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There is always light at the end of the tunnel

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June has been followed by July. A strange statement, but this was June 2016 – the month and year of Brexit. June 1916 was also part of another momentus event – the Battle of the Somme. Both are historic events, but like all history, time moves on and people live through it. As a dedicated European, currently I think I am standing at one end of a long dark tunnel. I have great faith in our new prime minister which means there will be light at the end of the tunnel and all that needs to be done is control a fear of the unknown.

Leadership is essential in troubled times. As a somewhat unconventional farmer my future  as a small farmer is focused on an alternative crop ( sea buckthorn). I have huge uncertainties about living on an eroding coastline with a sea may become for aggressive as climate change takes hold. Andrea Leadsom is now my Leader as the new Minister at DEFRA. The old Department of Energy  and climate Change has been dissolved with Energy being merged into Business. So does that mean the new government is a climate change sceptic.  Maybe it is considered an unaffordable funding area? Alternatively if might be merged into DEFRA which is of course the Depertment for the Environment.

The conservative Fresh Start project provided some outlines of post Brexit priorities. Food security and protection of the countryside; reduced red tape; improved access to international markets. Support for rural development; intervention to stop wheat and milk farmgate prices falling below cost of production; expanding UK investment in science and technology and grant funding animal welfare. A commendable wish list that is highly supportable.

Pre Brexit I had the feeling that there was only one government department pulling the strings – that being the Treasury. If a project was essential or politically sensitive then it gained support. In the reality of post Brexit our new Chancellor has already said there will be no emergency budget. A reassuring statement that I hope shines a beacon for both UK agriculture and the country as a whole. Beneath this glimmer of optimism I have to say that the tunnel I am looking into is still dark, dank and cold – but there will be and always is light at the other end.

On a similar note I view the sea buckthorn project at Devereux farm. The difference is that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it is bright. This year the fact that the weather of winter 2015/16 was so poor resulted in the male sea buckthorn coming through the season in poor health. Their poor health led to poor pollination which simply resulted in a very small number of berries.

As with our post Brexit chancellor looking at his position, I look at mine and see that through changing the management of the plants i can feel that the problem is containable and solvable. A summer of monthly foliar feeds has developed a field of strong growth and healthy plants. Some individual diseased plants are still an issue but I suspect that will always be a result of a localised problem of soil health.

This month the first area of plants have been covered with a mesh grid on which to hang anti bird netting. The birds are still, and will always be an issue. Devereux farm’s locality by the Hamford water national nature reserve and our practice of creating and maintaining wildlife habitat leads to an environment in which birds will thrive. I could shoot them and there are some pests which need culling if they damage the environment they live it. But there are alternatives available and those are the approaches that need to be taken.

This coming week the Soil Association are coming for the first preliminary inspection in the transition process for the sea buckthorn to go organic. The sea buckthorn is grown organically anyway, but as a new crop I see it as an essential part of the process to conform to a management system that consumers understand and trust in. So there will be more paperwork and I hope support and advice as to how to both manage the crop and bring it to market.

Although there are few berries to find harvest this year will take a more academic role. The german method of harvesting sea buckthorn focuses on cutting branches and freezing them so that the berries fall off the frozen branches easily and without damage.Most of the plants are Devereux are thornless, larger berried, sweeter siberian varieties. Traditionally these are hand picked by very skilled pickers. Without the availability of Siberian pickers I need to find an alternative.

The Lisavenko research institute in Siberia  has suggested four of the varieties at Devereux as possibly more suitable than others with this branch cutting/freezing process. As experience has shown, these Siberian varieties has been prone to stress and disease whilst adapting to live in their new environment in Essex. So cutting branches could trigger susceptability to disease. I hope that the fact the plants are in such good condition following this year’s programme of monthly foliar feeds will give them the ability to recover and regenerate from this method of harvesting. With a research plan put together by East Malling research I hope that this may provide a more efficient way of harvesting our siberian varieties as they grow into maturity in the future.

