FOOD BOXES

I headed off to Belfast last week to visit some friends. For a few years now they have been on a council waiting list to acquire an allotment within walking distance from their house. This will allow them to grow their own organic vegetables. Like many areas that doesn’t have an abundance of spare land, these allotments are very much sought after. It could be years until one comes up (it would be a good idea to put children’s names on the list when they are born, that way they will probably get a plot before they retire)!

One thing that appeals to a lot of people about allotments is the sociable aspect. You could spend many a happy hour talking vegetables with your neighbour, swapping tips and cultivating new ideas.

Being self-sufficient with organically grown produce in the garden can’t be beaten. But if you have no interest in the fine art of growing your own, where can you get organically grown fruit and vegetables that haven’t been genetically tampered with? Most local shops, supermarkets and market stalls only sell a very small proportion of organic fruit and vegetables. This may be because people don’t ask for organic as it does tend to be more expensive. Another reason is that the produce may have imperfections on them such as scabs on apples and the odd slug tucked away on the underside of the leaves. Every year growers are improving their growing techniques to such an extent that you would be hard pressed to tell organic produce from chemical grown, apart from the taste of course. Prices too are coming down as the demand increases. Organic produce tends to be grown on a smaller scale than chemically grown plants and there are strict measures to make sure that the soil isn’t eroded from over cropping. I remember once driving through Lincolnshire in England and the effects of open field and intensive farming were devastating, the roads are up to six feet higher than the fields. When the roads were built they were on the same level, the soil has simply been blown away leaving an appearance of nothing more than a desert. The only way to grow vegetables in some of the worst effected areas is to add more chemicals as all the goodness has gone from the remaining inch or so of the soil.


In Ireland we’re limited by the amount of fruit and vegetables we can grow, as the season for growing is quite short (thankfully we still have soil though). In an environmentally perfect world we would all eat just the things that are growing around us. It would be pretty boring eating curly Kale all winter though! After saying that, here, up until recent history all people ate all year were spuds, there was no choice. Thankfully though, now we do have a choice it’s very popular to buy out of season crops from the shops, a punnet of strawberries to eat after your avocado salad in January for example. There are of course things that would be totally impractical to grow in our climate; the heating costs to grow things such as bananas and oranges would make the fruit far too expensive, the heating would be a pollutant too.

There was a report recently where a team calculated that the contents from just one pot of yoghurt combined had travelled more than 3000 miles to get to the table, which is a total waste of energy. The same goes for fruit and vegetables, some travel thousands of miles to get to us and of course the more it is handled the greater the cost to us, some products going through two or three distributors before the shop gets them.

FOOD BOXES

There has to be a happy balance to satisfy our varied taste for fruit and vegetables. One person that has done a lot of research on this subject is Thomas Becht. Thomas runs Donegal Organic Farm Produce based in Glenties. His company specialises in organic home delivery boxes. There are a number of vegetables that they grow themselves that are available at this time of year such as parsnips, leeks, turnips and even fennel, but to cater for customer demand Thomas sources products locally and from our European neighbours whilst trying to keep transport down to a minimum.
The boxes are made up to the customer’s specifications depending on what fruit and vegetables they like. They can include extras such as organic orange juice and if you’re really lucky the odd free-range egg from their hens. One advantage of these delivery boxes is that if you ask for a surprise box you will find yourself eating things that you wouldn’t normally buy. On Friday’s the company delivers around Donegal from Killybegs up to Dunfanaghy through Letterkenny and down to Donegal town. Unfortunately they don’t come up to Inishowen, it’s only a question of time though before we all realise that we are what we eat and that Inishowen needs a constant supply of organic fruit and vegetables.

Horticultural.

WEEDING

Photo: Alchemilla mollis (ladies mantle)

Photo: Young brambles could soon take over if not kept in check.

