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Newsletter - Winter 2013
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How does your garden grow, Futurefarms?
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We are sometimes asked how we manage to grow vegetables without chemicals to deal with pests and diseases, so here is a quick explanation of growing vegetables the Futurefarms way.
We always try to grow plants that are well suited to our climate and soil. If a plant is happy in its environment it will grow well and be less likely to succumb to pests and diseases. Where possible we grow varieties that are resistant.
Then we carefully choose the times of year we grow things. For example it is possible to grow salad rocket throughout the year but if you grow it in summer you will have leaves full of holes courtesy of the flea beetle. It is far better at this time of year to grow lettuce, which enjoys the summer warmth far more than cool and damp autumn days.
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We do our best to provide a properly “balanced diet” by feeding organic composts and manures. Crops are moved around the plot on a 4 to 8 year rotation meaning that pests and diseases do not build up in the soil. Sufficient water is essential: our tomato seedlings will get greenfly without fail if they are thirsty, but with plenty of water they will be untroubled by pests.
We use preventative measures, such as fine mesh covers, which protect crops from pests like pigeons, deer, caterpillars and carrot fly. We pinch out the tops
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of broad beans once beans start to form, which reliably prevents black fly that would otherwise be guaranteed to ruin the crop. Mildew attacks our onions if August is wet (so that’s pretty much every year!) and can reduce an entire crop to a slimy mess, but whipping the mature bulbs out of the ground at the first sign of attack will save them.
Prevention is always better than cure but when pests attack we avoid using chemicals where possible. We do use slug pellets but only those approved for organic use (and this is the only chemical treatment that we use). In the polytunnel we use insect predators to deal with red spider mite.
And finally, sometimes you have to just put up with a bit of damage to a vegetable – after all you’re going to eat it, not hang it on your wall! At least you always know that a Futurefarmed vegetable is full of goodness, untouched by chemical sprays and just as nature intended.
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Water, water everywhere...
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As I write this, the lower part of the pig pen is no longer ankle deep in water, only mud. The pigs can escape to higher ground but access for humans and vehicles is still difficult!
Harsh frosts are now forecast which may cause more problems for our animals and the people looking after them. There is a network of pipes, hoses and manifolds which provide fresh water for the pigs and chickens 24 hours a day. The flow of water stops when it freezes. Each warm chicken hut has a storage tank with enough water for several days’ supply and an old fence post can be used to break the ice on the pig trough. The problem gets worse if the temperature stays below freezing for several days. We have to store water in plastic bins inside the huts or haul it up the hill in a large tank in the back of my car. The table chickens were especially thirsty so am glad that the days are gone when I had to pump 5 gallons a day into each of the 5 hut tanks!
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Futurefarms AGM
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The AGM of Futurefarms Martin Ltd. is to be held on Thursday 21st.February at 7:30pm at Blandford Hall, Martin. Following the business there will be drinks and refreshments and a talk by the photographer, Ken Leslie.
All welcome; members and non-members!
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Recipes for seasonal produce
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Belly of Pork Casserole
1 lb. Belly of Pork
2 tabs Tomato paste
1 onion
1 stock cube
1 apple
pint hot water
Salt and pepper
Few sage leaves
Peel and slice the apple and onion, lay in the bottom of a casserole dish. Place the cubed meat on top. Combine the hot water, tomato paste, stock cube and seasoning. Pour over the meat. Cover and cook at mark 4/3500f/1800c for 2 hours.
(Recipe from Meat Budget Cookery Service. 1942)
Pork and Celery Casserole
1lb Pork
1 head of celery
3 onions
1oz butter/dripping
1 tabs flour
of stock
8 oz soaked haricot beans or 1 drained can
Salt, pepper, paprika, bay leaf.
Coarsely chop pork and onions. Fry until browned, stir in flour, add stock and seasoning. Chop celery and add to meat. Add beans. Ensure that beans are covered by the stock. Bake at Gas 4/3500f/1800c for an hour or so.
Barley Kale Soup
2oz pearl barley
1 quart stock
1lb kale
3 leeks
Salt and pepper
Meat bones (mutton, lamb,beef, chicken)
Put the barley, stock, bones and scraps to simmer for 1 hour. Add kale and leeks, washed and shredded. Simmer until the vegetables are tender. Then season to taste. Remove bones (or not) before serving.
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