Right at the beginning of this blog I mentioned the issue of living on the coast. This week I saw the Naze cliffs that protect our family farm on here in North east Essex came every closer to breaching threatening the farm with being flooded by the North Sea. Whether this is driven by changing climate or not, the threat is real and will become a dominant issue over the next few years. But then as with Brexit and the sea buckthorn – there will be solutions – it just takes time and in an era of networking and collaboration, almost anything is possible.

 

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Keep calm and carry on.

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That famous phrase – Keep Calm and Carry On, comes to mind as I watch the EU referendum results unravel. In such a grave situation there is no place for emotion. What is clear is that for whatever reason there is no plan for the UK to go forward if the vote to Leave the EU wins. There is no leader. We are heading for a period of crisis management during which time all one can do is not make big decisions and wait until reality reveals itself.

This week has been marred also by the most torrential rain which just gets in the way of trying to make progress with anything. It was by chance that I watched a channel 4 repeat on extreme weather a couple of nights ago. We all know that flooding has been an issue in the past. In 1483 a flash flood saved King Richard III, as a rebellious army led by the Duke of  Buckingham became bogged down in severe flooding of the Severn Valley. Events down the ages have been noted but even climate change sceptics are having to accept today’s events are more frequent and dramatic. The North Atlantic jetstream is reacting to a warming of the atmosphere. Like it or not, we are in changing times and more extreme weather is something we need to come to terms with – just in the same way as we will need to come to terms with leaving the EU and all that it means.

In the sea buckthorn field I have to admit I let my emotions get ahead of rationality. This year has been very free of insect pests. Last year aphids attacked the siberian variety Altaiskaya with a vengance. The result was devastating for some plants with extensive loss of leaf and even death. Trying to maintain an organic growing methods meant that by the time I had found and obtained a solution ( Neem ), the damage was done. Coming out of that experience I am naturally suspicious of all insects on my plants. So when this month I saw a small black, larvae looking bug on my leaves my instant reaction was physical removal. It was not until a late night investigation into insect identification that I realised that these larvae were ladybird larvae. Ladybirds that eat aphids. So the moral of the story is not to be too quick to judge.

The other interesting feature of progress relates to the development of berries on the Siberian plants. Possibly I should say the lack of development as most plants with the exception of Klaudia and Inya have almost no berries this year. An exchange of emails with the Lisavenko institute in siberia has identified that the reason is poor pollination brought about by the poor condition of males in the pollination period in April. Having had a cold and wet late winter and spring the lack of nutrient availability starved the plants with an end result of few berries. Discussions with Soil Hub International have agreed that 2017 the plants will be given a monthly compost tea spray from February. As most varieties are now coming out of dormancy in January, there is enough leaf to start to feed them. So as with many issues – a problem has a solution.

The emails with Lisavenko also included a discussion about harvesting. The Siberian varieties are traditionally hand picked. In the UK this is an expensive option,especially if the crop has so few berries. Last year the german varieties at Devereux farm were harvested by having 0.5m sections of branches cut and then frozen. In a frozen state the berries can be knocked off without damage, then the leaves seperated and a good clean sample of fruit produced. This is efficient and cost effective. Then the germans however say that not all varieties are suitable for cutting. Siberian varieties are not cut, and my experience of some varieties at devereux indicates that they are sensitive to damage and disease prone. But with no work undertaken into whether one can/cannot cut siberian varieties it seems to make sense to give it a try. The issue will be tool hygiene and management of the plants after cutting to encourage recovery and re-growth.

So Lisavenko have suggested four varieties that they feel are most suitable. Soil Hub International are designing some enhanced compost tea variants to test as post cutting spray to rejuvenate the plants. The final part of the puzzle is to ensure that there are objective and quantified results gained from the excercise. So I am asking East Malling research in Kent to help in the design and possibly management of the trial.

So by next year I hope I will have good pollination leading to a good crop of berries and the ability to harvest them in an efficient and cost effective method. Simple – it just takes time. I just wonder how long it will take to manage our new status of the UK outside the EU. Somehow i do not see it as simple.