I’ve been doing some weeding this week - creating some room around small plants to give them a chance of survival in the flowerbeds. I must admit I don’t enjoy deciding which plants are weeds, after all a weed is just a plant in a place where I don’t want it to be. For example, Alchemilla mollis (Lady’s mantle) is an attractive plant sold at garden centres. Take your eye off it for a moment and before you know it, it’s taken over the garden and heading for the neighbours patch. O.K, it can be very effective ground cover but you may not want it covering all your ground! Weeds of any kind left unchecked in the garden can totally smother a flowerbed so in creating and maintaining your garden some weed control is necessary. Mind you, weeds can have their uses. For example, they are usually an accurate indicator of the condition of the soil. If Horsetail is a problem, then this is a sign that the ground is too wet and drainage is needed. Nettles tell us the soil is very fertile. The plant stores the nutrients from the soil in their leaves giving rise to the claim that one helping of nettle soup in spring gives your body enough iron to last the whole year. If annual weeds such as chickweed or groundsel are left to grow in the vegetable plot until they mature, then hacked down and left to rot, they will release nutrients back into the soil to feed the crop. The leaves lying on the ground also helps to keep plant roots cool and helps retain moisture too. The weeds should be chopped down before they go to seed though (and weeds such as dandelion, dock, bramble, Elder or Ash should be removed as soon as they’re spotted). This mulching means we escape the toil of fiddly weeding and we don't have to get the hosepipe out in a dry spell. So this summer, if you see my garden full of weeds, my story is that the weeds are working for me, making fertilizer and mulch, giving me plenty of time to sit back and relax on my comfy garden chair!

Weeds

Weeds can be divided into three groups,

Annual, Perennial and woody stemmed. Here are a few examples;

Annuals: Meadow Grass, Chickweed, fat hen.

Perennial: Ground Elder, Bindweed, Japanese Knotweed

Woody: Holly, Sycamore, Cotoneaster, and Ivy.

It would do no harm to look up the beneficial contents of the weeds before they are pulled up. I have a great book called The Wonder of Weeds and it makes for a very interesting read (I will let you know the author when I get the book out of a box in the attic!)


Types of weeding.

Hand weeding-Choose a dry day when the soil is moist and use a hand fork or trowel to help pull up the roots.

Smothering- Spread strong black plastic or old carpet over the soil. This will need to be in place for at least six months over spring and summer to work.

Digging out-Use a garden fork to remove the weeds, this method is effective for removing weeds with long taproots such as dandelion.

Hoeing-Pick a dry day to prevent half the soil in the garden sticking to the blade. There are three main types of hoe, one to push, one to chop and one to get into small areas. Once you get used to the one you have I’m sure all three movements can be achieved. Life is confusing enough as it is without having to decide on which hoe to work with.

Chemicals-The final resort. For large areas and ground preparation for lawns. Always identify the weeds before attempting to control them. Apply in spring or early summer for best results. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully.

Horticultural.

CROP ROTATION

Photo: Rhubarb can stay where it is when planning crop rotation.

My hard work preparing the vegetable patch in winter seems to have been worth while as it is weed free and ready for planting. The whole area was made into paths and raised beds and covered over with plastic to stop the weeds taking over before the vegetables go in. The paths were covered with a very good quality Axminster carpet and the beds were constructed out of old wood, the materials were all courtesy of the local land fill sites. I was tempted to pick up an old coffee table and settee to put on the carpet to look like a comfortable outside room but I don’t think that style of garden design has caught on yet!

Most of the vegetables that I’m growing this year have been started off under the protection of the propagator; this not only keeps the worst of the weather off them, but also stops the slugs from munching the tender new plants. There are a few seeds that I put straight into the garden such as carrots, parsnips, leeks and radishes that don’t transplant very well.

I’ve also planted my garlic and onions straight into the beds as these are grown from bulbs, but as for my cauliflowers, kale, broccoli, spinach, turnips, courgettes and peas I’m going to have to find the best areas I can find to plant them, most of the root vegetables such as carrot and beetroot don’t like to be put in soil that has recently been manured, which is causing a few problems for me as the raised beds are new and all of them contain some well rotted manure, I thought I might put them into my herbaceous borders this year to grow alongside the pansies while I come up with a crop rotation plan for next year.

