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Swarming is important

I ‘ve done a lot of searches on the internet in preparation for my eventual acquisition of bees for our Norwegian smallholding. Like many folks I have seen the media reports on how our bees are dying and am worried. I know bees aren’t our only pollinators but I love honey, and of course I want our pollination rates to be as high as possible, so having a pair of hives on our land seems an obvious choice. The more I learn about bees the more interesting they become to me. It’s a topic I can see myself delving into over decades, one like sustainable farming, I will always be learning more about.

I’ve watched numerous documentaries from all over the world. Devoured information on Skep, main stream National and Topbar hives and read dozens of blogs. By and large, it seems most sources are of the opinion that a bee keeper must prevent swarming. In fact, a bee keeper who allows his bees to swarm is widely regarded as a “bad bee keeper.” Perhaps it is my lack of practical skills with bees or a fundamental misunderstanding on my part, but when I read about swarming, my first reaction was excitement. I just kept thinking, “A new colony, fantastic!” The negativity confused me.

I remained confused for quite some time and then I met Sean Hearn, who has one of his apiary set ups at the farm I train at. I was lucky enough to be able to assist Sean a few times over the last few months and while doing so he patiently answers my queries. He was also the first person to give me an answer about swarming that made sense to me.

Sean, although trained in traditional bee keeping, is one of a small number of bee keepers who subscribe to what is either called “sustainable or natural bee keeping” a school of thought where minimal interference is practiced, chemicals avoided and focus is on both the hive’s health as well as production of honey.

As under the gun to learn as much as possible as I feel I never seem to get as much time with the mentors on the farm as I would like or probably need and Sean is no exception, but I’ve found his blog quite good as an additional source of information.

Natural bee keeping is vastly different from industrial counterpart. To fully appreciate how radical it is you need to understand traditional or industrial methodology first. This podcast where Sean speaks to the folks at 21stCenturyPermaculture points out some of the main differences is quite good as a starting point. The subject is quite broad of course, but the cord that first resonated with me is the point of swarming.

Natural keepers accept swarming. The swarm is actually the hive reproducing itself and to prevent this, is to take away the ability to reproduce naturally. This is much akin to comparing an F1 plant to the open pollinators.

I know already which sort I believe to be important for our future.

 

 

Local organic asparagus at the farmers market

Local food and direct relationships

I love working at the local farmers market, and do so every Sunday. For me, the farmers market is a place that restores my faith. It’s where I am reminded that I am not alone,  that other local people want local foods and that they want to have that relationship with their egg man, their vegetable grower or the man who cares for the animals that eventually graces their plate. People are interested in  quality, even when a typical shopper declares price as their primary motive, it’s not exclusively the case.

I’m not talking about everyone of course, I wish I were. Numbers and interest is growing in local produce. More and more of us are concerned with our health and our local economy. The BRC research every £10 spent in a local shop is actually worth £25 to the local economy. In a time when most of us are all feeling the pinch and pressures of tightening purse strings, local spending helps ease the strain. This is called the multiplier effect.

Recently, I saw this post on social media which stood out. There were nearly one million shares. There were also a high number of folks complaining the prices of their local farmers market were too high.

eat localThe price of food, what we are now accustom to paying in the grocery store is the product of mass buying power from the supermarket giants.

It often dictates the prices for the producer and in some cases this leaves the producer in a very tenuous position. The producer is more often than not the lowest paid person on the food chain and the one who bears the brunt of that low cost food.

Do you, the consumer benefit? Yes, in a way. The consumer benefits from the conglomerates buying power because they are able to buy cheaper product as the end result. The down side of this of course, is that a producer who can not make a profit growing vegetables or meat or grains won’t be doing so forever. No regular business in the world would continue to operate at a year on year loss, it’s simply impossible. If a business model is unsustainable, one can rightly assume the business model will change – or shut down. Imagine, producers stopping production. Demand for the product, in this case food, isn’t going to stop. We all need to eat. Where does that leave us? While it may seem a “bargain” in the short term, we may actually be setting precedence for an even more expensive future.

