I thought I better put a post in as the last one is about Christmas trees! It has been a brilliant winter, spring and summer (so far). The plants we have grown all seem to be a big hit. I do a lot of markets and the solid reaction I get for fruit trees, tomatoes, chillies and herbs is ‘they are doing really well’. I don’t know why I am surprised, the plants are slow grown, they are weathered and acclimatised.. some bugs have had a nibble.. so they are ready to plant and the advice I try to give seems to work.
We did a interview for Faversham life – https://favershamlife.org/edibleculture/ and I seem to go on about imported plants, we have a few imported plants like Kiwi and Lingonberry (which we have propagated from) but my bugbear is fully in bloom trolleys of plants from Holland or Italy rolling off the lorry straight in to market or garden centre.
No acclimatisation or consideration for carbon footprint.. I wonder what value they have? Is it a plant likely to survive? the fact people are buying plants is positive? Is because I am so close to the growing process I am being to fervent.. to sandle wearing, righteous and a snob.. maybe. People get real pleasure from the purchase, the setting in position.. years of healthy growth and a talking point for visitors.. maybe. I do hope so, but the truth could be not that positive.
A UK based nursery industry with strong ethics regarding what they grow and how things are grown will be a necessity as resources dwindle, I hold my hands up and say I start propagating chillies in January, I use a tiny amount of electricity to achieve some really big plants, these are not native to the UK but what I have found is they love growing outdoors, so long warmish damp summers suit outdoor chilli growth.
Main points I have to remind myself about why we started Edibleculture was.. To enjoy what we do, promote low impact growing, make people consider diversity in food growth and how this can enrich what we eat and keep learning.