CROP ROTATION

Vegetables shouldn’t be grown in the same spot year after year. If they are then two main problems arise. Firstly, soil-living pests and disease that thrive on the crop will increase in numbers. Secondly, continuous cropping with the same vegetable may lead to the levels of nutrients in the soil to become unbalanced. Therefore a simple crop rotation plan is needed to move the plants around every year. There can be an area in the plot for growing things that don’t need to move like asparagus and rhubarb, but for the rest of the patch a 3-year rotation plan can be drawn out. The main routine is this: Plant a root crop one year then an above ground crop the next then go back to root crop in the third year.

YEAR 1
ROOTS
BRASSICAS
OTHERS


YEAR 2
OTHERS
ROOTS
BRASSICAS

YEAR 3
BRASSICAS
OTHERS
ROOTS

YEAR 4
SAME AS
YEAR 1

Here’s a definition of the categories:

ROOTS: These are crops such as beetroot, carrot, Jerusalem artichoke, parsnip, potato and salsify (a bit like a skinny parsnip) For these crops no manure should be added and the ground doesn’t need to be limed. A general fertilizer could be raked into the soil 2 weeks before planting.

BRASSICAS: These are broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, radish, swede and turnip. Some well-rotted manure could be added and the soil can be limed unless you are sure that the soil is already alkaline (a soil testing kit will tell you this)

OTHERS: This area will cover beans, celery, cucumber, leaf beet, leek, lettuce, marrow, onion, peas spinach, sweet corn and tomatoes. In this year loads of well rotted manure can be added and lime if the soil is acid.

HORSETAIL UPDATE
A couple of weeks ago I asking if anyone had a solution to the invasive horsetail weed. I had a telephone call from a gardener in Carndonagh who may have found a solution (if you are organic and don’t use chemicals you can turn the page now if you like) The chemical is called Mortone it only comes in five litre containers and is available from the Co-op for around fifteen euros. Although it doesn’t mention the weed in the list of things it kills I’m told it does work.

Horticultural.

HAND WASHING

Last week I mentioned the fact that we are a nation of shopaholics and fizzy drink fanatics. This week we have been reminded that we are also a nation of people that don’t wash our hands properly. This might not come as a surprise to parents. As many have long suspected, kids really are strangers to soap. A survey by the food and drink federation has found almost half do not always wash their hands after they have been to the toilet at school or before eating, putting them at risk of food poisoning.


The most common reasons for not washing their hands were not having time, because the toilets were dirty or simply because they forgot.

The survey of over 500 teenagers aged 11 to 19 by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) found 40% of those who do always wash their hands don't always use soap.

Three quarters say they dry their hands on their clothes if in a hurry.

But the FDF warns 1,000 times as many germs are spread from damp hands than dry.



Over half the teenagers surveyed said they did not always wash their hands before eating lunch at school But many teenagers did know the rules about when they should wash their hands. Two thirds knew they should wash them after going to the toilet, and 41% that they should have clean hands before preparing food. But only a quarter knew they should wash their hands after touching raw meat and before touching other foods or utensils. Just one in three knew it was important to wash their hands after touching pets because they could harbour germs. This habit of poor hygiene generally carries on to adulthood.



HANDWASHING

Typically, people carry between 10,000 and 10 million bacteria on each hand. I was visiting a hospital recently where they have introduced alcohol washes at every ward door. These are supposed to kill off the deadly viruses that are around but they have been met with mixed feelings, as they don’t seem to kill of the viruses that are infesting hospitals.

