OTTER VALLEY HARVEST HUB

Devon Kiwis

2010-11-23T21:42:00.000Z

Its November and time to harvest the kiwis from the greenhouse- they're the same size as they were a couple of months ago and we've had 2 frosts already. In my Internet search for advice on harvesting dates for these fruit I come across information on red and purple kiwis, hardy kiwis and the Chinese egg gooseberry! They're all Actinidia species but different varieties. But I could find precious little of relevance to us here in Devon. So I have assumed what is right for gardeners in the US's milder climes is probably not far wrong for us.

Of the 100 fruit I harvested, I have tried 2 so far which havn't been sweet but aren't sharp either. They are put in the fridge first for about 2 weeks and then placed somewhere fairly warm for a couple of days- this ripens them.

And, on the subject of fruit I am developing a taste for dried apple rings-- home-grown of course. Slicing the apples about 1/4 inch thick, then dowsing in a solution of lemon juice with a little sugar (this stops them browning), they are then placed singly on a wire tray above the wood stove. Although the flavour is not strong, I find dried apple rings most pleasant- especially in muesli and certainly is a better option than composting all those fallen fruit in the autumn.

2010-11-09T13:18:00.001Z

Otter Valley Harvest Hub, represented by Phil, travelled to the Wayfield Gathering- a local permaculture festival held on land near Kingsbridge. In the spirit of permaculture, some of our fresh produce was available for sale or barter. In the event, almost all the fresh tomatoes, beans, onions and salads went. Some of the many attractions over the weekend were a demo of apple pressing using a custom-made press; another demo showing how to make a Rocket stove and music by Three Radicals (Totnes- see http://www.thethreeradicals.co.uk/

Cat deserves a vote of thanks for organising this weekend- and what a pity more people didn't turn up....

These are some of the many, many beans we harvested to keep for the winter and for seed. here you can see Borlotti, Blue Lake (climber), Safari (dwarf), and Enorma (runner) beans. For me, this has been the best bean year with good crops right through till October. The Borlotti has especially done well with plentiful whole pods, fresh bean "seed" and seed for drying and for sowing next year.

Again, tomatoes have done exceptionally well this year and having bottled kilos of them, and exhausted my supply of Kilner and Le Pratique storage jars the rest were dried over my woodburner and preserved in olive oil with garlic for good measure.

Meanwhile, on the grain front, our first year's experiment in growing grain has yielded this crop of Amaranth. After picking the flower heads, threshing, then winowing (photo, above, left), about 1lb of grain was obtained. Hardly a bumper crop, but now I know some of the pitfalls of small-scale grain growing. Many of the principles outlined in the book Small Scale Grain Raising by Gene Logsdon also apply to Amaranth but have to be adapted to suit our temperate climate. In particular, we will need to sow and plant out much earlier to allow for the longest possible growing season and, critically, harvest the flower heads at the optimum point in terms of grain ripeness.

And the last of our Open Days saw us demonstrate the art and science of apple juicing. Having harvested a range of apple varieties including Black Dabinett, Hangy Down and Northwood, they were washed, shredded and then

pressed making a delicious, sweet juice. Justin polished off the event by sterilising some bottles for longer-term storage.

Quality, not quantity

2010-09-05T09:43:00.003+01:00

Oliver Hansdcombe (Olli) amongst the amaranths

August Bank holiday saw the welcome return of Olli, that indefatigable WWOOFer, to the Harvest Hub. Olli has been organising WWOOF-teams to descend on permaculture projects around Devon and Somerset and the Hub was part of his last outing . After promoting the weekend around local Transition Town groups and the like it was sad that only 2 others took up the offer. Nevertheless, it was great to have Suzannah and Elena from TT Taunton helping out, and exchanging notes on everything from home-education to TV culture and co-housing.

Olli, Elena and Suzannah at the Hub

One of the topics of conversation that Sunday was the peculiar growth pattern of the amaranths and sweet corn at the southern boundary of the garden. The plants gradually, but very markedly get smaller towards the boundary netting, with no obvious limiting factors to growth being evident. If anyone has any answers to this puzzle I would be delighted to hear from them.