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A time of reflection and learning

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As another week comes to an end it is not only sea buckthorn that fills my thoughts. The needless, mindless murder of Jo Cox MP makes for a fear for the future. The tactic of terrorists and self- publicists to unsettle ordinary people by such senseless acts cannot work as all it does it raise resilience in knowing what is right and what is wrong. What I feel is sad is that these acts have a deep seated root cause that has been years in the making.Some of it based on an erosion of standards, of respect for others and for authority. It may be overstating the issue, but I see the quality of the bickering and accusation of both sides in the EU referendum as a symptom of this. Whatever the decision after June 23rd, there will be divisions at the heart of government. We, the voters will get on with our lives, but if those lives are to improve we need to know that those that run the country can and will solve the problems that are around us. The loss of Jo Cox is the most bitter illustration of some of these deep seated problems. The causes of which will only be solved through unity and strength in a government that we can again look to with pride and admiration.

After such saddness it seems the rest of what has happened at Devereux farm has little relevance. But the highlight of the week was a visit from fellow sea buckthorn growers from Mongolia. It is always refreshing to discuss common interests with others who see a different perspective on issues. The Mongolian climate is a diametric opposite of east coast UK. Their sea buckthorn plants emerge from winter in late April. The plants would not survive without irrigation, for which they fortunately have an adjacent river that is fed with melt water from surrounding mountains. The sea buckthorn is grown organically, but harvesting method is still a primary issue. A post Soviet era country with an economy that is still adjusting to a free market has to find new industries to improve an uneviable unemployment problem. Growing sea buckthorn is a potential opportunity and  follows a historic tradition of using sea buckthorn within the country. We have all been brought up with a knowledge of Genghiz Khan, the 13th century leader who united the Mongol tribes and conquered all land from the Great wall of China to the German border and down to the Middle east. Sea buckthorn as a nutritous wild plant has almost cult status as a means of maintaining both human health, and in the 13th century also an important fodder for the horses that made the Mongol empire possible. It is interesting that the Mongolian government give all school children sea buckthorn juice daily, in a similar way to the time when all UK schools had free milk. Such a policy action is a recognition of the benefits that can be gained from the nutritous sea buckthorn berry.

June is a time when the plants at Devereux farm are finally showing the potential crop of berries for this harvest. As it takes six or so years for plants to mature to potential yield many of these Siberian plants still have some time to go. The fact that they also have to adapt to a mild climate and a soil that is the opposite to that which they are accustomed is also a factor.

Observing the development of berries on the plants has been tinged with anticipation. It is however the nature of a trial crop to hope for the best, but expect something rather more realistic.

Some varieties have little or no berries at all. Some started with a mass of tiny berries, but most have not filled and have dropped off. Others are showing some useful indications that the future will be bright. Krazy Klaudia, that every year wakes from dormancy in mid winter is possibly now looking the most reliable and successful with both lush healthy growth and a useful showing of berries. Chuiskaya, one of the older Lisavenko Siberian varieties is a strong, large  good looking plant that also has enough berries to indicate that it will be viable in the future. Inya, unlike Chuiskaya has a taller trait and it is showing great promise with large berries. Large berries should be a characteristic of Augustina. This variety has had some disease issues in the past but as experience develops ways to master the problems I am hopeful Augustina will also show promise.

Again – as a trial it is difficult to know what to expect. I regularly report back to the Lisavenko Institute for horticultural research in Barnaul, Siberia, as they supplied my plants. This last week, an exchange of emails with the Institute director is in agreement that the good news is that it is a significant achievment to have healthy plants. The fact that there are mixed results with berry yield we have agreed is probably down to poor pollination.

Sea buckthorn is wind pollinated with males sea buckthorn plants fertilising females within a 100 sq.m. area around them. This last winter we had a very mild December followed by a wet and cold late winter/spring. The males came out of that winter looking yellow and in poor condition. With pollination in mid April, this has to have been a problem.

