Terry Marshall, long term supporter of Garden Organic and member of WYOG, is known to thousands of organic gardeners who may have heard him talk, perused his articles in the gardening press, or delved into his books on organic tomato growing.
Terry was recently featured in The Organic Way magazine, newsletter of Garden Organic, you can download a pdf version.
The All Party Parliamentary Group on Agroecology hosted an event in Westminster during October 2013 and released the report titled, ‘Mainstreaming Agroecology’, which is a collaborative project between Garden Organic and the Centre for Agroecology and Food Security (CAFS) at Coventry University. This report highlights the relevance of agroecology as a systems-level approach to food production, encompassing all its socio-economic and political dimensions, for meeting the goal of a more sustainable food system.
The speakers, including Dr Michel Pimbert, Director of CAFS, and Dr Ulrich Schmutz from Garden Organic, highlighted the need for more research into agroecological methods and extension systems, as well as the need to develop more participatory processes for decisions relating to how we grow our food. WEN intends to continue to be involved in discussions around food and farming as this issue grows in importance. The report can be accessed here.
Garden Organic have a news piece about their Bee campaign.
A 64,000 strong petition was handed in to Downing Street calling for the Government to deliver a Bee Action Plan as Part of Friends of the Earth’s Bee Cause campaign. Garden Organic is running a parallel campaign called Bee Heard.
Myles Bremner, Chief Executive of Garden Organic, said: “We’re delighted so many people feel as strongly as we do that urgent action must be taken to save British bees now. If the Government introduces a National Bee Action Plan it would also help to protect a whole range of other beneficial insects that are vital for organic gardens to thrive.”
The BBC has a nice interview with Pauline Pears, the longest serving member of Garden Organic and Editor of The Organic Way.
From the website “Pauline Pears started her career testing weedkillers, but in the late 1970s joined an embryonic group that was interested in growing plants without chemicals. Today, that group is known as Garden Organic and Pauline is officially the charity’s longest serving member. She’s editor of The Organic Way and here she shares her experience and best tips.”
Garden organic has a nice page with some general tips on how to move to organic gardening, which would be very useful if you if you know anyone who is thinking of stepping up to organic gardening.
You’ve bought your seeds and plants and want to ‘grow organic’; but what exactly does that involve? The Soil Association gives strict rules for commercial growers, but Garden Organic’s guidelines are aimed at domestic gardeners. They’re all too aware that sometimes, even with the best of intentions, life can get in the way of the amateur.
The basic thing to remember is that organic gardening should harness nature and contribute to a sustainable lifestyle. It should also be applied to the whole growing space as well as the plants, and to the ornamental as well as the practical.
The following are definite no-nos:
unnecessary cultivation
over-feeding
inefficient and wasteful watering or energy use
applying manure in late autumn and winter
using peat, coir, polluted or contaminated materials, manures from intensive or GM-fed livestock, compost activator containing artificial fertiliser, artificially produced nutrients, calcified seaweed, slaked lime, quicklime, soluble chemical fertilisers, synthetic hormone rooting powders, seeds, bulbs, sets or tubers treated with fungicide, hydroponics, copper-based or artificially produced fungicides, materials from unsustainable sources, pressure-treated or creosoted timber
But aspire to a halo with the following:
use recycled and home-produced tools and materials
buy quality hand tools and repair them
avoid powered tools and equipment
get to know your soil and grow plants that suit those conditions
keep soil covered with plants / green manure / organic mulch
where necessary, maintain your soil with home-made compost or bulky organic materials; in appropriate quantity and at the appropriate season
build soil fertility by growing nitrogen-fixing plants
recycle your organic kitchen and garden waste into compost and leaf mould depending only on what your land/household provides
use crop rotation and no-dig techniques, and keep soil cultivation to a minimum
don’t use animal carcass based fertiliser
don’t liquid feed in open ground
water the soil rather than the foliage, and only as appropriately required by the plant
collect rainwater and check for leaks
keep your lawn grass a bit longer and allow compatible weeds to grow to save on watering and to keep it greener in dry weather
sow or transplant just before rain is forecast, and protect young plants from sun and drying winds to conserve water
use home saved seed, home-grown transplants, and only buy seeds, tubers, sets, bulbs, plants and transplants carrying an approved organic certification body’s symbol
make your own potting compost and plant food, or buy product carrying an approved and certified organic symbol
grow varieties that resist pests and disease
avoid a specific pest or disease by choosing sowing and planting dates and techniques that reduce risk
grow a mix of plant types and varieties to reduce pest and disease risk, and leave ‘relaxed’ areas to provide for the needs of predators and wildlife
check plants regularly and use physical methods against pests and infections as they occur; e.g. squashing, picking off, traps, barriers
get to know the life cycles of pests and diseases and develop strategies to combat them
weed by hand, hoeing or digging out
use weed prevention techniques, and construct hard surfaces so they discourage weeds taking hold
trap the sun and use and conserve solar and natural energy; e.g. lean-to greenhouses and water tanks hold heat, hot beds give heat, insulation saves heat.
grow seasonally to avoid the need for extra artificial warmth and light
store using clamps or other traditional preserving methods
accept that wood rots and choose naturally resistant species of wood as a replacement
clean using steam / hot water / scrubbing / a high pressure hose
What lies in-between
is usually acceptable, and a lot of us spend our time aspiring to a halo by doing the best we can. If you’d like any explanations, or have questions, pop over to the forums.
We held a Plant Stall at Saltaire Famers Market on Saturday 16th May.
Thanks to everyone who helped in any way towards the success of our plant sale on a wet Saturday in Saltaire – helpers, growers, customers, we made a profit of over £210 which was an excellent result. This will be divided between WYOG and Garden Organic.