Talking of amaranths, I should explain that I am growing them at the Hub to determine the viability of growing amaranth for its grain which is high in protein. Although amaranths are often grown for their edible leaves which can be used as CCA, the varieties grown at the Hub are specifically grain amaranths such as Amaranthus caudatus (Love lies bleeding)

Isn't nature amazing! These are Yugoslavian finger gourds which attracted my attention whilst on a visit recently to Wrington walled garden, near Bristol. Apart from these gourds, this is a fascinating place to see, with its Cider House, apple press and artists' studios. And as someone who has to avoid wheat but loves cakes of all sorts, I am always impressed when a gluten-free alternative is available- and delicious it was to boot!

And what would you think this is? It appeared amongst my Uchiki kuri, Sweet dumpling and Turks Turban squash. Apparently it is a snake gourd (Cucuzzi carazazzi) and not a zuchini as one might imagine. There is a fascinating article on it here: http://www.liseed.org/rambl_oddsquash.html

JULY is here

2010-07-04T00:29:00.001+01:00

After about 3 weeks of sunshine and no rain, last week saw a break in the pattern- we had rain. I love the sun and the heat but it does mean gardeners have to spend a lot of time on the end of a hose! And as the temperature only dropped in the late evening, this is when the watering has to be done. Especially thirsty are the greenhouse plants as it has reached well into the 30's during recent weeks. Here we have our beautiful kiwis proving the books wrong- you don't have to wait 3 or 4 years to get fruit- these climbers were planted last year!

Some of the hard graft in the walled garden has been shared this month by a volunteer from Brazil- Jose. Having spent 25 years in the computer business he recently decided he needed a change and wanted to develop some practical skills. Jose enlisted with WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) and the first host to accept him was the Hub. In case you don't know about WWOOF, its an excellent organisation, bringing together young and old of all nationalities, townies and growers enabling novices to gain experience of organic farming and horticulture but without any cash exchanging hands. The host has to provide food and accommodation, and the visitor works according to a pre-arranged routine. Having been a WWOOFer in my 20's I gained much form the experience and can now re-pay some of that in being a host myself. See more about WWOF at www.wwoof.org.uk

In case you haven't been to the Hub, or a "lapsed" member here are a few shots of the garden taken in June 2010. Most of the potatoes were planted directly onto upturned turves, this being the simplest way to bring the area into cultivation with minimal digging and therefore little disruption of the soil. For those new to permaculture, digging, and especially deep digging is minimised for the following reasons:

1. It aerates and therefore leads to oxidation of organic materials

2. Kills earthworms

3. It damages the intricate network of beneficial miccorrhizas etc in the soil

4. Brings up dormant weed seeds which can then germinate

5. Time and energy consuming

Of course, set against these negatives one has to consider that digging also exposes pests such as cutworms etc which birds can then gobble up. But permaculture is not a religion and its supporters learn by experience- or as a recent visitor to the Hub commented, looking in the greenhouse "I know nothing of permaculture, but for me the results speak for themselves".

I don't expect a huge crop this year as no extra manure was added at planting time and then we had several weeks without any rain. However, some of the rows were mulched with spent hops. For your information hops have some nutritional value but their main benefit lies in enhancing the soil structure. Their nutritional content is:

N- 0.5% P- 1-2% K- 0.5% + full range of trace elements

Our potatoes were ridged with a mix of grass clippings, spent hops and soil. The aim of course is to prevent the tubers from being exposed to the light, and going green. So anything that blanks out sunshine will work, however there is a theory that grass will not prevent the blight spores from being washed off the leaves on to the tubers- if and when it arrives later in the summer. So we need to have a keen eye for this gardeners' menace.

Potatoes mulched with hops and grass

HOT DAYS, OPEN DAYS and COLD NIGHTS

2010-04-26T07:42:00.000+01:00

and WWOOFers....For the uninitiated, WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms- an excellent institution facilitating volunteering all over the world. Arrangements can be very flexible, but no money exchanges hands- the volunteer agrees to certain hours of working, in exchange for which the host provides all meals and accomodation- which can be anything from a tent or yurt to a caravan or private room. The Harvest Hub is registered and has benefitted form its first 2 WWOOFers this month (April). Ollie arrived from Taunton to spend a week with us on his way to doing a permaculture design course on Dartmoor. David arrived from Eastern France, via many communities and farms throughout Britain. David is gradually working his way westwards, mainly hitch-hiking, ending up on the Isles of Scilly in August.

I can thoroughly recommend WWOOFing at any age- I did it myself in my 20's and learnt a lot from the experience.

