Author: britishseabuckthorn

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The Power of nature

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Our sea buckthorn harvest is coming to an end with the last few plants of Askola being cut over the next two or three days. The german plants have yielded phenomenally – over ten kilos. This is  even more remarkable as the process has left the branches necessary for next year still laden with berries.

This plantation is made up of the first planting back in 2009, so these are now maturing to peak yield. Remarkably, they also receive no fertiliser, no irrigation, and a minimum of management except for a good prune in the winter.

This minimum management is on purpose to see how the plants perform under this regime. The one marked issue is the difference between the strong growers and the weak plants. i can only put this down to the potential frankia activity in the soil.

The great advantage with sea buckthorn is the potential of the frankia nodules on the roots to source and trap the nitrogen that the plant needs. Judging by the yields this year when this activity is successful it requires no further intervention. It is marked however that there are occasional plants that still yield heavily but the leaves are weak and discoloured. Consequently the berries are small and virtually unharvestable.

The conundrum is whether to provide fertiliser in order to bring all plants up to a standard or not. Providing nitrogen in whatever form will reduce the capacity of the frankia to operate effectively. Alternatively those plants that are weak I will identify and some I will spray with a solution of soil from the roots of alder trees – which also affiliate with sea buckthorn. This may provide sufficient frankia in the soil to rejuvenate these weak plants. A second group i will mulch deeply with compost and provide compost tea as i do with the Siberian plants. A third group will be left alone.

I will have to wait for another year for the results – but that is farming.

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Harvest systems – an absolute priority.

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Back in January an action plan came together of priority projects that would help to develop the sea buckthorn farming project at Devereux farm. Harvesting has always been seen as a major barrier to growing sea buckthorn. There are options open to the larger growers, such as the Kranneman sea buckthorn harvesting system. This is a self propelled machine that cuts the branches off the top of the plants at approximately one metre off the ground. Its work rate is actually governed not by its rate of travel but by the processing system that it feeds.

Going to see the Kraneman in operation and understanding the whole german harvesting and processing method was identified as a key objective for 2015. Reports from Scandinavia had already suggested that their sea buckthorn harvest was late due to a cold spring. The harvest in Germany is also late. But for the farm that runs the harvester that we wanted to go and see, their reason was a very dry spring and summer.( My UK sea buckthorn has also behaved unpredictably as the Sirola that I had expected ripening in July, was not harvested until the first three weeks of August).

It was this week therefore that Matt and I had the opportunity to go to see the full harvesting operation.

The farm is located an hour and a half drive south of Berlin. Its operations are undertaken on a scale which makes Devereux farm pale into insignificance. One field being twice the size of our arable enterprise. Grain stores with capacity for 10s of thousands of tons. A diary herd of 600 cows. But it was the sea buckthorn that we went to see.

The harvester is as impressive as it sounds but as an integral part of a system it is the processing that is of real interest. A five person team run a system that sees the cut branches sorted and clipped into size on a conveyor that enters a nitrogen freezing tunnel probably of some 9m in length. The branches emerge with berries crisply frozen and branches frosted. A vibrating bed is raked across by rotating drums fitted with spine rods that pull the branches across the bed, shattering the berries from the wood and pulling the fruitless branches away to a waste bin.

The berries, freed from the branch still retain clumps of twig and leaf. A series of sieves start the process of removing this trash, before the berries are conveyed up to a cyclon extractor fan. This sucks the leaf away from the berries diverting the fruit finally up on the final conveyor into a 300kg bin.  The whole system capable of processing 2.5 tons of berries a day.

The process is as impressive as it sounds but as with all farming the weakness in the system is still down to reliance on the weather for berry quality.

Poor rainfall had resulted in small berries which also gripped the branches tightly despite the freezing. In consequence the waste branches still carries away berries. Clumps of berries, knocked off their host branch managed to work their way through each part of the process without breaking up. The result being a bin that had more leaf in it than clearly would be normal.

Quality is a factor we all aspire too and markets demand. In this case the next stage for these berries will be to be washed. All unwanted leaf and wood waste removed as part of the preparation for pulping in the juice or puree making process. Blending of varieties allows balancing of quality so that the consumer is presented with product of a standard type.

