Grow Organic Food

Still heading towards the ‘perfect storm’

Colin — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 08:52:56 +0000

It is over two and half years since The Guardian published an article about the ‘perfect storm’ facing food production. With the World preoccupied by financial problems the dire predictions about threats to food supplies have been lost or forgotten.

While the financial crisis is taking so much time and attention it is easy, and convenient, to forget about bigger and more difficult issue. Yet in the time since the first articles millions of people have faced hunger and starvation.

Today is World Food Day, a good time to revisit the wider issues. The financial situation is important but solutions to the debt problems in the developed world will do little to feed people in countries where food is scarce. As a nation we ignore these issues at out peril because there can be no stability in the World when people are starving and fighting for food.

In the UK there are been little or no progress towards greater food security. Food prices are increasing and will continue to do so over the coming years. No government has taken the issue seriously maybe because it is too difficult to imagine food being scarce in a country where an increasing proportion of the population is either obese or heading that way

Something needs to happen quickly. One answer is more small scale growing which is something I close to my heart. Lets do something; grow more food, stop importing it from developing countries and create a stronger more resilient food supply for all the World.

Smelly food waste and broken promises

Colin — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 06:49:23 +0000

Over the last few years there have been big moves in the UK to reduce and recycle food waste. People have become more aware of the need to buy only what is needed and of ways to use up surplus food.

During the Conservative party conference a pledge was made to use up to £250m to ensure that weekly bin collections were maintained. Yesterday David Cameron said that weekly collections should be the norm in ‘civilised societies’ and referred to “smelly food waste”.

In another move there is to be a consultation on raising the speed limit on motorways to 80mph on the premise that cutting journey times will save money. The government obviously forgot to mention that an increase in speed means more fuel is used and more CO2 is produced.

At 60mph the fuel consumption was 52 mpg
At 70mph the fuel consumption was 45 mpg
At 80mph the fuel consumption was 38 mpg

[From: touchstoneblog.org.uk/2011/09/co2-up-roads-death-up-philip-hammond%E2%80%99s-plan-to-raise-the-speed-limit/]

On a Transit 260 or 280S 2.2-litre 85PS low-roof van, for example, driving 10mph below the motorway limit could save more than 19 per cent on fuel consumption at cruising speeds – alongside a similar percentage cut in CO2 emissions.
[From:www.green-car-guide.com/speed-limited-transit-lowers-costs-and-emissions.html]

In a cynical attempt to win the “motorists’ vote” our government has in one fell swoop increased our dependence on imported oil, increased the risk of road casualties, increased CO2 emissions and given a boost to destructive Arctic oil drilling. Well done Mr Hammond.
[From: http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/climate/governments-wrong-turn-80mph-20110930]

Yesterday George Osborne said he would abandon the CO2 reduction targets set by the last government on the grounds that it would help business. He also trotted the well worn argument used by George Bush when he was US president – that developing countries like India and China are producing much more CO2 that we are and are not doing much to mitigate climate change so why should we be so proactive.

Apart from the almost childlike sulk inherent in this argument it is clear that Osborne is ready to ditch climate change in favour of purely business interests. Of course he will get support because cutting emissions is not easy and it eats into profits yet the consequences of doing nothing will leave a huge problem for future generations and cost massive amounts to put right but that will be well after the next election!

What is obvious from the announcements made by the Conservatives over the last week is that their commitment to making this the greenest government ever has been shown for what it was, a cynical vote winner.

What can we do? Compost your food waste as it is too valuable to throw away. To help we are about to start of project looking at easy and successful ways to compost kitchen waste so watch out for news on this in the next few weeks.

Everybody can reduce their CO2 emissions by using cars less, turning down central heating and generally looking at our own lifestyles to reduce consumption of everything. That not only saves on CO2 emissions but saves money too.

The other thing we can do is voice out concerns about what appears to be the wholesale abandonment of the green policies that we were promised by David Cameron. Make your feelings know, write to your MP, ask the difficult questions.