Applications every 3-4 weeks of liquid Life compost tea have reverted the males to large healthy, lush and dark leaved plants. Next winter I will start application of Liquid Life in February to help stimulate root growth and get plants off to a better start. The fact that we will only have a small crop this year is disappointing, but it will provide a learning curve and an opportunity as to developing how to harvest them.

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Consumer confusion and a milestone year

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I should consider this last week to have been a massive milestone – finally taking the plunge and signing up with the Soil Association to make the sea buckthorn at Devereux farm organic. In effect, it is already being grown organically – certification provides the verification that this is true.

Truth is becoming an issue as the EU referendum becomes closer. One side countering the other with statements that offer us the voter with little in the way of fact. This type of spat also broke out in the nutrition advice world as the National Obesity forum was accused by National health England of being irresponsible in the publication of its latest report. The forum saying that we should stop counting calories as these do not provide a simple resolution to the obesity crisis. National health England reads their advice as being irresponsible as it indicates that high fat diets may not necessarily be the evil they are portrayed as whilst starchy and sugary replacements can offer dangers in other areas.

As ever, the consumer stands back and looks and listens to experts whose publicly displayed disagreements result in further confusion. The results can be seen in a Mintel market report just issued that shows consumers are now turning away from healthy processed food that market themselves as “low in”, “light” or “diet” products. There is a call for clearer nutritional information and ingredient transparency – but when experts do not dispense clarity how can anyone make a rational decision. The unfortunate consequence is a loss of trust and respect. Mintel go on to suggest that in food terms consumers are looking for product that has nothing to hide – including that clarity on where it comes from and how it is made.

So it is also interesting that in a week when the EU is under fire and nutritional rationality is in a mess, that the EU committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection was debating the problems of unfair practices in the food supply chain. This follows all those reports that big supermarkets offer farmers poor buying deals. Practices that result in fresh vegetables being ploughed back into fields or sold for very little for livestock feed because they are not a precise shape. Food is perishable and farmers and growers have a small window of opportunity to sell their goods before they are out of sell by date. With 90% of the EU industry represented by small and medium sized business there is a problem within a highly competitive  food supply chain when buying power is used irresponsibly.

This discussion has been on-going but finally the report from this committee indicates that there is a serious problem. It prompts the EU commission to look to competition law to ensure that producers should be fairly paid for their goods. In the end it is the consumer who will benefit from this. As diary farmers, fruit and vegetable producers go out of business because the market pays for milk and fresh produce at cost price or even below then choice falls and production ever moves into the hands of big business. The side issues – if they can be seen as such are a loss of product quality and diversity, much of which is based on old tradition and cultural background. This loss also adds power to the buyers who become stronger and gradually out compete smaller retailers who themselves go out of business. In the past the EU commission has focused on consumer rights, but this new committee report recognises that unless there is an even playing field for the whole supply chain then in the end those consumer rights to choice and quality are undermined.

I should now return to sea buckthorn. The siberian plants at Devereux farm have been susceptible to pest and disease. They are after all an exotic plant living in a new environment with a lot of adjustments to make for different soil and climate. The reason for only now signing up as organic is a reflection of the feeling that the plants are responding to how they are looked after and the risk of disease is lessening. having started in 2009 this has been a long haul, but this process has some benefits. This last week, while giving the plants their next feed of compost tea and quietly going about my business I have grown to appreciate the environment I work in. Early in the morning I have met up with a massive hare. I should not be so complacent as it could be the cause of the younger plants being chewn and broken back in the spring. But as such a magneficent animal – I can forgive this and just appreciate the moment of meeting with both of us eyeing each other  without fear or suspicion, before both returning to the job in hand. That evening our resident barn owl cruised over my head. The fact this year the area between the rows of sea buckthorn has been left uncut possibly allows for better hunting. Skylarks add to aerial displays with their characteristic tune filling an otherwise dull and cold sky with something to make me smile. None of this is part of the plan – it is just a consequence of finding a way to make the sea buckthorn grow. But it does make for a great place to work.