Well, those Open Days came upon us all too soon. Our first, was universally acclaimed a success by all who partoook of it, with plenty of visitors and 25 apple trees donated to eager gardeners. Our second was targetted at children , encouraging them to "Plant a Pumpkin", take one away in a pot and return to see how our squash progress at the Hub. With the majority of vsitors to Escot being young famillies, this is a wonderful opportunity to involve children in a fun way with growing food.

Its all looking rather barren here on our new, extended growing area, but already, as "we go to press" this area is mainly planted up with potatoes, onions and brassicas. We have been very fortunate in getting our hands on some excellent horse manure (many thanks Di Taylor) and some equally useful spent hops from Otter Brewery (many thanks Mary Ann). Tom, of East Devon Tree Surgeons has also kindly supplied us with woodchip which we have made good use of. For your interest, here we have used the woodchip to kill off the grass before raking it away, covering with a layer of cardboard, then manure and, finally a layer of green-waste compost. This reflects one of the principles of permaculture which aims to minimise digging which disrsupts the soil, killing earthworms and brings up lower layers of soil, whilst burrying the valuable topsoil. Obviously, in perennial-weed infested soil, digging is needed to extract those roots, but here in the walled garden perennials are not a problem. Digging also oxidises (destroys) to some extent, the organic matter in the soil.

Within days of pruning this apricot, this was the blossom that appeared- was this a coincidence or was it the stimulus it wanted to get going?

And here are the first flower buds of 2010 on one of our 2 kiwis enjoying their second spring against the warm greenhouse wall. These kiwis have also recently been pruned to try and direct some of their vigour into fruit production rather than prolific vegetation. Laterals have been limited to every 50 cms as per the books.

OPEN DAYS at the Hub

2010-03-25T07:51:00.001Z

Having been around for over 12 months now, the Hub is keen to show the community what we're about. We want to demonstrate how permaculture can be put into practice, but also that we can take action today, to address global warming, food security and improve our health. All these problems are addressed to some extent by growing our own food- each lettuce harvested is one less lettuce bought from the supermarket!

So, in 2010 we will be holding 4 Open Days as follows:

Sunday 28th March 11 till 2 Tours of the Hub garden and general intro to permaculture principles
                                             30 apple trees to be donated ona first come, first served basis
                                             Short permaculture video at 2 pm in the classroom
Saturday 24th April 11-2   Plant a pumpkin/squash- children invited to plant a pumpkin seed and
                                                  take one home.
                                            "Guess the Seed" competition
                                            Permaculture video at 2pm
Bank Holiday Monday 30th August 11-2 Biodiversity day- build a bug box
                                                                      Investigate compost beasties
                                                                      Permaculture video at 2pm

Sunday 19th September 11-2   "Cook the Harvest"- join us to prepare and cook a tasty feast using
                                                    some of this year's produce
                                                   "Biggest pumpkin" prize-- children bring your pumpkin sown in April
                                                   Harvest Hub AGM

Just waiting for Spring

2010-02-23T11:13:00.002Z

As I write this on a wet February morning I thought I needed some visual inspiration- hence the sunflower which bears little resemblance to anything currently surviving in the walled garden on this grey day.

Having said this, Hub members are all optimists and much work has already been done to prepare the ground for the imminent arrival of spring!

And apart from our indefatigable Charlie who continues to contribute more time at Escot than all the rest put together, our ranks have recently been extended by the arrival of Kathy from Old Feniton and Amy and Paul from Ottery--- a big WELCOME to you all!. And just for the proof here are Amy and Paul getting stuck in preparing our new herb area:

The design and layout for this area are being overseen by Charlie and Christina. They plan to incorporate a wide variety of herbs- some culinary; some medicinal and others with uses for dyeing or as soap substitutes etc. We of course welcome offers of plants you may have surplus to requirements- just call us.

The Hub can also welcome another keen volunteer- Wayne, from Honiton who has been a keen contributor to the horticulture project I (Phil) have been involved with at Robert Owen Communities' residential centre at Luppitt. Here he is, planing some timbers forming part of the seating arrangements in the Appleshed.

White carpet

2010-01-07T20:32:00.006Z

In 25 years I have not known snow to hang around as it has this year here in East Devon. One or 2 days of slushy snow is the best we have had, until this year. So I am making the most of this while it lasts- and catching up on indoor jobs as gardening is out of the question. This is the view fron the appleshed-

Meanwhile, work is progressing in the appleshed. Charlie has done a superb job on the ceiling- it just needs painting now. I have been fitting the sink and surrounding worksurfaces. Next week should see the piping done....and perhaps even the walls painted..! It will be nice to have a working office and workshop ready in time for the spring when everything needs doing at once.