Most of all keep growing you own food, spread the word to encourage others, involve your local school and do anything you can to help family, friends and neighbours to see the benefits of eating home grown fresh food.

Safe herbicide?

Colin — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 13:21:06 +0000

Like many people, I once believed in the safety of RoundUp. Back in the 1980s when I was a young graduate student in ecology, it was the “safe” herbicide of choice for clearing weeds from study plots.

Monsanto would like us to continue to believe their flagship product is safe, but the data are increasingly saying otherwise. The latest? Widespread exposure is a near certainty, since RoundUp — now linked to birth defects — shows up regularly in our water and air.

Glyphosate, RoundUp’s active ingredient, was found in every stream studied and in most air samples taken in a recent study conducted by government researchers in Mississippi and Iowa. And it’s undoubtedly in other states too. Across the U.S. it’s used commonly on corn, soybeans, cotton and rice, to the tune of 180-185 millions of pounds in 2007 — more tonnage than any other pesticide.

And that’s only use on farms. RoundUp is also the second most commonly used pesticide in homes and gardens across the country.

The above is from the ‘GroundTruth’ blog. The article goes on to give more information about the dangers of glyphosate based herbicides. It is all too easy to reach for the quick fix and many still believe that these products become inert as soon as they touch soil. There is a wealth of evidence to show they are not as benign as the manufacturers want us to believe. The answer is simple, do not use them.

A difficult gardening year

Colin — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 08:03:45 +0000

The weather has made this a difficult year for gardeners. The prolonged drought and cool summer caused stress to many plants and reduced yields. As usual there are winners and losers.

We cut back the number of potatoes planted this year from two 15ft x 4ft (4.6m x 1.2m) to just one bed because last year we the harvest from the two beds was ~ 200lbs (91kgs) which was far too many. This year we had 130lbs (59kg) from one bed. The bed was planted with 19 tubers, the variety is Sarpo Mira which we really like. The ~30% increase in yield was unexpected.

Some crops failed while others just did not do well. Dwarf French beans did not germinate while the carrots in one bed germinated but suffered continual attacks from voles who undermined the roots and generally disturbed the seedlings. Now they are eating the carrots!

Tender crops like sweetcorn suffered a double whammy by not liking the lower temperatures and suffering from the drought. We have watered them but obviously not enough.

The major disappointment of the season is onion white rot in two beds. It affected about half the main crop onions and some of the square metre bed crop.

Overall a difficult year with the usual successes and failures that makes gardening so ‘interesting’!

World food day 16 October 2011

Colin — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 08:46:22 +0000

The aim of the Day is to heighten public awareness of the world food problem and strengthen solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty. In 1980, the General Assembly endorsed observance of the Day in consideration of the fact that “food is a requisite for human survival and well-being and a fundamental human necessity”

More information – http://www.fao.org/getinvolved/worldfoodday/en/

Organic food

Colin — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 08:22:49 +0000

The debate about the merits of organic food seems popular again. Nothing much has changed and the same old arguments, myths and lies are being trotted out. The most popular is that organic food is more expensive and in a time of dire financial trouble it is not worth spending the extra. This is often linked to the comments of the Food Standards Agency, FSA, who said that organic food is no better than the conventional stuff.

Organic food is widely available in many supermarkets; sometimes there is a small price difference but generally there is no premium. The big exception is meat. Organically produced meat is often significantly more expensive that the factory farmed version. Why? Because organic meat costs much more to produce in terms of labour and feed costs. Unlike factory farmed meat which comes from countries where labour is cheap and welfare standards are low.

In the UK there have been recent campaigns against the £1 chicken imported from the far east. Some consumers are quite happy to spend so little but you get what you pay for. In the UK and EU it is illegal to pump animals full of chemicals to make then grow faster. Is there any such regulation on imports? Who checks?