By expecting our food to be “cheap” we’re refusing to acknowledge that a farm is a business like any other that must also provide a living wage for the workers on that farm. The farmers market is a direct exchange between producer and consumer thus it is the most beneficial relationship for each party. The prices are a reflection of what the farmer feels is a fair exchange for the work he (or she) has done in order to bring a healthy product to you.

It’s funny when people complain about the cost of food but then buy soda or crisps or ready meals. These things are neither cheap or healthy, yet no one seems to complain that a 40g packet of crisps is 50p  (more than 1p per gram). More than anything this behavior exemplifies the truth that if we want something badly enough, we do as a rule, find the money for it.

The only question you should be asking is, “How much is good, healthy food worth to me?”

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Three ways to deal with slugs

It’s the time of year when our gardens are starting to really come into their own. Our delicate seedling are full of vigor and the promise of harvest is within sight, we know it and so do the slugs.

Slugs. Grotesque, slimy, and capable of completely devastating your plot. It’s enough to dishearten even the most dedicated and have them reaching for a spray bottle.  There are multiple reasons I won’t use chemicals, but I don’t want to get political.

As an organic gardener, I am always looking for ways to improve my soil. Chemical pesticides and fertilizers may offer a short period gain but ultimately leave our soil poorer.   But how do we “win” against slugs without turning to chemicals?

Pick them off. For those with small plots of vegetables and time, a daily commitment to checking each plant is an ideal solution. Taking time for a daily inspection and removal and disposal will keep slugs in check, but this may not be practical if you’re short of time or if your garden is larger than a few meters.

Mulch. A slug is a delicate creature. It has a soft underbelly and will avoid crossing any mulch that is rough and irritating. I ring of mulch of moderately abrasive material such as diatomaceous earth. I suggest 10 cm wide and at least 1cm thick as an effective barrier, or rough bark mulch. You’ll need to ensure you keep it topped up of course, but weekly inspections should suffice. Mulch should not come in contact with the plant, try to leave a good few centimeters circle empty around each stem. I like this method because along with creating a barrier it also helps keep moisture in the soil.

Provide shelter. Slugs do most of their damage at night. During the day a slug will look for refuge. By placing an piece of untreated board at both ends of your garden row, and one in the middle if the row is long, you’ll encourage the slugs to use this as a daytime refuge. This doesn’t stop them from eating your plants, but it does make collection an  disposal quite easy and quickly puts a dent in the number of slugs feasting on your patch . Simply lift the board each morning and remove the slugs below. A upside down empty grapefruit skin in the same positions also works.

Many a gardener has heard about the effective use of copper in deterring slugs. Every year I hear people talking about copper and pennies. Copper tape, if thick enough may certainly do the trick. My experience is adhering it and ensuring it doesn’t get accidentally covered over by soil, (and thus ineffective), can be laborious, it’s also quite expensive.  Pennies unfortunately, have not contained enough copper to work as cheap substitute for a very long time. My advice is to forget about copper and do two or even all three of the above for success.

Photo from http://www.allaboutslugs.com

This was originally posted on EatinsCanada

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Joys and pitfalls of sunny weather

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Sun, rain, wind and even hail have been part of the spring season here in the UK. These last two months have offered challenges and opportunities in equal measure. Every season has the potential to be either a blessing or a ruin to the garden. It’s late May and we have been blessed by an exceptionally nice spring.

It may surprise non gardening people that most traumatic climactic event that happened for my plants this spring was  the week our temperature stayed in the high 20s. While the pasty skinned and sun starved among us reveled, I was vigilant. For myself any other gardeners, above average temperatures for extended periods are a mixed blessing. Young seedlings, if kept moist shoot up and thrive. Other plants take an entirely different route. For me the week began a constant monitoring of pots and plants, watering early and trying to keep balance. By the end of the week however, I had to admit at least partial defeat. Three of of my swiss chard pots, six plants in total, had bolted.