As we move into June the focus is always on the harvest. Between now and then the plants with the most berries on need to be protected against the rooks and jackdaws that so expertly came and helped themselves to last year’s harvest. Actually having a crop also means developing the best way to harvest. These Siberian berries should be larger and supposedly sweet. So, after so much effort these are not just berries but like semi-precious jewels.The plants are thornless so hand picking is possible. As the plants are still young, cutting off branches to freeze in order to remove the berries needs careful thought. With between 1-2000 plants coming into harvestable fruit this is a learning process. Then of course comes selling. 2016 will be a milestone year.

 

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Sea buckthorn – looking a picture of health.

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The original concept of growing sea buckthorn at Devereux farm was in the long term to establish a commercial crop, but the process of getting there was accepted as having to go through a number of trial stages. Choosing Siberian plants was a good in theory concept. Higher yield, multiple varieties, few or no thorns, sweeter and larger berries, an understanding of disease resistance all adding up to making theory sound like a good idea. Obtaining them from a Russian institute in Siberia was ably assisted by the InCrops Enterprise hub based at the University of East Anglia. Year by year though the practical issues of finding practical solutions to growing a plant that is out of its climate comfort zone has been a concern.

This week the plants have had their second dose of compost tea product called Liquid Life. This is bought in from Soil Hub International and apart from plant nutrients it also contains a diverse population of micro organisms that support the natural defence mechanism of the plant against pathogens and stimulates growth. The results have been revealing.

Before the first application the Siberian males in particular had not come through the winter well. They showed 60% or more of yellowing leaves. The female variety Altaiskaya, which suffered so badly last year from pest attack in  June also looked weak. The troublesome Elizaveta had survived the winter well but the leaves had a curl in them indicating stress.

Three weeks on and these issues are gone. Not only that but new growth is developing well in the base of plants. Berries are setting. Klaudia, the crazy variety that broke bud on New year’s eve is doing particularly well. Inya strangely has poor leave growth but almost more berries than leaves. Other varieties, Augustina ( projected as having the largest berries); Chuiskaya – the oldest variety, and Etna – the youngest all look promising. Some however show no sign of fruit. Sudarushka looks particularly healthy with lots of leaf but no berry.

I put some of this down to the condition of plants at pollination. Next year I need to move the compost tea application back into early April to improve the functionality of both males and females. I also think that maybe I should introduce some German males to spread the pollination period. As with Klaudia, most varieties are still adjusting to our strange soil. Pollination is key and if the males are out of synch with any of the female varieties ( such as Sudarushka ) then I need to find a way of reducing the risk of poor timing.

Improving soil quality and health has always been an issue. The compost tea will help with this, but ultimately a regular dose of true compost around the plants will help. This will happen later this year once the bespoke compost spreader arrives. In the meantime I have to consider how to manage weeds. Weeds are not just weeds. they are plants that can smother a young plant and compete for soil nutrients. They are also though potentially a habitat for predator invertebrates that can target pests. They may take their share of moisture from the soil, but they also shade the soil from direct sun. In commercial fruit growing terms I know I would be told that they should be kept down or destroyed. But I am coming to the conclusion that as the mature plants look very healthy then maybe the presence of weeds around the plants is not so detrimental.

Last year I cut the grass with a ride on  mower on both sides of each row of sea buckthorn. This year I think I will cut half the rows in this way. The other half I will strim down the tall weeds immediately next to the sea buckthorn plants and then cut a single mower width down the middle of the grass between the rows. This will prevent the weeds from growing into the sea buckthorn branches, but allow beneficial insects to be present in immediate proximity to the sea buckthorn plants. This is after all a trial. The strim and mow option will probably take slightly longer than mowing two rows alongside the sea buckthorn, but if it results in healthier plants then it is worthwhile.