Second, when the FSA was headed by Sir John Crebbs they produced a report that stated there was no difference between organic food and the other stuff. It ignored a lot of research from around the world that proved exactly the opposite. In the UK Newcastle University found that organic milk was higher in vitamins and minerals and omega 3 in particular. It was also lower in saturated fats.

In other research there is clear evidence that organic food is better:

There are more than 30 studies comparing the nutrient content of organic crops and those produced conventionally with chemical fertilizers and pesticides. In these studies, various individual nutrients in individual crops were compared, such as zinc in organic versus conventional carrots, or vitamin C in organic versus conventional broccoli. In the more than 300 comparisons performed in these studies, organic crops had a higher nutrient content about 40% of the time, and conventional crops had a higher nutrient content only about 15% of the time. Overall, organic crops had an equal or higher nutrient content about 85% of the time. These results suggest that, on average, organic crops have a higher nutrient content. [ “Effect of Agricultural Methods on Nutritional Quality: A Comparison of Organic with Conventional Crops” by Dr V. Worthington]

Why is the nutrient content or organic food higher? The answer is simple, because organic growers produce healthy soils full or organic matter where plants grow strongly and are able to make best use of the soil. In conventional agriculture the emphasis is on fast growth produced by the application of chemical fertilizers. When you do that year on year soils become depleted and unhealthy and nutrient levels fall.

The best example of the effects of years of high input chemical growing can be found in UK government statistics which documented the nutrient levels of fresh foods over many years. The results showed that the nutrient levels in common fruit and veg fell by as much as 70% over 50 years. This information is freely available, search for McCance and Widdowson, the two scientists who conducted the studies. A summary (PDF file) of the report is available here.

For me this is enough evidence that organic food is better. It is how my father grew fruit and veg. More importantly is how food SHOULD be grown.

I have said for many years that it is not difficult to grow your own organically in even the smallest of gardens. In trials we have shown that it is possible to grow crops in 1m square beds and achieve consistent yields of around 9kg per bed. (See this page for more information.)

Want to grow food but can’t wait 4-40 years for an allotment?

Colin — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 16:36:12 +0000

With the ever increasing waiting list for allotments there has to be an alternative to waiting 4 – 40 years to grow your own food. The average waiting list in many parts of the UK is around 4 years. In some parts of London it is 40+ years. But why wait when there is a way of achieving high yields from small beds?

That is the challenge taken up by Bakewell & District Organic Gardeners with the launch of the Micro Bed Gardening Project yesterday. The aim is to encourage more people to grow food by starting with small raised beds just 1m square. Following from successful trials over the last two years the project web site will help people replicate the amazing results achieved.

Newcomers will be guided through the whole process by a step-by-step guide and an online library of linked articles. There is information on all stages from selecting a site, creating beds, sowing seeds and harvesting the crops. Sample planting plans are provided.

If you do not have a garden you can grow food in containers. Again step- by-step instructions and continuing support will be available via the web site.

Although based in Derbyshire anybody anywhere can sign up and the first 50 people revive a 50% discount on the subscription.

For more details see http://badog.org.uk/micro-gardening

Is spring is just round the corner?

Colin — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 07:56:07 +0000

With the days getting longer and the constant reminders that it is time to start sowing seeds anybody would think that spring has arrived. There are endless articles in magazines about what to grow this year and last weekend one garden writer said it was time to sow tomato seeds. While this is perfectly possible if you have a heated propagator in a heated greenhouse and extra lighting I would suggest that it is far too early as you will need heat and light for 2-3 months and that it both expensive and unsustainable.

Here in the ‘frozen north’ we do not plant out tomatoes and other of more delicate plants like courgettes, squash, dwarf French beans and sweetcorn until early May. So if you sowed the seeds now that would mean holding them in pots in a warm, light place for three months which is not good for the plants or you bank balence

Sowing seeds outside in February is also daft. The winter has been hard and the last time I looked at the soil it was frozen to a depth of maybe 2-3 inches ( 10-15cms). Obviously most seeds will not germinate at those sorts of temperatures yet we are constantly told that February is the month to sow parsnips. Many gardeners complain that parsnips are difficult to grow and, you guessed it, when asked they say they sow in February. I cannot understand why the seed companies and garden journalists recommend such early sowings.