Bolted chard isn’t the end however. The leaves, although less abundant and smaller are still edible. It also gives me a chance to restart a fresh batch from my seedlings. Extending my harvest through a succession of plantings is something I relish. This year with so many bolted plants so early, I’ll be removing them and doing exactly that. One chard will give me more than enough seed however, it’s best to collect future seed from a plant that goes to flower and seed later in the season. To collect from a “easy bolter” would be to carry that undesirable trait on to next year. On a positive note, this gives me the opportunity to replant those pots, it’s only late May so I can expect a late season crop to produce still.

Yes, the gale force winds for three straight days was worrying, but it only meant repositioning my most delicate seedlings under quick made cloches or moving pots to shelter. Torrential rain for another three days gave me time to assess and correct drainage issues. Now, in the first days of summer, most of my garden is looking good and the first setting of fruit is well underway. It was a fantastic and surprising spring.

There is, after all, no such thing as normal weather.

courgette in flower

Grow some of what you eat

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Just three weeks ago, my rooftop garden on narrow boat Miracle was starting to look like a winner. The garden I’d planned and planted was just beginning to show its potential and I was pleased.  In a proud moment on that sunny Saturday I snapped a photo and shared it with the world via my Instagram and Twitter accounts. (Garden and Plate now has it’s own Twitter!)

Nearly immediately after sending my “Boast Post” I saw a competition was happening on line by Saltyard Books asking people to post photos of their kitchen garden. The competition was in celebration of a new book by Mark Diacono of Otter Farm, about gardening and getting the most out of your urban kitchen garden.  I’ve never entered any competition before but, it seemed nearly serendipitous, so off went my tweet with their hashtag into the competition.

I’m exceedingly pleased to say, I won the competition and early this week my copy of The New Kitchen Garden arrived. I got to unwrap it just as a very rare UK thunderstorm began.  At just under 400 pages, I can’t pretend that I’ve read it all as yet, but so far, it’s impressive, encouraging and informative. It’s a book that I suspect, I’ll be keeping and referring to quite often. Thank you Mark for writing this!

More about the book here.

*This article was originally published on a fabulous website called EatinsCanada.

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Getting the most out of small spaces

One of my favorite things about gardening is that I can choose what I want to grow each year. I subscribe to the school of thought that  you should plant what you like to eat, however planting the same vegetables every year does get a bit predictable. Experimenting with unusual varieties gives me a kick and expands my knowledge as well as my pallet.

This year, with a view to expand what I can produce in my 1.5m potted roof garden I chose to give planting of “early” and “late” maturing crops a go.  To do this I looked for an early maturing small turnip to pair with my old faithful red onion and some French Marigold. I found a lovely sounding turnip called “Japanese Snowball” which is described as a fast growing, egg shaped globe with a mild sweet juicy flavour. The globes should be harvest size by the end of this month, leaving sufficient space for both the onion and marigold development. I’d never heard of the the Snowball variety before I began looking and was surprised to find it’s been around in western world since at least 1885.

I sewed the seeds as directed both for greens (close) and 2.5cm apart in two rows in mid-late March. I’ve already harvested a crop of young greens from one row and eaten them raw in salad along with some chard,  last week used a few of the larger leaves as a cooked spinach substitute. Obviously, because my rows are small, my harvests are only handfuls however, I can’t believe how quick they are – they’re ready again! The spaced counterparts remain untouched and are sheltering the slower growing marigold beneath their large foliage.

So far I am very pleased with this experiment. I am quite happy with the taste of the greens both raw and cooked and am awaiting the globes with much anticipation. It seems that I’ve doubled the output of my tiny space this year. Looking back, it now seems quite obvious, however I’d not considered this before my work experience on the Organic Lea farm.  I guess it just goes to show what we can learn if we’re open to it.

*This article was originally published on a fabulous website called EatinsCanada.

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Easy DIY organic fertilizer

Here in the United Kingdom, along the rivers and in marsh lands, something nearly magical grows, Symphytum officinale. In may areas it is so prolific there are actual “harvesting days” where the nature reserves encourage gardeners to come and cut what they need.

First introduced to to North America in  1954, you may know it as Quaker’s Comfrey, Knitbone or even as a weed. Regardless of what you call it, it’s indispensable.  Any gardener who wants to fertilize their garden, especially fruiting plants or seeding crops, naturally and healthily should know about and utilize this amazing plant.