What is exercising my mind now is the possibility of installing a woodstove which has very kindly been donated to us by a member. Unfortunately installation costs rise steeply when insulated flues are involved. So we are investigating the simplest way of having a stove without having to buy too many costly fittings. This cold spell has certainly focussed my mind on heating- the other day I had to give up working after 2 hours as my fingers had gone to sleep....

And in the greenhouse, seedling lettuces and mustard are strangely in the dark in the middle of the day- sunshine blocked out by a 2 inch insulating layer of snow! As soon as the snow melts we need to top up these beds with fresh compost and get ready for early spring sowings

wet wet wet

2009-11-29T18:50:00.008Z

With volunteers at severe risk of developing foot rot from outdoor work Hub members focus on sorting the apple shed. Here, Hub hero Charlie puts finishing touches to our new plasterboard ceiling. I cannot stress enough how valued Charlie has become in progressing the project on the ground- well done Charlie for all your help!

And this Saturday Justin and I (Phil) joined Charlie in refurbishment works in the shed. Thanks must also go to David and Christina for preparing a detailed layout plan for the shed and store room. We'll leave it to Christina to choose the colour scheme!

And here we have the garden in sodden November! The broad beans are coming through well as are the Japanese onions which went in in September

Fortunately Charlie got the new beds prepared before the worst of the rain. The area where grass mowings had been stacked has been turned over whilst the remaining grassed area is covered with cardboard and then with well rotted horse manure- in readiness for planting next year. Providing ground cover in the meantime a green manure sowing of field beans will also reduce weed growth whilst raising soil fertility through the beans' N-fixing root nodules.

Meanwhile, in the greenhouse the Guatemalan ground cherries are just about clinging on, still producing a small crop of delicious fruit and our sowings of lettuce and Chinese mustard are coming on well. In the main greenhouse there's still some very sweet grapes to be had for those of us willing to spend the time removing those pesky pips....

SQUASHES GALLORE

2009-10-09T21:42:00.015+01:00

This must have been the most laid-back AGM I have yet taken part in- and probably the shortest! With glorious weather and delicious food the Harvest Hub's first Annual General Meeting on 20th Sep couldn't fail. A short resume of our financial position was followed by the unanimous election of Justin as the Hub's fifth director. Thence followed the food which was washed down by volumes of freshly-pressed apple juice from Escot's orchard and then grape juice from the greenhouse vines. Many of the dishes were prepared using produce from the garden and greenhouse- such as tomatoes, squash and potatoes.

And here is just a selection of the varieties we grew this year- there's Burgess Vine Buttercup (dark green), Thema Sanders Sweet Potato- an acorn squash whose seed was apparently first collected by Tom and Sue Knoche of Ohio, USA (creamy, fluted) and Crown Prince (this is a guess as I didn't order any of this variety but it bears an uncanny resemblance- but none have been cut open yet- until then we won't know for sure- the flesh of Crown Prince is a beautiful bright orange). And of course we have had a great crop of Summer Crookneck which have just about finished now.

Meanwhile, we mustn't forget to thank Jack and Rashid for finishing installing the insulation in the appleshed- well done fellas! Now it just remains to fix up the remaining plasterboard, give everything a lick of paint and we'll have a proper office to work from! If anyone knows of a small woodburner going cheap please let me know-- its starting to get cool in there now winter is almost on us.

And, lastly, but by no means least, Charlie- our latest and hardest working member deserves a massive thanks for all the hard graft he has put in over the past 2 months. All the cleared and mulched borders represent his efforts as well as the tidy paths in the garden area. Thanks Charlie!

Sepp Holtzer

2009-08-15T07:24:00.002+01:00

Sepp Holtzer has featured before in Permaculture magazine but this video catches well his whole approach to growing food, and permaculture. It also points out that he was a permaculturist long before the term was invented! I would recommend this video to anyone who needs convincing about permaculture and its potential to feed people. However, what it doesn't address is- the extent to which his style of permaculture could feed large numbers of people, ie what is the productivity per acre of this system

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=727825431796194016

Apres le deluge

2009-08-08T22:05:00.010+01:00

After taking such a soaking in July, we are now, in August, grateful for even the intermittent bright sunny day. Inevitably though, the potatoes have sucumbed to blight and have all been dug- and a miserable soggy business that was, as everything was sodden and the days humid and damp. All the haulms together with affected tubers were thrown into fertiliser bags and taken to my home where a bonfire had been prepared- the only occasion nowadays I build a bonfire. The only beneficiary of this sad process is Jake, our dog who loves to munch on the roasted remains of the infected potatoes- yum!!