So returning to the UK I look at the options for a  small scale sea buckthorn growing operation. In particular i relate to the issue that it takes six years for these plants to reach peak yield. If you have little or no income for capital investment in harvesting technology then the options have to look to one aim – A quality sample of large, trash free berries. Quality also means safe, so any process has to be designed to be clean and without risk of contamination, following through the principles of HACCP ( Hazard Analysis Critical Control points). This is of no real interest to the consumer who expects their end product to be of standard quality. Growers operate within the natural environment, not an asceptic one. It is essential that buyers in the supply chain are confident that production processes, including harvesting minimises risks of contamination.

Hand harvesting I have rejected as being very difficult to achieve this quality standard. The slow pace of development of the sea buckthorn plant gives time to understand the issues to both comply with HACCP and deliver quality. Small scale allows for greater concentration of effort to guarantee quality. Speed of process is important so that fruit is harvested at optimum ripeness.The trip to Germany indicates the critical need to balance harvesting capacity against facilities to remove berries from the branches. 2015 is presenting the learning issues to perfect a cut and freezing process with a HACCP compliance on an affordable small scale. 2016 will be an economically significant harvest as the whole plantation matures – but it will be the first with the right facility for the right product for the right market.

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Does the customer care about who owns brands?

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What makes people buy? In our consumer world the concentration of income and investment at the top end of the supply chain drives the influences that make those split second choices when a product falls off the shelf into a shopping basket. Supermarkets pride themselves in choice. Choice that offers multiples of similar products flying the flags of different brands. Price is but one issue. This week I was intrigued as to the quality of Tesco economy brand corn flakes. A staple product, priced at a third the cost of the Tesco own brand – which in itself is half the price of a well known brand.

The quality was still good. The packaging as expected did what it needed to do. The price was eye wateringly low. A great piece of value for money for the consumer.

I reflected on this as I was reading this morning a  blog by Janina – Too Strong coffee, exposing the recent merger of two global super coffee roasters. The story is all too familiar. The largest roaster,- Nestles, having its number one position in the world challenged by the marriage of no 2 and 3.

Does any of this matter to the end consumer?

It could be a good deal, bringing greater resources and buying power to favourite brands maybe providing improved flavour, quality or even price. It could also come at a cost as that greater buying power may not be to the advantage of coffee bean growers, creating a position similar to that of UK milk producers. But then coffee is not a supermarket loss leader. Coffee is a premium product characterised by source; taste; strength and brand. It also has achieved a successful on-the-go presence on the High street where so many traditional retail offerings have failed. Its branding secures its authenticity; its desirability and encompasses its quality into a value.

I mused over this while pouring over the multitude of brands of sea buckthorn oil capsules that now appear on Amazon and Ebay.

What is it that drives consumer preference of one brand over another ? It is said that it takes seconds for a consumer to make a product choice in a supermarket. Loyalty to brands provides preference but what drives the decision of a new customer? Price is a forked stick – too low might indicate poor quality; too high questions value for money. First impression on packaging may have a greater impact on a retail shelf, but on a virtual sales site the gloss provides less impact.

Of course the difference between a retail shelf and an internet site is that with the former there is exposure to new customers. Internet sales are serving a mature market. These customers have probably already established brand loyalty, so influencing a change of heart requires a radical offering. Brands in the sea buckthorn capsule market differ in source of product; size of capsule; quality of capsule; pure or mixture of oils. Pack sizes seem to grow and grow,  offering convenience but discounts for volume are not as obvious as one might assume. Brands portray differing backgrounds – healthcare multi product distributors to dedicated specialists. The issue that comes across is how one views the actual product – is it like my pack of economy cornflakes and a product you can accept as always of a standard quality, regardless of price? Or is it like coffee, a product that comes with the guarantees that one associates with a brand you trust but you are prepared to pay a premium for?

There are a myriad of competing supplements on the market, each with a specific offering. Some come  in with fashion, some have been there for generations. The issue has to be with all of them that consumers that want to take a supplement, care about their health. In this there lies a producer responsibility to ensure that the product the customer buys is of the quality that delivers what the customer wants. So this is not just about price – my economy packet of cornflakes being sold at such a low price, may be good value for money, but there can be no guarantees on quality. It is more about that branding – if quality is essential then its traceability is important; its functionality is important; its supply chain must be transparent.

So it is important to the consumer who runs brands and delivers the products they buy.