My final comment relates to the Latvian varieties here at Devereux farm. There are 400 plants – 4 varieties ( Sunny; Mary; Tatjana; Goldrain ) with 100 plants of each. I am purposely not  giving them any Liquid Life or other fertiliser. They have to survive on their own. The result – they have grown larger and stronger than the Siberian plants for none of the effort that has to go into their Russian cousins. The downside is that they have thorns, but as a growing success they are an excellent example of ease and sustainability.

June is the month when pests are likely to become an issue. Sea buckthorn fly particularly is one that reached Germany in 2013. It is a scourge in Asia and can destroy 50% and more of the crop. I have sticky traps to identify them. Aphids attacked Altaiskaya last year in June. I am hopeful however that with the plants in good health, and knowing the issue then it will be able to control the problem before it gets out of hand.

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2016 – a year fo.r decisions, but time will tell

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Devereux, and our other farm, Walton Hall  are like rural enterprises across the UK looking to the future. The principle arable enterprise bumps along with incomes that go from unexciting to  non-contributory to the business. The days of a nation wide network of government funded agricultural research stations are gone. The term food security for the UK raises its head occasionally, but not ahead of economic viability. In fact food security and climate change are two huge issues whose importance is accepted, but neither gain political traction for long enough to develop a cohesive long term plan.

It is an old farming adage – live as if you will die tomorrow, but farm as if you will farm for ever. Live well, but look after the land because it is a vital resource. 2016 will be a pivotal year for this farm as we grapple with whether we should have a long term view on protecting our land from the sea. It seems that within five years the natural cliffs that protect our farm from the sea will have been breached by the sea.

Records for Walton Hall farm go back to the 12th century, when St.Paul’s of London owned the land. There were sea defences then, but clearly nothing like our 5m high sea walls. All the same the farm, not only was a sizeable part of the farm lost to the sea but a whole village with it. Their lives commemorated in a pew created in the cathedral for the purpose. Through the centuries there has been a continual battle of both government and private investment to hold the line against the sea, with varying degrees of success.

1953 was our last failure. A tide that cost the lives of 300 along the East anglian coast and 1800 in Holland and Germany. The resultant new wall  on the Naze was constructed with 100% government funding both to rebuild the wall, but also to start a ten year process to re-juvenate the soil into productive arable land. Land that had been used for sheep grazing improving yields by one third following huge leaps forward in plant breeding and mechanisation.

The land now has a capacity to grow four tons of wheat, but within a global market, this enterprise is hardly profitable in an industry that demands high rates of investment in machinery to keep productive.

So if the land is economically non-productive – should we just abandon it and let it go to sea? If wheat can be imported cheaper, what is the reason for continuing?  If UK agriculture requires public funding to keep it solvant, is this sustainable either politically or economically?

But as that old farm adage indicates, we should respect the value of the soil because you never know when you might need it. In 1953, Europe was starving and that was the driver for government to maintain farm assets and maintain productivity. History tells us of the times when we needed these assets to feed the nation and these were times when the nation was great, but then plunged into crisis.

Our challenge here is a climate change issue. A rising threat of unpredictable and long term proportion. Coastal farmers in other parts of the world have already given up their land because they do not have an option. But on the East Anglian coast we do have options. Partnerships are developing and innovative ways of reducing flood risk are being trialed. The risk has grown. Walls are bigger and stronger, but as I reflect that our 5m wall came within 0.4m from being overtoped in 2013 and that this was a surge tide that we see every five years the risk is real.

This was one of the drivers for Devereux farm developing an alternative enterprise by growing sea buckthorn. Farmers have diversified for years and the drivers for this have always been economic. All businesses have to react to market changes and have to evolve to survive. Our position here is no different to one reflected on all low coastlines.

Farming is an industry that looks to the long term. Land may be handed down through generations but with that comes responsibility. In an age where short term accounting and success is gauged on business growth not survival, there are few places to look for for advice. What is for certain is that where there is a will there is a way. The sea buckthorn enterprise is working and looking forward to its first crop. It has taken time, and so it is good to allow time to resolve problems and find the ways to reduce the mountain back down to a molehill.