Now some of the greenhouse tomatoes are finally succumbing, especially the plants most cramped at the far end. However, we have already had a very reasonable crop of lovely tomatoes- both Purple Ukraine and Costolutto.

So the AppleShed is now home to masses of potatoes laid out to dry on the brick floor. This episode has certainly highlighted the importance of having sufficient storage space for produce. The creation of slatted shelves, perhaps in the far end of the AppleShed must now be a priority for the quieter winter months.

The wet July has afforded the beans, such as the colourfully named climbing french bean

"Cherokee Trail of Tears" the opportunity to grow to their full potential. However they now need the sun to get the bees polinating the flowers and bring on the beans themselves. At the base of the climbing beans are the several varieties of squash- including Waltham Butternut,Summer Crookneck, Anna Swartz Hubbard, Blue Banana and Thelma Sanders Sweet Potato which have now taken over the whole of the ground area around the bean "wigwam". How much of this phenomenal growth can be attributed to my spraying with a diluted mix of home-made comfrey liquid I cannot tell- but a double-blind trial would be an interesting experiment to determine this. Not having yet aquired a watring can for the project, I spray the comfrey liquid by holding the comfrey container over the water hose and pouring it onto the spray itself. This is very effective and quick although what dilution it produces I wouldn't try to guess at.

A few dry days have now afforded me the opportunity to build 3 compost bays so we can start creating our own brown "gold". This meant digging out sufficient soil from the sloping bank, to accomodate the 3 pallet crates which a friend and supporter had donated us. Over the years I have come to realise that a solid-sided compost bin produces better, quicker compost than one with slatted sides. This presumably is because less moisture is lost in the summer and more heat retained in the winter. Slatted sides results in pockets of dried-out, un-composted material which then have to be turned into the main mass of the heap. But, whichever design of bin you use you can't escape the need to balance carbon rich material- such as more woody material, with higher-nitrogen material such as grass clippings, nettles etc. So the bins have now been strengthened, solid sides added and the whole treated with water-based preservative.

Always on the look-out for rescuing materials otherwise destined for landfill or otherwise wasted, I volunteered to take the spent pet animal bedding from the pet "hotel" which otherwise would be burnt- the combination of guinea-pig and rabbit poo with sawdust and straw are perfect ingredients to add to a compost bin.

2009-07-13T07:24:00.007+01:00

JULY 2009 and the summer has taken a back-seat. But the Harvest Hub has its first tomatoes and cuccumbers. And the seed supplier info was right in saying the plant set early trusses and had heavy yield! We have grown 4 varieties but the outstanding ones are Costoluto Fiorentino and Purple Ukraine. I should also add that our growing conditions are probably not optimal- our greenhouse beds are suspended off the floor and not that deep. But the fruit are about 2 weeks ahead of those in my own greenhouse at home.

Meanwhile the Kiwi plant that had stopped growing has now borne 4 little fruit and has now spread as far as its neighbour- was it the comfrey liquid feed that triggered the action??

And in the garden, we have found homes for a peach and a fig- both are up against the south-facing wall. For the fig, a 3' cube hole was prepared (thanks go to David) lined with corrugated iron sheet and a layer of stones placed in the base- fig roots need restricting or you get a magnifcent tree with little or no fruit. Plenty of well-rotted horse manure was mixed with earth and the sapling supported with a stake.

The peach had similar treatment- except for the root treatment. We are planning on training this tree as an espallier- tied against the wall and a frame erected over it so that, in the winter, it can be protected against the cold rains and the leaf curl virus they bring.

To keep the weeds from encroaching, I have found a useful device- in the form of circular (2' across) pieces of hardboard with a 4" hole in the middle- just enough to introduce the sapling. I am indebted to the local factory for letting me rescue these from the rubbish tip or bonfire- they originally form the sides of those large cable reels.

Another system for weed control that I find effective here at Escot is grass clippings.... The gardener kindly deposits a mound every few days after mowing the lawns and within hours its too hot inside to keep your hand there. A 6" layer placed over weedy areas will destroy the vegetation and usually keep it free of weeds for several weeks. I also use grass mowings instead of mounding up the potatoes- its quicker- but don't use the hot, putrifying grass- it'll kill the potato stems!