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Focusing on 2016 already – bird control and shelf life to ensure our golden berries get to market

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Jackdaws on sea buckthorn at Devereux Farm Jackdaw sbt 2

As each year goes by experience ticks a few more boxes. This morning, over breakfast we were talking about how harvest was going and what plans there were for 2015/16. I made a statement – there’s no problem that we cannot solve, and thinking back on it I think that is credible. The above photographs have been this year’s problem – forgive the fact that they are dated 2008. The camera was borrowed and I did not reset the date.

This year’s major issue has been finally discovering what has been stealing the Siberian berries. All year I have looked with suspicion at the flock of jackdaws that come and go. They are a large bird and young sea buckthorn plants are not very sturdy, so very unscientifically I had persuaded myself that these could not be my thieves. Starting in May i had put out scare crows; strings of CD discs; poles with fluttering hologram tape; florescent jackets on frames; a huge kite. The field next to the sea buckthorn is a finely cut grass one hectare area used as a model radio controlled flying airstrip. It is used most days, mainly in the afternoon and early evening. There is something on the airstrip that the birds seem to like, so if left alone they accumulate into a flock of between 50 and 100. Once they are settled in a group on the ground, they present the opportunity to use a bird scaring rocket. A firework with an extra loud explosion. Directed so that it goes off right above them, the effect is to scare them – and all those in the immediate area away from the site for two or three days.

In the winter our local environment becomes the home of another resident of siberia – The Brent goose. Flocks of several hundred or even a thousand strong are possible. When the farm had dairy cows the geese would come and graze on the pastures that we kept for the cows spring and summer grazing. It was an acceptance that once the winter turned really cold, by mid- January the geese would be hungry and nothing would deter them from eating the grass down to the roots.

Sweet sea buckthorn berries have the same level of attraction to my jackdaws. As I look at them and judge them to be just coming ripe, so the birds are judging that the berries are just to their taste also. In fact I should employ one of these birds to tell me when it is the best time to harvest my berries.

i had started to convince myself that it was not birds taking the berries as these birds are quite large and would damage the bushes. I had convinced myself that these sweet berries would be a tasty meal for mice. So I borrowed Matt’s camera that has activates on movement. he has used it on tracks and footpaths and photographed deer, and wildlife – as well as passing people who sometimes should not be there. I positioned the camera on a post 4 metres back from a row of latvian plants that had a reasonable covering of berries, straped it to a post and left it for two nights. i expected to see nocturnal movement of rodents up and down the plant stem. But no – no rodent – it was, and always had been the birds.

So next year the plan changes.

I now know the order in which my varieties ripen. I also know how quickly they can change from being unattractive to birds – to very attractive. 10 days off picking, I will net the plants, just over the rows that are coming ripe. Some years ago, Devereux farm used to host an International Scout Jamboree. It took over 180 acres of land; was every four years from 1996 to 2008; was attended by 5500 scouts staying for a week from up to 33 countries and accomodated 10,000 people on site on a daily basis. When it came to an end, one of the waste items left over was a huge pile of old water pipe. Cut to length and pushed onto metal stakes it will make ideal hoops to hold netting over the plants. This sounds like a sizable job, but the target market for these berries will be London as fresh berries so there will be sufficient value in them to justify the work.

This year has also shown that these sweet berries are a different fruit to the other European varieties at Devereux farm. The german varieties I expect to last three weeks to a month in a fridge as fresh berries without signs of deterioration. These sweet Siberian varieties will start to deteriorate at between 6 to 8 days so they need to be marketed as one would other soft fruit. It does stand to reason that the higher acid content in german varieties will control fungal growth. I have to say that the Siberian berries were not washed and were put into the fridge straight from the field.

To ensure quality I see picking fresh berries as needing some control measures in the field, particularly with respect to removing juice from damaged/split berries. I have been using a solid gel ice pack under the picking container used in the field. I think this can be improved by using two or even three gel bags frozen to mould around the bottom of the collection bowl. This will maintain a cold air environment within the bowl to reduce the temperature of the berry rapidly after picking. It should reduce any microbial activity to a minimum. Anything that helps to improve shelf life in these very special berries needs to be a real focus.

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Harvesting – manual but it is still progress

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This morning the last of the german variety sirola was cut at Devereux farm. They came ripe at the end of July and have been harvested since August 2nd. I was expecting them to be harvested in July but every season is different, and I believe that in Scandinavia their harvest is going to be late due to a cold summer. The plants have yielded well and have large berries mainly towards the top of the plant, with smaller fruit hidden in the middle and bottom of the plant.

