes on new, rough ground is that they do MUCH better on good soil. They are heavy feeders and need a lot of water so don't do that well on rough, dry, infertile land. So, if you want to really get things going treat your spuds with care, plant in good fertile soil, give them a chance to perform and they will reward you well.
If you want to break up soil, and mine nutrients from deep down, then grow a green manure such as grazing rye.
There has been a lot of reaction to the comments made by Prince Charles about the mad dash for GM crops. What he said was absolutely right; GM food has no place whatsoever in the modern diet, is not the answer to the food crisis and is the biggest environmental disaster of all time.
Contrary to what the well healed biotech companies say there is a lot of evidence to show there are many problems with growing GM crops. Recently they have played a very cynical PR game by suggesting GM will 'feed the world'. Even a very superficial look at the evidence shows that is absolute rot.
If you want to see a list of research references, including some by the biotech companies that disprove what they are now saying, then click here.
Contrary to what the well healed biotech companies say there is a lot of evidence to show there are many problems with growing GM crops. Recently they have played a very cynical PR game by suggesting GM will 'feed the world'. Even a very superficial look at the evidence shows that is absolute rot.
If you want to see a list of research references, including some by the biotech companies that disprove what they are now saying, then click here.
The potatoes were lifted yesterday. They were planted on April 24th so had just about 16 weeks in the ground. There were signs of blight on the tops so it was decided to lift them now rather than leave them for another 3-4 weeks.
The yield was every good. One complete 4ft x 15ft (1.2m x 4.58m) bed yielded 90lbs (41kg) of good looking spuds. We had already started taking a few roots from the other bed but I estimate the total yield is around 170lbs (77kg) which is a little under the usual weight.
It is always good to watch the potatoes coming out of the ground. Four months ago a single small seed tuber was planted and it multiplied into a mass of good sized potatoes. It still seems like one of nature's miracles.
A few years back I decided that the only variety worth growing on our site was Sarpo Mira as it has the best blight resistance. It has certainly proved its worth over the years and gives a reliable heavy crop.
I have often been asked why bother to grow veg as it is so cheap ( or was!) in the supermarkets. Doing a simple 'cost benefit analysis' is interesting to say the least. We paid £12.50 fro 40 seed potatoes (20 per bed) which yielded a harvest of 170lbs (77kg.) The current price for organic new potatoes at Waitrose is £1.33/kg. So, we have ~£100 worth of potatoes from an expenditure of £12.50 which is around a 8 times increase on the investment. That seems worth it!
The amount of work involved in growing them was minimal. They we planted individually in a hole dug with a trowel. The soil was earthed up once around the growing plants. Some effort was involved in the harvest but again it was not exactly excessive. There were no other inputs apart from a wheel barrow of muck on each bed last autumn which was free. That's it. I wish I could get that sort of return on savings; especially in four months!
The yield was every good. One complete 4ft x 15ft (1.2m x 4.58m) bed yielded 90lbs (41kg) of good looking spuds. We had already started taking a few roots from the other bed but I estimate the total yield is around 170lbs (77kg) which is a little under the usual weight.
It is always good to watch the potatoes coming out of the ground. Four months ago a single small seed tuber was planted and it multiplied into a mass of good sized potatoes. It still seems like one of nature's miracles.
A few years back I decided that the only variety worth growing on our site was Sarpo Mira as it has the best blight resistance. It has certainly proved its worth over the years and gives a reliable heavy crop.
I have often been asked why bother to grow veg as it is so cheap ( or was!) in the supermarkets. Doing a simple 'cost benefit analysis' is interesting to say the least. We paid £12.50 fro 40 seed potatoes (20 per bed) which yielded a harvest of 170lbs (77kg.) The current price for organic new potatoes at Waitrose is £1.33/kg. So, we have ~£100 worth of potatoes from an expenditure of £12.50 which is around a 8 times increase on the investment. That seems worth it!
The amount of work involved in growing them was minimal. They we planted individually in a hole dug with a trowel. The soil was earthed up once around the growing plants. Some effort was involved in the harvest but again it was not exactly excessive. There were no other inputs apart from a wheel barrow of muck on each bed last autumn which was free. That's it. I wish I could get that sort of return on savings; especially in four months!
Recent Comments