May 2011: Staking A Claim
We finally got our new field entrance completed after a lengthy planning process and can now safely access our own land. The whole field we mowed before neighbour Bill did some very neat ploughing in of the surface material.
The very dry conditions have meant a quick start to cultivating a tilth or fine surface. We are working on an initial one acre block of mixed vegetable crops as well as a small nursery bed area.The remainder of the site will go under a green manure mix until at least next Spring, locking up existing nutrients, adding some more and breaking up the subsoil below.
Small areas allow for machinery storage, composting and a shady triangle at the top of the site. This gives a refreshing view of the waves crashing on to Poppit Sands where the Teifi meets the sea.
Much remains to be done before crops go on sale in late July, but the whole area feels full of Spring life.Our hedgerows are particularly full of Blackthorn blossom and busy small birds.
We have limed to counteract the essentially acidic soil typical of north Pembrokeshire and we also expect the increasingly biologically active conditions to aid a higher pH. Most vegetable plants are happier north of pH 6.
Our Plan A fertility source for this year, from the local horse sanctuary, has proved two things, firstly their horses are well bedded but secondly we may have more straw than shit. A longer term plan of composting wood chips and green material in windrows may hinge on being able to afford a compost turner, still a machine rare on farm sites in the UK. We would certainly like to be able to aquire or rent more land nearby for cultivation as well as tree planting.
Our intent remains the same as several years ago, namely producing crops matched to local conditions but also selling and showcasing ni due course other crops and foodstuffs from the region - in this case SW Wales or the old area of Dyfed.
The climatic range of Pembrokeshire particularly makes the potential of a Fife Diet approach significant. Reasonable soils and some relatively dry coastal areas also help.The image of wet West Wales is particularly misleading for visitors to the seaside (Cardigan has around 35'' of rain per year, while parts of coastal S.Pembs are below 30'').
Our area is dominated by a Tesco store selling perhaps 90% of groceries consumed. Both it and an Aldi nearby have fruit and vegetable offers full of lines from South Spain and S.Lincolnshire. The former is notorious now for use of very cheap labour with EU regulation losing its slight hold under the weight of desperate migrants, while the area around the Wash is highly mechanised but very dependent on oil based inputs.Both regions are a long way from the sustainable approach of Organic farming. A simple definition of sustainable might be "do we end a season's cropping with more or less soil than we started with?".
The need to earn a living, as well as having a social agenda, keeps us focused. While some hefty lottery origins monies have made their way to "local food projects" in England, results seem very patchy and a question asked by Jenny Hall at a presentation several years ago seems pertinent: namely was the amount of extra food produced to be measured in any way? One might also include any social benefits provided.
One can hope that among the current crop of new CSA schemes, some go on to impact on their catchment permanently, but grant aid seems a very double edged sword. Policy measures seem far more important and remain largely unfavourable to horticulture,even in Wales.
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