The whole family have tried hand picking but that resulted in a long winded process of less than a kilo in an hour. We then tried the wire scrapers – just on the mid section of branches in order to reduce leaf contamination in the berries. The result was a messy pile of part broken berry mixed with a lot of juice. On freezing this forms a solid lump. I bought some thick polythene bags for storage this year but even these became brittle in the freezing process. They were pierced by the edges of the frozen lumps of berries when I tried to break them up to have bags of free flowing berries.

Last year we picked and scraped our berries. This year is the first attempt at cut and freeze. As a small farm unit the object is to find affordable low cost equipment. I had been told to find freezing capacity that could go to -30 deg C. This is a commercial capability and the estimate I have had to install the right “Rolls Royce” facility would be £14,500.

With only a small crop this year, spending this amount is not justified so I have some domestic freezers. The result is practical on a small scale, but there are some issues.

With experience from picking last year of ending up with a lot of leaf in the fruit, I am cutting branches about 30cm long and then trimming the leaf off the stem. In order to keep them in good condition, they are then put into an insulated box containing 4 large freezer packs. The trimmed branchlets are then about 15cm long. These are then put into a deep vegetable storage box with a mesh floor. These will stack within the freezer.

When cutting I am looking to only take half the berries choosing to cut branches that reduce the height and girth of the bush. Taking out the top also reveals small clumps and clusters of berries on short branches with little or no leaf. These come off as well. The process keeps the berries in good condition and allows the removal of unripe, damaged or over ripe berries as well as dead leaf or other unwanted trash. The end result leaves a lot of berries, but those are on branches which will form next years crop and the cutting process will ignite new growth from the centre of the bush for future harvests.

The freezing process allows berries to be knocked off the branches easily. But as speed is the issue in order to make harvesting viable, the small clumps and clusters of berries tend to fall straight into the collecting bin when the berries are being removed from branches. So I am now splitting the field collection box into two so the small branches go into a separate section and can be frozen away from the larger branches. These small clumps will be de-berried in a separation box with a finer mesh to hold onto the smaller stems of wood.

Anyone who farms sea buckthorn commercially will think this in-efficient and long winded, but the learning curve is important and until this crop earns me sufficient return to buy into harvesting/processing machinery – this is the way it has to be done.

It is actually progress and there will be clean bags of berries at the end of the harvest.

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Growth Accelerator masterclass – funding and the need for time management

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The previous blog i have just completed runs into this one and this develops from it.

Small business with aims for the future look for growing into bigger business. There are those that want to be multi-millionaires; there are those who want to be a creative success; there are those who look for financial security and pride in what they do; most probably have a hidden aspiration for millions but have a realisation that practicality is an issue.

My sea buckthorn project has had a few plants in the ground since 2009, with most since 2011. This number is enough to prove which varieties work, but not enough to grow a commercial commodity crop. To do this, my german contacts tell me I should be planting 25 hectares which will – within four years with the right investment in growing technology produce 300 tons of berries. I then think back to a conference where the mechanical harvesting system that has been developed was being presented and I am fairly sure that a mention was made of a need of 125 hectares for viability. 1500 tons of berries being produced within the UK would produce over 1,000,000 litres of juice; 90 million sea buckthorn oil supplement capsules; hundreds of tons of leaf for livestock feeds. Is this my dream – yes it probaly is, but to invest in such a business now would demand millions of pounds to develop the market. As it has with competing fruits such as pomegranate; cranberry; and blueberry. I have total faith in sea buckthorn – its nutritent quality; its ability to pair with other ingredients to make spectacular taste; its ability for multiple use. But reality tells me that as Coco cola took 80 years or so to develop, it might take a few years to see my sea buckthorn farm come to reality.

But that process has started. I know how special the Siberian berries are over their commercial european varieties. I know some of the hurdles that need to be jumped to grow them but they are by no means insurmountable. Technology will need investment as will product development, as will market development. These can be jumped in big steps or little ones – the latter just takes longer, but is probably surer.

Back in February I signed up to the Growth Accelerator scheme. A government sponsored scheme for small companies with big ideas that want to grow and find ways to grow faster.