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Still stable in changing times

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As you sow , so shall you reap goes the saying. There is an undercurrent in the world of dis-satisfaction to a degree that we have never seen before. The rise of Donald Trump in the USA, in spite of his maverick status and uncompromising retoric is ruffling the feathers of the conventional political system. The world has racked up layers of issues which will require immense diplomacy to solve. These are not problems that money can solve but one’s that will require working together, compromise and wisdom. The world is always changing and there is nothing to fear in change. Change though needs to be anticipated, understood and managed so stability and progress through changing times is positive.

So where will 2016 take us. The US elections will probably result in a more conservative outcome as happened with the Scottish referendum. As I drive around my local area and see other farmers with “Vote leave” posters up in their fields I see this as a protest vote. A vote of dis-satisfaction.  No one can predict what leaving the EU means, so understanding why one would want to leave the EU is not easy. Migration through open borders in a small country such as the UK is emotive. But unfortunately we also need most of the migrant workers to do jobs that need to be done. EU legislation is cited, but these laws are ratified by Westminster, so they have become UK law and if agreed by UK politicians then is the problem EU or UK regulators. Democracy and sovereignty are emotive issues, but when it comes to elections there is often a poor turnout in the UK. All this together comes from an underlying dis-satisfaction here, as in the US. Dis-satisfaction that will only become worse if the outcome of the EU referendum ends up with less stability rather than more.

Which just goes to show that life is not simple. Over the last week at Devereux farm the sea buckthorn is enjoying the sunshine. The last varieties – Inya from Siberia, and all the Latvian varieties are flowering. This could be a concern as the males across the site have looked poor with yellowing leaf. They have all been fed with compost tea and the leaves are responding, but whether this will impact upon pollination it will have to be seen.  The compost tea I am using this year is “Liquid Life” provided by Simon Parfey at the Soil Hub. The rapid response from the plants is proof of activity. But it is the fact that it comes in a ready to use form that has made so much difference. In the past, the compost tea has had to be brewed. A time consuming process. As the tea brewer here only has 100lt as one brew is finished, spraying has to wait another 24hours until the next one is completed. With 5000 plants to feed the whole process becomes protracted and untimely. The new process, one litre of Liquid Life is diluted to 20lt of water and that covers some 120-140 plants depending upon size. The whole job has been halved in time, even though it is still manually applied from a back pack.

The plants on the whole look well, but walking the lines shows a variety of issues. There are the odd plants that have died. A few that have whole branches where leaves have just started to show, then not developed. There are some varieties that have shown to be disease prone that are already showing problems. It would seem that an additional second dose of compost tea a week after the first, is helping with this problem. These diseases are variety specific. To identify the disease would be possible, but add another cost to our development. As the site is being managed organically, the options are limited, but they are working. knowing what the disease is would be interesting, but it is the management outcome that is important at this stage.

Vapourer moth have been trying their best to  infect the site. Spraying on the Liquid life compost tea has provided the opportunity to inspect every plant and around 30 small infestations have been pulled off the plants. There will be more to come.

It was in late May last year that the Siberian variety Altiaskaya was attacked by aphids. The worst affected lost branches and look weaker plants this year. Now the plants look well and strong new growth is coming up from the centre of many plants. It is the nature of a trial that each year one becomes aware of issues and how to manage them. Unfortunately the farming cycle is annual, so the learning curve is long.

The next focus is on marketing. Turning a new crop into sales is more than an art. Sea buckthorn is not only highly nutritous, it has a unique citrus sour flavour. This month will need our marketing plan to develop in order that the 2016 harvest creates a stir, that a new ingredient should. So although the world has problems with change, all is well at Devereux farm and I look forward to finally seeing how UK grown Siberian sea buckthorn performs – particularly the sweet varieties.

 

 

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Spring review of Siberian plants and their management.