To create instant raised beds I place cardboard (I use those boxes that bikes get shipped in) sheets staright onto the grass (cut short); wet it thoroughly; then cover with grass mowings or horse manure (or both); then finish off with compost or top soil. Grow straight into this. By next year, the worms and other beasties will have eaten their way through the cardboard and incorporated it into the underlying soil.

Another device I use is effective in keeping weeds from encroaching on newly-planted saplings or larger plants- such as rhubarb, cabbage, globe artichoke or soft fruit bushes. Look out for those pieces of circular hardboard (aprox 2' across) which form the sides of large cable reels- most industrial estates will have them, They have a very useful central hole about 4" across through which the plant goes. To make a tight fit around the stem I place stips of cardboard right up to the stem and then put the hardbaord on top

This month's best links: I think these give a very good idea of some of the underlying principles of projects such as OVHH:

http://cityrepair.org/
http://www.ediblecitymovie.com/

UnLtd

2009-05-19T17:08:00.003+01:00

It feels like a another milestone in the development of the project- the £1000 award from UnLtd has been exhausted. Its probably overdue but a wholehearted THANK YOU UnLtd is very much in order here. Without this cash award, none of the previous 12 months' work would have happened. However, the original award, which I (PHIL FOGGITT)was given after being collared by an UnLTd rep whilst cruising the stalls at last year's Glastonbury Festival, was due to have been spent on growing fruit and veg at train stations.

I had the original idea after seeing a poster at Dunbar station seeking groups or individuals wanting to manage the flower beds on the station concourse, in exchange for which they would be given office space and/or publicity for their organisation. What a great idea, I thought. So it wasn't a big jump to the concept of growing fruit and veg on stations- the thinking behind this was that most stations are seen regularly by a lot of regular folk, and seeing veg growing in "flower" beds could make the point that you could grow food almost anywhere- and that its easy!

Unfortunately, after many phone calls, letters, e-mails to the 2 train companies operating in this area, and face-to-face meetings, the project was never adopted. You wouldn't think it could be that hard to give away £1000! I can only presume that the train companies felt that the likely H&S issues and associated beaurocracy made the idea unworkeable.

Anyway, they say clouds have silver linings- and thats how the Escot project came to benefit from this UnLtd award. Meanwhile, I still think growing fruit and veg on those barren grassed areas around stations is a great idea- It'll happen one day!

a peacock is such a beautiful bird but.............

2009-05-15T21:18:00.011+01:00

just as I was getting ready to put more seedlings out...the peacocks discovered the delightful taste of Mispoona and Sorrel. Every plant was reduced down to a stump- they did an efficient job. So, after much Google..ing and communications with other walled garden gardeners- the decision has been taken- to net the whole growing area.

Peacocks can just skip onto Escot's 15' high walls so any protective measure has to allow for this. Apparently they are deterred from approaching small plants if a fishing wire is strung between poles at about 18" above the ground. But as soon as the plant gets to that heights- its no longer effective- so not much comfort there!

So, the remaining money allocated for creating raised beds will go instead on what is, effectively, a fruit cage. But if anyone out there is aware of other measures that are effective against peacocks I would love to hear from you...

Anyway, all is not lost- And lets be grateful that we discovered this earlier rather than later!

A wonderful sight greeted me the other day in the greenhouse- the photo on the left is one of several majestic kiwi flowers flaunting themselves in the heat of Escot's Victorian greenhouse. This was a first for me and a lovely surprise. It also reminded me how important it is to leave the greenhouse door open whenever possible to let those valuable bees in to pollinate our plants.

The greenhouse certainly is looking more productive now- I have completed 4 growing beds which are all doing well. In particular, the Mispoona ( a rare cross between Tatsoi and Mizuna) is demonstrating what phenomenal growth it has and how useful a salad crop it is at this time of the year. It is more heat-tolerant than both the Sorrel and Rocket, neither of which tolerate heat for very long.

Meanwhile, project plans are progressing well. The business plan is being revised as new opportunities present themselves and circumstances change. In particular, our focus is changing increasingly towards increasing food production so that a surplus can be generated to provide an income post-funding. And we are also looking at the membership structure and what fees we charge. Plans at present are to have a fee of, say £25 and the member will take away produce in proportion to the input they make to the project. Another potential model is used in some CSA's where a scale of charges is available, ranging from a low fee but high member input to high and no input. This model reflects the reality that people vary greatly in their ability to allocate time to the project.