The process provides a mentor. This is a valuable asset – having someone to judge and advise on your thought process. There are clearly some businesses where growth can be developed and scaled up rapidly particularly in manufacturing where variables can be defined and controlled. Market development and access to finance are key resources issues. The second of these being something that is key as since the recession in 2008, funding risk enterprise is more difficult.

Last week there was the first masterclass session, provided at the offices of Grant Thornton in London. A masterclass in understanding finance; different types of finance available and how to access it.

As with many new experiences in life, often these revolve around the people you meet. It is often their experiences that set new trends of thought as to how to resolve issues or problems. All too often it is possible to become too introverted  and subjective about the business in which you have a passion. Often problems that seem enormous are cut down to size, and some that seemed insignificant become points of focus.

This first masterclass was the first of three. The next requiring me to have honed a presentation into shape to pitch my business idea for funding. This now requires me to focus. What do i want funding for; and what do I need funding for? Or even am I in a position to need funding at this stage?

The final question is a simple one. I need funding for the farming business, but in very specific ways and in very targeted ways. One could spend precious funding on installing technology when there is just not the crop to justify it at this time. Time assessment is an issue, because it takes four plus years to grow a crop with yield potential – that needs to fit with a business growth plan so that its productivity fits with an ability to supply a growing market.

I need funding more though for market development – including market awareness development. Bringing examples of products to the market to develop interest; to supply interest; to make profit to fund the farm enterprise so that ultimately the farm enterprise will grow into the market that can be established with selected product. Product selected for its qualities to meet market demand. This in itself is a statement. At what stage does market interest become market demand? I see this process as being one that chases the concept of market interest in innovation and new ingredient  as being real, but tempered by the issue that 8 out of 10 new start ups in innovative/functional foods fail. Understanding what is a real interest with long term potential is also important as food NPD is often driven by fashion and fad which could be short term.

So between now and the next masterclass i need to have trimmed my thoughts and focused on specifics. When this is the time of year for harvest and other work that may be essential but is a distraction – the best thing about this Growth Accelerator scheme is that it sets an agenda within a time frame and creates a realisation of the need for time management in order to keep priorities progressing.

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Business development breaking free from the commodity trap.

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For farmers summer always has been the focus of the year. Harvest a time when all the effort for the whole year is revealed as a quantifiable result in crop yield, back in the grain store. But that is only half the job. Success or failure in the grain store is a combination of human effort over environmental condition. The crop then has to be converted into cash, to balance the books and to provide profit to improve facilities, replace machinery, repairs and renewals, reduce loans or borrowings and then provide for new enterprise to make the business grow.

UK Farming is a part of a global market. So for all the effort that goes into producing our crop, market competition is actually the issue that will make the difference on our bottom line this year. A strong sterling pound makes export uncompetitive. This might change over the coming year, but cashflow demands that sales happen to meet bills that have to be paid.  We might be part of Europe, but we still compete with european farmers for global markets, so with german and french grain quality up and the euro being weak again the UK grain price is going to need to weaken to export.

This market issue is the same influence that is forcing down the price of milk for UK dairy farmers. The milk industry has been controlled by milk quotas, created after the Milk Marketing Board was abolished in the 1980s to reduce the amount of milk coming onto the market and stabilise prices. Quotas were only a european control, but in the 1980s, half of the current European Union was behind the Iron Curtain. In April this year the quyotas were removed. the brakes came off and anyone with a capacity to milk more cows started to produce more milk. How the yoyo of market controls revolves! Milk is a commodity and a fresh product until it can go through an added value process. In its raw form it has a short life and consumers only drink a limited quantity, the rest has to go into butter, cheese, yoghurt, cream, iced cream and then on into processed multiple ingredient product. So the milk price is governed like my wheat by market conditions.

As an ex dairy farmer and a commodity grain producer it was this business model that I wanted our family business to break away from. Commodity production creates low profit and therefore reduces potential for business growth.

My first experience of a successful added value farm having sort my fortune abroad in 1979 in the Middle East – selling fresh UK dairy produce to the ex pat population in Dubai. A Dubai that was very different to that of today. The product brand was Longley farm. A Yorkshire farm business with jersey cows that had developed a huge range of premium yoghurt, cream etc. Spectacular product, flown in fresh every week in non-refridgerated containers. A premium niche perishable product but one that had broken that family dairy farm away from its commodity cycle and produced a business with growth potential in product sales, margin and profit.