It’s a powerful ally of the organic gardener.

What makes this plant exceptional are the levels of nitrogen and potassium it releases upon decomposition.

Comfrey is what you call a “dynamic accumulator.” It has a large turnip shaped tap root that mines up nutrients and minerals from deep within the soil which it brings up into it’s leaves. Because it does this much deeper than most plant roots reach, the surrounding vegetation isn’t compromised and previously unreachable nutrients are made accessible . Harvesting and composting its leaves releases the nitrogen and potassium making them accessible to other plants and the rest of your garden. Quick growing, Comfrey can be harvested boosting the minerals available to your garden organically several times per year eliminating the need to purchase chemical based tomato or plant foods.

Harvesting is easy.  Just before the plant flowers is when you’ll get the most benefit, but around that time is also quite good. Sheer stems about 15cm above ground. Keep the leaves, flowers if you wish and discard the stem. Harvests can occur safely when the plant reaches approximately 60cm,  in spring until early autumn without risk to to the plant. In autumn it’s important to leave pant to grow and rejuvenate it’s stores for overwintering.

Once you have them it’s up to you how you use them. You can choose to make a tea, like the one in our nettle article which takes 4 to 5 weeks,  add them as a two inch mulch around fruiting plants and they will break down naturally or wilt them for two to three days and simply dig it in! Unlike other high nitrogen content sources Comfrey doesn’t rob nitrogen from the soil because it’s C:N ratio is lower than well rotted compost.

If you can’t find wild Comfrey, the cultivated sterile variety Bocking 14 is often available through seed suppliers. If you purchase your own, let it grow one full year before beginning to harvest to allow it a firmly establish. Never dig up and plant a non sterile, wild plant, it will take over your garden quickly. Bocking 14 will grow quite large and is best separated and shared with other gardeners after a few years growth.

This post was originally posted on EatinsCanada

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Natural pest management

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One of the biggest questions new organic gardeners ask is about pest management.  We all seem to understand the concepts of  open pollination and making fertilizers from plants but when it comes to keeping the pests away, many of us draw a blank. We work so hard to raise our plants that contemplating their decimation is frankly, terrifying. So what can we do?

I am a firm believer that healthy plants and healthy soil do much for our garden when it comes to pests. A strong, healthy plant can tolerate some pests without too much loss. Nonetheless, I also believe in giving the garden a helping hand.  One of the principles I learned at Organic Lea was to try and balance the predator / prey ratio. At first, to me at least, this was a bit of a shock. How many aphids should be in the garden? My natural response was “NONE!” But that, it turns out, is also unnatural.

The beans grown in glasshouse,  were awash with Black Aphid larvae the first week of April. It seemed a dire situation but no one else seemed concerned. When I asked the head gardener about this, he explained that the crop was nearing it’s last winter harvest and was going to be allowed to flower and go to seed. For now we’d simply run our index finger and thumbs up the most infested stocks to squish the aphid larvae, overrun bean tips were to be removed and put into the compost. Although affective for the larvae stage, this is laborious.  Later the same day, our class went out into the nettles to hunt and capture Ladybugs.

Because nettles are one of the first greens of spring, overwintered Ladybugs seek them out as a first source of food. Over two hours we caught twenty. Ladybugs, it turns out are the organic gardeners natural ally against the Aphid. We then released them into the Aphid infested bean plot. Two weeks later, I noticed many tiny cocoons along the wooden skirt boards to the bean plot, Ladybug larvae.

Since an adequate food supply was available in the glasshouse, the Ladybugs stay their whole life cycle. This provides the gardener with a natural defense against Aphid.

Since an adequate food supply was available in the glasshouse, the Ladybugs stay their whole life cycle. This provides the gardener with a natural defense against Aphid.

By introducing the Ladybugs to the Glasshouse, we are able to aid in the balance of predator / prey relationship. If we had killed all of the Aphid larvae the food source for the Ladybug wouldn’t have been available and they would not have stayed. By providing a suitable environment for the Ladybug, including food, suitable pupation and hibernation areas,  she will then in turn and aid us in the long term pest management. There are many such relationships the organic gardener can cultivate with predator insects, all of which will improve your crops survival.