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Spring is a time for being upbeat and now that field work has started some management issues are coming to light.

The fact that variety Klaudia decided to break dormancy on December 31st has not made any difference to its wellbeing. For ease of growing it has been great. The long wet spring has not helped our heavy clay soil. This last week I applied the first dose of Liquid Live, compost tea, supplied by the Soil Hub. Using both compost and compost tea focuses the mind on soil micro organisms. Although the soil surface might be aerobic, when it becomes waterlogged this will not help the development of a healthy soil.

As sea buckthorn is wind pollinated the ability of males to fertilise females is key. The Russian males, Gnom variety, have a sad yellow tinge to their leaves. I have found that these plants have been susceptible to problems in the past. The females of all varieties do not have this problem. When planted, some, but not all our plants have established nitrogen fixing root nodules already established. The presence of frankia in the soil is an essential for this process to work. Technically the process operates best in a soil pH of 6-7.1 ( Zhitskaya et al 1987). Excess application of nitrogen as a plant feed inhibits the  efficiency of this nitrogen fixing operation, but this is in a natural state. Molybdenum has a role in the formation and functioning of the system but at a rate of 330 micrograms/kg. At Devereux farm all the females are healthy. The males need managing, but we are registering as organic I need to ensure that additional treatments fit with the Soil Association regulations.

Recognising that Gnom has been sceptible to disease is an issue. It also tends to have more surface roots and throws up more suckers. I take from this that as a plant it finds growing roots on the surface as easier. But of course in a wet winter/spring, heavy rain will flush out nutrients, so these surface roots will be less able to access available soil nitrogen and other nutrients. The treatment for now is a foliar feed of Liquid Live together with a soil drench of the same material. This will be repeated next week. Each plant will also have an application of organic chicken manure based pellets. The ground still being wet is also holding off the ability give each plant a heavy mulch of compost but this will be the next operation to start to improve the organic matter in the upper root level that should improve the fungal population.

Non organic growing methods would provide a wider armoury of intervention, but organic  for me is a learning curve. Building soil health is a slow and continual process. It is crucial that the males are healthy to provide their role in the fertilisation process. I shall look forward to next spring now with knowledge that this year there will have been heavy applications of compost right across the site with the aid our bespoke deisgned mechanical spreader.

The use of machinery saves time. Time is a precious resource, but how it is used is equally important. Applying compost tea using a back pack sprayer, rather than tractor mounted machine is slow. The process does mean that each plant gets a good soaking, but as importantly it gives time to inspect every plant.

As I have been applying the compost tea this week, observations of different issues become apparent. There are the occasional plants that have full leaf on the majority of the plant, but retarded growth on a single stem. This could have a disease implication, but the leaves are still emerging and looking healthy. So these plants will need marking for regular observation over the next two weeks.

There are plants with vapourer moth nests. Not many, but again possibly ten which if left undestroyed would spread into neighbouring plants. These caterpillars can strip a plant in a week.

This period of plant observation allows the chance to look at how the Altaiskaya variety is recovering from the impact of last year’s pest invasion. A severe attack of aphids weakened many plants. It was variety specific, but caused concern for the ability of the plants to recover at all. This spring these plants are looking better, but where the soil type is heaviest it is marked how these plants are weakest. Again, like the Gnom males, these will need some special attention to build them up over this spring and summer.

The variety Elizaveta was also identified as one prone to disease. I see this as being associated with its fast growth and lush leaf character. The mature plants look really good, but amongst these there are still some plants, particularly immature ones, that have some dessicated leaf issues.

When considering this I now treat these Siberian plants as exotic then compared to the German varieties that were planted two years ahead of the Russian stock. The Siberian plants will have bigger, sweeter berries. Mostly they are thornless making harvesting so much easier. They should in the end have larger yield potential. But against this they will require a much higher level of management input. But then they will be unique in the UK market and provide a new innovative ingredient that otherwise would be only found thousands of miles away to the east in the depths of Siberia.

 

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