The best way to sow at the right time is to know your own plot. Some gardens are colder than others and after a few seasons you will come to know what works for you. Take into account variations in the weather as after a very cold spell it will take a while for the ground to warm up.

The second tip is to measure the soil temperature and then find the minimum germination temp for the seeds you want to sow. See our germination temperature chart here.

My last tip is to be patient. We all want to start sowing seeds but if you get carried away and start too early there will be failures. Wait until conditions are right and you will have good crops of strong healthy plants.

GM food or die?

Colin — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 08:34:57 +0000

A major new report on the impending world food crisis was published today. While it is good to see the problems are being faced the author of the report, John Beddington, repeats the same old rhetoric that GM is the only way to solve the problem.

In an article in The Observer yesterday he is reported to have said that any objection to the use of GM is no longer valid on ethical and moral grounds. So, if we object the use of unproven and potentially dangerous products we are now unethical and immoral?

The argument is that by objecting to GM people will starve and the objectors will be responsible. Agrochemical companies, and their supporters, will use any way they can to further their cause and moral blackmail is their latest ploy.

The facts are clear; GM has never been used to ‘feed the world’ but is there to increase the profits of a very small number of multinational agrochemical companies. GM locks us into the unsustainable agrochemical industry which is part of the problem and not the solution. GM side effects are drastically played down and any opposition to the companies peddling GM products is ruthlessly eliminated.

Beddington was on UK TV today saying that we have to act now and cannot wait 20 years for a solution. On that we agree and, as I have said many times before, the answer is political. We have the means to grow huge amounts of food sustainably, now, but politicians refuse to act. We have the ability to make the UK far more self-sufficient in food but politicians choose to follow the free market model where countries grow what makes the best profit.

The same applies to the developing world. Does it make sense to import green beans from Africa rather than encourage countries to be self-sufficient? The argument is that with the money earned from exports they can buy food. How does that work when a lot of the growing is controlled by companies from the West?

The other major political step to take is to end financial speculation of food. Governments around the world cannot agree to curb banks excessive profits and bonusues so it is unlikely that they would even suggest ending profiteering from speculaion on food.

GM is not the answer and will only serve to prop up the strangle hold that the agrochemical companies have on the world food supply. Is it right that we should force a rotten system on developing countries under a smoke screen of ‘feeding the world’ when the main intent is further exploitation to make higher profits?

World food prices rise again

Colin — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 21:44:59 +0000

There have been several items on UK TV news about the increase in world food prices. The reports follow the usual pattern by referring the Australian floods, the Russian drought and in increase in demand from India and China. The idea that all of the problems are external, and out of our control, will be repeated in other wealthy countries.

While extreme weather events do have a profound effect there is little or no mention of the major cause of price increases – speculation. Basic food commodities are traded on the futures market like gold, silver and other precious metals. If speculators see a profit in buying next years harvest before it has even been sown they will. The idea is to grab enough of a basic foodstuff like wheat or soya so as to restrict demand on the open market. That forces up the world price enabling a profit to be made.

Some see this as ‘good business’. Being able to manipulate the markets is said to be part of a free economy but one person’s profit is misery to millions of others who cannot afford to eat.

Then there is the increasing amount of grain diverted from food production to biofuels. In the US this was hailed as a way to help avoid reliance on oil from other countries. The unintended consequence is to place staple foodstuffs out of reach of millions of poorer people.

Have we lost all sense of justice? Have we, as a society, degenerated to such a low level that we happily let a few make huge profits at the expense of the most vulnerable people in the world? I fear the answer to all those questions is a resounding YES!