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I normally concentrate on sea buckthorn matters for the blog, but this week has had a focus which reminds me that farming is not a single enterprise operation.

Devereux farm is located on the East coast of the UK. The business has two farms. Devereux farm faces the Hamford Water national nature reserve. A conservation area designated also as a Ramsar Site for its special importance as a 2000 hectare area of salt marsh, intertidal mud and sand habitats which attract thousands of winter migratory birds from Siberia amongst other places. Walton hall farm, 140 hectares, is on the Naze peninsula – 4 miles from Devereux farm, and like Devereux is protected from the sea by 5m high, concrete faced sea walls.

In 2004, the UK government Department for Food and Rural Affairs published a consultation paper on the possible withdrawal of maintenance from sea walls that they thought did not protect land of high value ( agricultural land). Since then, farmers on the east coast have been working with the agency to find a solution to the rising costs of sea wall maintenance and how to continue protecting their land.

Climate change is a difficult factor to quantify. Since 2000 we have had more incidents of extreme rainfall, one particular incident in 2012 flooded 60 hectares of land at Walton. The sea is also becoming more aggressive. In 2013, a surge tide came down the east coast and broke the sea walls in 63 places causing extensive flooding. Projected sea level rise was suggested as 6mm per year. This was downgraded in 2006 to 4mm for the first 25 years of this century – then doubling for the next and rising to 15mm per year as the century comes to an end. Add to this predictions, which are being recorded now – wind speeds are increasing with an impact that wave height is becoming more extreme and we have an increasing issue as to how to view our future as coastal farmers.

An example of this has been the fact that the Naze at Walton has a soft sediment cliff frontage facing the sea which is designated a geological site of special scientific interest. In its sediments are fossils particulkarly from 55 million years ago, but also the site shows evidence of being the most southerly point that the ice sheets reached in the UK in the last Ice Age. This scientific interest means that the cliuffs cannot be protected from the sea in order to allow them to erode and the fossils within the cliff to be washed out so they can be collected and studied.

This is all very interesting, but as the cliff line receeds 1.4m a year every year there will come a time when there is no more cliff left. At one point that will be next year, and the result will flood over 70 hectares of our land. It will also flood the sewage treatment works that serves the local area, removing their services for 22,000 people and polluting an important conservation site.

It was this issue that started the whole sea buckthorn project. We knew that this was going to happen and that we might lose land to the sea, but hoped it would not be for 50 years. Sea buckthorn is a high value crop that can be grown on a smaller area. This will maintain the viability of the farm when we stand to lose half of our land.

So over the past two weeks I have made presentations to our local government committees to galvanise understanding of the issues. The problem is that the sea is all powerful, relentless in its action upon the coast. But that does not mean that nothing can be done. In times of low government budgets any action needs to be targeted, affordable, local and innovative. It seems to need almost the same approach as we are taking in developing sea buckthorn.

Defending our coastline and our farm is a trial of effort and ingenuity. At the same time we have our first crop of sea buckthorn to manage; our website is up, but as work in progress. The threat of losing a large amount of our farm now looking real so it is becoming essential that the sea buckthorn development at Devereux farm converts research into a viable and economically sustainable business. Looking at our first crop on the plants now, I do feel modestly confident that success is on the way.

This week was forecasted for the weather to be wet – and it was. unfortunately it was also the week when I planned to give the whole sea buckthorn plantation a spring clean. It is time for the plants to have their next compost tea feed; the grass and broad leaved weeds are determined to dominate the field; the Altaiskaya sickness problem needs solving; and the site needs to be smarted up for the summer.

Like all problems, the Altaiskaya issue needs taking into perspective. my father used to say that ” things were never as bad – nor as good as they seem”. So when I look at these plants of a group of 48 I have 16 that I would qualify as being critical. Critical defined as having lost 50% or more leaf, with the remainder being distorted and drying.

The problem is aphids. Small ( approx. 1mm ) green aphids which seem to remain relatively local as they have infected one group of 7 plants in two adjacent rows but not spread into other plants which look relatively healthy. It seems to only have impacted upon Altaiskaya as a variety. Even Elizaveta which has been particularly prone to problems in the past, show no signs of issues.

Having identified the problem – the solution?

The site laid out by InCrops in 2011 has 6 Siberian varieties planted in 18 replicate groups of 48 plants. 18 replicates made up of 3 groups of each of the six varieties. So this morning I have sprayed the three Altaiskaya groups with two treatments: one of compost tea/ one with compost tea with a high dose of seaweed in the expectation that the seaweed may reduce the aphid numbers. The plants are crawling with ladybirds so nature might rebalance the excess numbers of aphids. As a more radical approach I have ordered some neem spray. as an organic natural insecticide this will cure the issues and it will be a good product to have in my medicine cupboard for the sea buckthorn in the future. As it will kill all insects it will be used on the critical plants, not all of them as I see that some are recovering of their own accord.