It was this scenario that has led me into sea buckthorn. It is still a crop, although a niche crop. It has specific qualities that class it as a superfruit but it channels into a wide range of markets. It has been developed in Europe for 50 years, although the fruit has never penetrated the volume market. It is difficult to harvest and as a small EU industry it has not generated the investment needed to drive it forward to gain market share. On a more global scale, where employment costs and availability are not issues, then the crop is developing at a pace.

Interest in the market is growing, and for a small farmer such as myself a niche crop with added value potential with significant barriers to entry I find attractive. Experience reveals problems that are there to solve. Timing is an issue as the market will switch off if it takes too long to wait for a product that is considered unreliable.

If harvesting is a problem then it should be solved by investment. This statement is true, but the problem has been solved in germany with a mechanical system to both cut and process, but the issue is this is only available at a very high cost. Prototype machinery is expensive. it proves the system. The secondary stage is more important which is creating affordability through market demand. The crop needs to develop a volume market before a machinery manufacturer can start to sell enough harvesters to bring prices down to affordable levels for smaller farmers.

I have just mentioned the phrase – ” the crop needs to develop a volume market” – do I really mean that? What of the lessons of the milk industry? There is comfort in being a small producer within a small niche premium market with little or no competition. But even this is not true. The market has to be created; the product has to be produced within regulations and to a consistent quality and quantity. There always will be niche and volume markets for commodities within the same market, but if there is no market or only a weak one then either it needs high levels of risk investment  or just methodical and steady process that looks to a long term development for success.

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2015 Siberian harvest in one day.

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2015 will go down as my one day harvest and as with all trials – another learning curve.

In their native Siberia, most of the varieties that I have are harvested from August 20th to mid September. The climate I have here at Devereux farm has such a mild winter that we have occasional frosts. Frosts that occur maybe over a period of two to four days but the cold does not stay in the ground nor penetrate deep into the soil. Air temperatures fall across the autumn down to freezing, so the sea buckthorn plant drop their leaves in October as one would expect. But then starting with the variety Klaudia – 7 to 10 days into January, leaf buds start to crack open. The plants do not develop into full leaf until late March, but they do come out of dormancy.

The consequence is an earlier ripening period. The varieties that I have are ripening in the following order. Starting July 11; Etna followed by Klaudia and Inya. Elizaveta with Chuiskaya a week later, Sudarushka into the third week of July with Altaiskaya ripening but with a few yellow berries still at the end of the month. My Jessel and Rosinka are still too young to be bearing berries yet.

The Latvian varieties, Goldrain, sunny, mary and tatjana I am expecting to develop over the next 10 days. They have yielded well for their first year. I expect these will be coming at the same time at the sirola and finnish varieties.

The next topic I have to cover is the reason why my Siberian bushes have only taken a day to harvest. Shrews living in the inter-row margins have come out at night and systematically taken the berries as they ripen. Some berries completely disappear, some are eaten half through; some are left as empty skins hanging on the branches.

I have maintained these inter-row margins in order to keep an area for insects that might be useful as predators for other insects. The plan had been this year to place compost along all the rows between the plants to suppress the weeds.

This did not happen because the compost thrower that is being designed for me is not ready. It will be for this winter. As it is coming with its own tractor I have relied on-ride on mowers this season rather than buy a machine that would have become surplus. As a solution it is just not adequate to keep on top of the whole site.

The nature of this issue is one of finding funding for a novel idea in an era of recession. Bank borrowing was the order of the day pre 2008. Grant funding focuses on priority and outcomes that will benefit the widest spectrum of beneficiaries. Funding from own business profit looks to a mix of priorities and trims development opportunity on absolute need not on desirable need.

I know that we will grow a successful crop of Siberian sea buckthorn berries, alongside german commercial varieties. The crop will be grown without the use of pesticides and it will be grown to optimise quality. This might not deliver the most profitable outcome now, but farming is about a yearly cycle that one tries to improve year on year throughout a working life. The fact that I do not have a crop this year of the size I wanted is a huge disappointment, but there will still be Latvian and german berries to harvest. The disappointment is however tempered by lessons learnt..

All was not lost however – there were Siberian variety berries to taste this year and they are special. Special enough to know that mastering the growing of these plants to give a viable crop is worth perfecting. It will just take another year.