One of the new opportunities we are investigating is to provide work experience for individuals with learning difficulties in exchange for use of the partner organisation's polytunnels. I am currently erecting 2 large (18' x 60') polytunnels on this organisation's land near Honiton. Such an arrangement could prove to have mutual benefits although, as ever, bureaucracy will have to be overcome.

2009-04-25T21:51:00.003+01:00

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

Yes and everything happens at once! Germination has been almost 100%, thanks largely to that beautiful spell of hot weather earlier in the month. The list of seedlings ready to go out- or already out includes leeks (2 varieties), cucumbers (4 varieties), tomatoes (2 var), cabbages, peppers (2 - including a "chocolate" variety), ground cherries, aubergine (2 var), rockets, sorrel, basil, parsley, cauli (orange var), plenty of chitted potatoes (early, second-early and maincrop), Komatsuna, squash (summer and winter vars)....
As you can see we have made a start on the garden with a path being dug and the turves up-turned to from an adjacent raised bed. The gardener is kindly donating his grass mowings which is also being put to good use. I lay large sheets of cardboard (from cycle shop)which is well wetted, cover with mowings and top off with horse manure (for which I have good supplies locally). I then plant directly into this surface- perhaps incorporating some compost if available. The carboard and grass gradually rot down and by the following season are almost fully incoporated into the soil substrate.
Following recent short items in local parish mags etc we have had some enquiries for new members- its great to see new faces and more help to progress the project. There seems to be particularly good support for the idea of the food-growers' co-op whereby members get produce in-kind in exchange for time contributed to the project. We will shortly be finalising what the members' annual fee will be and then issuing membership forms.
Meanwhile, a very big THANK-YOU to B&Q for their donation of insulation materials to install in the apple shed roof space. Now it just remains to get the bodies to install the insulation and pin up the plasterboard!

Spring Update

2009-03-10T12:14:00.005Z

It may not seem much improved on the last photo but I can assure you much work has gone in recently. The electrician has checked all the wiring, put in 4 new strip lights and a new fuse box and pinned up some of the plasterboard. Rashid has now sprayed all the timbers with woodworm treatment. And I have finished the timberwork in readiness for finishing the plasterboard, once the insulation is in place.

OVHH has now applied to B&Q for a small grant to cover the cost of insulation- we are currently awaiting a response.

Meanwhile I have been making up timber frames inside what were concrete water tanks, to become raised beds for bringing on seedlings. So far we have small basil and tomato seedlings sunning themselves in trays under protective sleeves of bubblewrap. I have also brought over some trays of chitting first early potatoes. I have further trays at home of peppers which still need the extra heat to encourage sprouting.

The kiwis seem to be enjoying their new home against the warm brick wall, and their buds are opening out impressively.

One of the gardeners, Andy tells me that there is already a kiwi growing outside over a trellis at the other end of the greenhouse but that it has never fruited. I suggested this may have been a female in need of pollination- an interesting exercise therefore may be to brush each flower this spring and see if this fertilises them.

I had a meeting yesterday with Mish and the gardeners- Reg, Andy and Trevor to show them our plans for the garden layout. They are happy with our proposal to use initially the north-west corner of the walled garden which lies immediately outside the apple shed. Work will commence with laying down a gravel path in a U-shape, saving the turves to lay on the side, making the "base" for a raised bed along the side of the path. The raised beds will be supported by 9" x 1.5" timber (cedar) boards.

As and when the main funding is forthcoming, the project will expand the growing area to encompass the whole of the walled garden. The basic framework will be a 4-year rotation, and within this format we will demonstrate some of the specific principles of permaculture gardening.

Breaking news this week is that Escot will be opening a fruit and vegetable shop within the courtyard- this will be run by the current proprietors of the veg shop in Ottery St Mary- Alistair and Sharon Keen- we wish them well. They apparently are keen to source produce locally so that OVHH has a good opportunity to have an outlet right on its doorstep.

Apple shed

2009-02-24T12:21:00.005Z

And work starts on what once was the "apple shed". This is to be OVHH HQ- our office and tool store. The woodworm needs treating, ceiling joists erected and insulation layed. Most of the previous users' contents have now been removed and Rashid, Lin, Jan and myself are spending our free time refurbishing the place.

Lin has designed and printed some laminated posters for display around Escot and its environs- these will promote and seek volunteers to join the project. A membership fee has been mooted which would provide funds towards buying seeds, tools etc, and in exchange, volunteers would be entitled to take produce home in proportion to the time put in to the project.