Spraying the rest of the plants with foliar feed of compost tea/seaweed I have noticed the seasonal incoming of vapourer moth caterpillars.The treatment is manual removal and destruction. I have grown to respect these pests and even one is too many. The issue is one that demands vigilance.

Berries are starting to appear on plants. Up until now I have ignored the rooks and jackdaws. They have done a good job in clearing the ground of grubs, slugs and other insects following the mowing of the site. Last year’s experience of allowing them to strip the berries off the plants is not one that I intend to repeat. They are intelligent birds. Scaring them will need to be flexible and credible. kites like hawks; scarecrows;bangers are all possible. Audio systems will be the next degree of upping the strategy. The last resort would be the traditional root which they do respect.

The final issue for this week relates to pollination. Walking the site yesterday it looks like not all plants have berries that are setting. Last year there were berries, therefore I know that the males are viable. Some have been affected by disease, some have been replaced. It is clearly crucial that there are males to cover each 100 sq m section of the site to provide wind pollination for the females. The question is whether different winter weather patterns influence how both the males and females develop so that they are viable for pollination at the same time. There is a concern that as some varieties break bud as early as January they are not behaving as they would in their native Siberia. Therefore their development cycle might be different as well as they come through the end of winter and into the spring. Different varieties might be influenced by having to adapt to our coastal temperate weather in different ways. So in the long term some might be viable for farming in the UK some might not. I will give the whole site two weeks for the berries to properly set and then survey the site before trying to make any conclusions.

Another week approaches and field work is becoming an all consuming focus – at a time when there are mounding piles of paper jobs waiting in the office.

I met my neighbour on Friday, who lives on an island in the middle of the Hamford water National nature reserve that Devereux farm is next to. We exchanged current thoughts and the topic turned to the vapourer moth caterpillar. The handsome, black furry beast that ravages my sea buckthorn plants. Not only is my neighbour allergic to its excretions but they are now so many on his island that they are starting to strip trees of their leaves. In his experience there are no predators and no means to control them. So when pruning on Friday and I came across another two plants with these voracious insects on them I was very particular about ensuring that I removed every one I found.

Next week I shall start the next round of compost tea foliar feed. It is particularly important at the moment as the fruit will be setting soon. Ensuring a supply of trace elements is suggested to enhance berry quality. Iodine, boron, cobalt and zinc potentially improving vitamin C. Copper and manganese influencing levels of carotenoids.

At the moment the plants look healthy but as I have reported before there are the occasional ones that have partial dieback. The leaves dessicate and I am adopting a precautionary approach and pruning out any such branches to reduce further infection. The same old culprit of Elizaveta variety seems to be a problem but this is in odd individuals. I am still concerned about the variety Altaiskaya. It seems to be going through a late flowering stage. The plants have come into leaf but compared with others they are backward. This is almost universal in all the Altaiskaya across the plantation

As with all jobs, most work is routine, so on the list now – the whole site needs mowing; compost tea every three weeks; removing all visible pests; prune out all disease; with a one off job being compost mulch across all plants probably starting in ten days time. This would normally be done in April but again lack of availability of machinery has made this not possible. On my clay soils I see it as important as it prevents the upper layer of the soil drying out and creating stress for plants roots that are close to the surface. The mulch is improving the soil ecology as the same time, which I see as an important contributor to controlling plant disease.

British Sea Buckthorn Co Ltd as our development business also needs the same level of concentration as that demanded in the field. 2015 will be an important year. The first berries will provide the inspiration for product development. But all plans need to be tempered with reality, and before plans can be fully formulated there needs to be reconciliation with regulation and resourcing.

Once spring starts it is easy to get lost in field work. The plants need compost tea feeding; weeds that are starting to encroach on stems need pulling up; caterpillers need removing; dead work needs pruning. The plants are growing so time is an issue.

Time is an issue is the problem. We had a British Sea Buckthorn Co. Ltd meeting yesterday to discuss progress and plans for 2015. Ben said – ” do you need to be doing all the field work?”. It was a very good point. It was particularly valid as I had had an email from Ireland from some one that was interested in growing sea buckthorn. My original concept of growing sea buckthorn was that it was a hardy plant that would survive almost anywhere. As an idea it worked in 2012 and I allowed the grass to grow. The plants looked healthy. In 2013 the whole plantation was hit by disease. The advice that was given was that the plants were under too much stress from weed competition. So from then on I am focused upon stress management. In my answer to the question I said – sea buckthorn is a crop and a crop that we expect to provide a high quality yield. You cannot expect something for nothing. Hence i justify the time i spend every day on keeping the plants weed and pest free. Every day because everything is being done by hand. This year’s objective is to mechanise the mowing/ spraying/ compost spreading. Time is not the only asset in finite supply. When funding is limited to income then spending is prioritised as to what is absolutely necessary.