An important part of organic gardening is being able to identify which insects are the “good guys” and which are the ones you want to try and limit. Most children and adults can identify a 7-Spot Ladybug, I find the link below quite useful for identifying the larvae of others.

http://www.ladybird-survey.org/downloads/ladybird_larvae.pdf

*This article was originally published on a fabulous website called EatinsCanada.

The Wocesterberry, a beautiful yet forgotten treasure of the fruit world.

Fashion in gardening

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Fashion trends are inescapable. Ever present in our clothing choices and in our culinary exploits,  perhaps it was naive of me, but I for one did not anticipate that the humble garden  was also subject.

Last fall I was part of a team that pruned a long standing allotment. Over the years, various stewards of the space had planted and grown many bushes, fruits and flowers  and we were there to trim the growth back into a manageable and healthy state. It was that afternoon that I was introduced to the Worcesterberry tree. Being February, the squat little bushy tree was remarkably undistinguished. Whist pruning I found its thorns, but aside from making my task slightly more tricky, I didn’t give it much notice. Afterwards, curious about a tree I’d never encountered before, I asked around. Eventually, a vague description of “like a gooseberry crossed with a blackberry” became the consensus. I decided to plant one of the clippings to see for myself.

A year on and after much research, it seems Worcesterberry is considered it’s own species. Once prized as a valuable “guardian of the plot” owning to it’s dense thorny growth, it has fallen out of favour with the advent of easier to harvest thorn-less varieties.  While I do understand the logic, I also feel it’s a shame. To date I have only found one woman who still grew Worcesterberry in her garden and she admitted they had been her mothers doing over 40 years previous.

This year my little Worcesterberry  pruning has flowered for the first time. It’s quite remarkable and beautiful. I do not want it to be lost and forgotten because people found it “difficult”.

Losing any species be it plant or animal isn’t a good thing. Our world’s species, even the thorny ones, need guardians. I challenge you, go out find a forgotten out of favour species and become it’s champion. There are lots out there.

Perhaps, when my lovely Worcesterberry is too big for my roof I will cruise out of London and plant it in the wild.

*This article was originally published on a fabulous website called EatinsCanada.

These tomatoes have a bluish tinge to their leaves indicating they've depleted the nutrients in their potting soil.

Potting on Tomatoes

A month ago myself and several volunteers helped plant hundreds of Tumbling Tom and Golden Queen tomato seeds at Organic Lea. They will be both for the summer production on site and for the annual plant sales. For anyone who has ever eaten a perfectly ripe home grown tomato, it will come as no surprise that tomatoes are by far the most popular plants for home gardens in the UK.

These tomatoes have a bluish tinge to their leaves indicating they've depleted the nutrients in their potting soil.

These tomatoes have a bluish tinge to their leaves indicating they’ve depleted the nutrients in their potting soil.

The month old seedlings have really thrived in the three week warm spell we’ve been having and it was evident by the blueish tinge on their leaves that the nutrient in the seed compost was exhausted. It’s too early to put them in the ground, so potting on, into more nutrient rich potting compost was the only option. In order to avoid “leggy plants” each seedling is planted into the soil up to the first pair of leaves.

There’s really no excuse not to grow at least one tomato plant. Perhaps more than any other, tomatoes have a wealth of varieties to suit your available space, even a height restricted roof garden like mine has more than one option.

For three years now, I’ve planted heritage dwarf variety Tiny Tim (which grows to 30cm) and had exceptional results. They’ve got some lovely attributes aside from their stature. Firstly, for a tomato they’re remarkably un- fussy. These hardy plants do well in both sun and shade which works well since I am on the move. Secondly, despite their small size they really pack a huge sweet tomato flavour punch, meaning four or five picked and thrown into any dish makes an impact.

This year, just to try something different I’m planting Tumbling Toms from the plant sales.

Regardless of which variety you choose, your plant’s fruit will have flavours that far surpass their store bought brethren. With tomatoes we’re spoilt for choice and justly rewarded.

*This article was originally published on a fabulous website called EatinsCanada.