LINKS and RESOURCES
The Glebelands-Unicorn model: an article about Glebelands from Unicorn website
Unicorn's own website
Glebelands City Growers - new producers on Sale site
Growing - technical information
The Organic Growers Alliance website, complete with a forum for discussion around commercial horticulture, various technical articles and magazine, of interest to all growers, commercial and home
Vegetable growing information also available from from Garden Organic (formerly HDRA) Organic Vegetable Systems studies- case studies/weed control/machinery/varieties/etc
Technical information also on Soil Association site, including factsheets
The Rodale Institute in the US, the New Farm's inspiring site with a newletter and plenty of postitive info on organic farming in the US and worldwide
Their New Farm forum has a huge amount of useful information
The National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA), also from the US, has loads of downloadable technical information
The Dept of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland has some useful information on organic horticulture
See the weekly newsletter from Riverford Farm for horticultural commercial realities and up to date field news
For reference, anything by Joy Larkcom, especially Grow Your Own Vegetables (Frances Lincoln) - no glossy photos, just lots of invaluable advice on planning/sowing dates/harvesting/watering etc for a range of vegetables, all packed into one very reasonably priced paperback.
Also see Eliot Coleman: books, especially The New Organic Grower and website: theory on growing, freshness and eco-ness of it all.
See also the websites of experienced UK growers Jenny Hall ( of Sow and Grow Organics) and Iain Tolhurst (of Tolhurst Organic Produce), who have published a useful reference book, Growing Green
It is important to keep referring back to the principles behind organic agriculture and horticulture - for example to forestall any attempts to "water down" standards or deal with potentially woolly ideas about substituting ill-defined words like "sustainable" for "organic". Albert Howard was one of the most important founders of the organic movement - more information about him here!
Horticultural Supplies
LBS (Mail order catalogue). Huge range of equipment.
Agralan (mail order). Fleece/mesh.
Eco Issues
See the End of Suburbia (DVD) for some scary realism about oil (we're running out of it fast).
A positive documentary about a post oil future: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil (DVD)
Sustain - the Alliance for Better Food and Farming - website/reports/campaigns. See particularly their seminal report on oil and food, Eating Oil
Jared Diamond (books).”Collapse” despite unfortunate title seminal work.
"Empires of Food" Evan Fraser and Andrew Rimas. Taking up some Jared Diamond thinking but adding, concisely, a lot more history. Great on Fritz Harber(-Bosch), Rome and living off the family silver.
Food Security in Britain - a Soil Association report
Some writers and commentators:
Colin Tudge (books/articles) on food and farming. Some articles from the New Statesman and The Guardian
Tim Lang (books/articles): Up to the minute stuff from the food industry globally, including an interesting Schumacher lecture.
Tim O’Riordan (books).Environmental matters and theory.
The Food Programme (Radio 4): Sometimes very on track, bring on the new Derick Cooper!
Economic issues
See Housepricecrash.co.uk - for a lively discussion around what's happening now and what's likely to happen next...
Travel
www.seat61.com - travel without planes (see http://www.planestupid.com/)
wwoof - work on organic farms and smallholdings in exchange for food, accommodation and learning opportunities...(but don't go by plane...)
helpex - includes opportunities to volunteer on organic farms etc (but not by plane!)
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