Field work can be done by hand, therefore machinery can be considered to be a non-essential. This year I have to crack a low cost harvesting method; storage and processing. Harvesting and processing that can maintain the nutritional quality of the crop as much as is possible. So it is this that has to take the priority. This year is about trial and development. New product development  to generate new income streams allowing the bringing on board of a knowledge transfer graduate linked to a university. This will bring focused and managed work and research capacity to move the farm crop and product development forward sustainably funded through product sale. It all just takes time.

But more importantly developing a business with the right brand image is also a prime objective. Yesterday I read an article relating to presentations from Peter Wennstrom of the Healthy Marketing Team. British Sea Buckthorn have used the Team for advice and follow their philosophy. The current thinking is that consumers have moved on from being calorie counters – Nutrition now matters. Ingredients are important not just health claims. The issue for sea buckthorn is is ensuring consumers understand what it is. In Peter Wennstrom’s approach there are four factors: need the product; accept the ingredient; understand the benefit and finally trust the brand.

Here at  British Sea buckthorn we are following these principles and look to ensure that the ingredient that we are going to sell fulfills a need and that consumers understand and accept sea  buckthorn as an ingredient they understand. By doing that well we will build trust in our brand.

As I walk the rows of my sea buckthorn plants this April there is a level of excitment and anticipation as to what they will produce this year. After a dry month the weather has broken and we have had a refreshing weekend of rain. Klaudia always has been the most advanced of varieties, along with Elizaveta; Chuiskaya; and sudarushka. Inya, a variety that stands tall and straight when compared with the others is starting to develop a head of leaf. Altaiskaya is the furthest from the others, showing a tight brush of leaf on each stem head.

Following kirsten Jensen’s visit in February the advise was not to give the plants their spring fee of Chicken manure pellets. Frankia should provide the nitrogen that the plant needs and by providing the pellets it might even reduce the potential of Frankia to perform. The concept is good because these organic chicken pellets are expensive, but there may be practical drawbacks if frankia has not developed in some individual plants.

Not unsurprisingly it is Elizaveta that is an area for concern. This variety has been the one that has been most vigourous in growth. It was also the one that was most open to disease back in 2013. So looking at the plants now in spring 2015 the leaves are fully developed but slightly yellow by comparison with others. This is across most of the elizaveta mature plants, So next week I will provide some of the replicate groups with pellets and some without.

The current focus is to give all plants a dose of compost tea. This takes time. The tea brewer that i have contains 100 lts, in which I place 2lt of compost. On immature plants 100 litres will cover between 800 and 1000 plants. On the more mature ( planted in 2011) plants this reduces down to 600. Iam still using a back pack sprayer, filling it with 10lts of tea per spraying. I had a problem to start with with the larger particles of compost blocking the sprayer.I have now solved that problem by decanting the tea into buckets and letting it settle for 30 mins before pouring it into the sprayer. A full 100 lt tank of tea is sprayed over the plants in a day.The other job on my list is to prune all dead wood out of the plants. For most, this is a cosmetic excercise. There are a few which although 90% of the plant has died back, there is fresh growth coming from both the lower branches – but also in the upper parts of branches that look completely dessicated. These dessicated plants are occasional, but without exception are individuals surrounded by health plants with no apparent reason for dieback.

Last week I walked the rows and destroyed ( by hand ) 8 nests of vapourer moths. This week as i have been spraying compost tea i have yet again found that I had missed another 5 small webs full of caterpillars that are on the verge of starting to break out onto the branches. Experience from last years showed that these voracious feeders can strip a plant in a week. Reports are that within the National Nature reserve adjacent to the farm these insects have become a major infestation. As small back furry caterpillars they are not palletible for birds.

This week was also highlighted by a trip to Germany to investigate harvesting processing and analysis. Options for freezing the branches are under investigation as the prefered option. I am looking to develop a system that is affordable and simple without a heavy need for capital investment. Branch cutting will mean only taking half the crop this year but it will provide an opportunity to prune out plants into a form that makes future harvesting easier.

I have a design for a berry seperator which will need to be built during the next two months. A simple tool but essential one that utilises components that are similar to parts on harvesters for other berry crops.

Over the past three weeks my laptop has been plagued by a virus. I had not appreciated how aggressive these could be. It regenerated three times before now finally seeming to be destroyed. It makes one wonder what the people that create these viruses find as any justification to inflict them on others. Three weeks without a computer allows for more fieldwork and less office work so there are always some silver linings to gray clouds.

Finally, Nepal is a country that is renoun for its sea buckthorn. The news of the earthquake there carries a resonance as of the fragility of our lives within the natural environment. Living in a country the other side of the world from this crisis it is frustrating not being able to help, and the thoughts of how people recover from such an event are painful. At a time when some politicians talk of reduced aid going to foreign countries, this type of event goes to show how vulnerable we are and how important it is that all countries must work together to reduce the impact of these issues when they happen.