Meanwhile, the upgraded section of the greenhouse has been cleared of water plants and I have installed 2 Kiwi plants- variety Solo which is self-fertile. There is already an established kiwi (variety unknown) growing over the open (east) end of the greenhouse but this has never borne fruit- possibly needing pollinating. The concrete tanks which previously were home to potted water plants now need adapting to accomodate raised beds for seedlings etc. The plan is to build timber frames to support 9" of compost resting on Mypex (or similar) sheeting.

Lin hasd an impulse buy at the weekend- taking delivery of apricot, peach and plum trees and a rhubarb crown. After heeling them in temporarily in my greenhouse, Jan and I have now put them in their permanent positions- the apricot and peach in amongst the wild raspberries; and the plum, whose structure looks adaptable to espallier training, is up against the west wall. All should derive plenty of nutrition from the rich horse manure originating from the Hams of Patterson Cross.

February 2009

2009-02-09T14:59:00.003Z

Time moves on and yet again Companies House have lost our application to form a CIC. In January they claimed at first not to have received anything and later it transpired that someone had been sitting (not literally, I imagine!) on the paperwork for 2 weeks.....This is of course very frustrating as funding applications cannot be dispatched until we are a legally constituted body.

Anyway, there has been progress in other areas. UnLtd have confirmed that their £1000 grant awarded to me can be allocated to the Harvest Hub project- specifically to refurbish the "apple shed" in the walled garden to provide the project with an office and tool store. And John Michael has approved our plan to start a small kitchen garden in the far NW corner of the walled garden. We shall also have use of the refurbished section of the greenhouse to bring seedlings on and for any tender fruit such as kiwi etc.

Following on from an idea of Rashid's, we have also decided to promote membership of the Hub to anyone interested in growing their own or just helping us with refurbishing the "shed". There will be a fee- possibly £10 in exchange for which the volunteer member will be able to take away produce in relation to the number of hours put in (this might be recorded as vouchers). There are similarities to having an allotment although members will have to abide by the overall garden plan which the management committee decide upon.

Meanwhile we still have something of a sticking point over the siting of a polytunnel. JM has offered us a site which, at this stage, appears inapropriate, although very scenic:

looking west

looking east

We will have to resolve this issue at some point as a polytunnel is vital for us to bring on plants for planting out and to provide year-round salad crops. One of the issues remaining unresolved is the proximity of any tunnel to the walled garden- as transporting plants any distance will reduce the viability of the operation.

The Man Com had decided to hold its meetings on the first Tuesday of each month- so the next will be March 3rd. All meetings are currently being held at Jan's house(contact Phil for directions). We have also decided to arrange visits to other walled gardens- for general interest and hopefully some inspiration that can be directed at our own project.

Community Interest Company

2008-12-01T11:23:00.001Z

After investigating various avenues to funding, over the past 5 months, none of which have proved succesful, we have decided to adopt our own legal structure of CIC- Community Interest Company. This is a relatively recent legal structure designed to facilitate operation of just such community-based projects such as OVHH. It will have up to 5 or 6 directors forming a management committee; members having the right to vote at AGM's etc and will be a Not For Personal Profit company, limited by guarantee. Four of us are willing to stand as directors to date and we would welcome one or 2 others to join us.

Progress to date

2008-12-01T05:00:00.001Z

Otter ValleyHarvest Hub (OVHH) is the latest of many names the project has been given since plans for a permaculture-based fruit and veg garden wetre initiated in May 2008. Photos show the greenhouse (top), classroom (middle) and part of the walled garden at Escot Park(left)

Knightshayes walled garden

2008-11-29T22:09:00.001Z

Phil met John Lanyon, head gardener at Knightshayes in Sep 2008 and was shown the walled garden and they discussed the problems, challenges and successes that they had had since they re-established fruit and vegetables in this lovely garden. The photos show rhubarb being forced in between rows of grapevines; one of the lean-to greenhouses where seedlings are brought on and a view of the garden looking SE;
John emphasized how forward planning is crucial and that if one crop fails one needs to activate PlanB immediately in order to avoid ugly bare ground. Fruit an dveg is sold directly from the walled garden, via a wholesaler at Tiverton pannier market, and to Knightshayes cafe and restaurant. Knightshayes demonstrates that our own plans are feasible and that with hard work, great results can be achieved.

For a report on how the walled garden at Knightshayes was created see the download available here:
http://www.walledgardens.net/events/events.htm