Washing hands with soap and water is still best, but what kind of soap should you use? Most people are turning to antibacterial soaps but they too have their problems

Seven years ago, only a few dozen products containing antibacterial agents were being marketed for the home. Now more than 700 are available. We are being bombarded with ads for cleansers, soaps, toothbrushes, dishwashing detergents, and hand lotions, all containing antibacterial agents to kill off the “Superbugs” Germs have become the buzzword for a danger people want to eliminate from their surroundings. In response to these messages, we are buying antibacterial products because we think these offer health protection for our families. Among the newer products in the antibacterial craze are antibacterial window cleaner and antibacterial chopsticks. Antibacterial agents are now in plastic food storage containers in England. In Italy, antibacterial products are touted in public laundries. In America you can purchase a mattress completely impregnated with an antibacterial agent (so they will be here soon!). Whole bathrooms and bedrooms can be outfitted with products containing triclosan (a common antibacterial agent), including pillows, sheets, towels, and slippers. Antibacterial soaps are not only easier to locate than they were just a few years ago, in some cases, they are difficult to avoid. It's almost impossible to find non-antibacterial products in today's supermarkets and shops. Over 70 percent of the liquid soap you can buy now is labeled antibacterial.


While those selling the stuff would like us to believe that these products will reduce our chances of getting sick, whether or not that is the case is still in question. One test was carried out recently where chosen households were randomly assigned to use cleaning, laundry and hand washing products that contained antibacterial ingredients, or identical-looking products that did not have antibacterial ingredients.... At the end of 48 weeks, there was essentially no difference between the two groups in the seven infectious disease symptoms surveyed, including runny nose, cough, sore throat, vomiting and diarrhea. Doctors are particularly concerned that antibacterial soaps could be contributing to the growing problem of drug resistant bacteria. This may be because it is killing the weakest bacteria, leaving the tougher, hard-to-kill strains dominant. Overuse of antibiotics has led to the emergence of new bacterial strains that are largely untreatable because they are resistant to existing drugs.

The simple solution then is not to use antibacterial cleaners as a substitute for slapdash hand washing. Thorough washing in the cracks and crevices of the hand with natural soap will do a far better job!

Household,environmental.

FOUR BOXES

As we are on the subject of giving things away, now is a good time to sort out some of the junk that is lying about. A friend of mine adopts a four-box policy, which seems to work well in their house. The four categories for the boxes are

Cardboard, bottles, plastics etc -for the recycling centre

Give Away/Sell – for the charity shops or advertise in the local paper, Freecycle, when it’s set up (or e-bay)

Storage – things that you will need regularly.

Put away –things that you don’t want but do not like to get rid of (make this the smallest
category as things aren’t really any use stuck in a damp shed or attic).

Environmental.

FREECYCLE

Photo: That's not really what I meant by Freecycle.

(Click on the title for a link to the Freecycle site)


I joined Freecycle a couple of weeks ago. This is a free website membership to a worldwide idea, which started in 2003 to reduce waste pollution. The idea is that you join a group locally and then either give things away or get things for nothing. It’s a bit like a global LETS system. It is entirely non-profit making and relies on the communication between individuals and groups. I was a bit disappointed to find that there wasn’t a group in Inishowen, or Donegal for that matter, but there’s time yet. The areas that have set up networks In Ireland are: Cavan and Monaghan with 18 members, Cork with 50 members, Kerry with 22 members, Galway-71, Leinster area-1835, Mayo-17, Waterford-45 and Ennis with 350 members. Its not that many I know but the numbers are growing all of the time. I joined the Leinster area group because that’s where the most people were and where I though the most action would be. When I registered I opted for all e-mail transactions to be sent to me. So far I am receiving about forty messages a day, which is a bit much but I can alter this to just one message. I have found that the wants are a bit more substantial than the offers items. Examples of offers are old wardrobes, plant pots and fibre optic lights. The wants range from laptop computers to office space and boats. There will be a balance somewhere I suppose. If you are a good organiser, why don’t you set up an Inishowen site? You would have to work for nothing of course but you might keep some rubbish out of the landfills for a few years. Check out the site on freecycle.org. for more information.

Environmental.