Author: britishseabuckthorn

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Harvest time – small, but small can be beautiful.

britishseabuckthorn

This week is the week for starting harvesting. I had thought that the first berries I would pick would be Sirola, the early german variety, but these are at least two weeks off being ripe. Surprisingly Sudarushka; Inya; Chuiskaya; are all going to be ready for pickling over the next week. Klaudia will be the end of next week. Altaiskaya is the last of the bunch.

I still have a suspicion that berries are disappearing to a silent pest. I am certain that birds are not an issue this year. Rockets, kites, scare crows and foil tape has formed a continuing campaign to warn off winged pests. But I am looking to the ground for this issue. Mice or voles are in the grass stripes in the middle of the inter-row passages. Etna berries have been targeted; Klaudia too. The issue is that these areas also contain the beneficial insects that I look to bio-control pests in the spring and early summer. So do I cut these areas out? Altaiskaya have reasonable yields of berries and I will look to these areas to be completely mown so rodents have to cross bare ground to reach the fruit. I have a roving barn owl, and small rodents are nervous when there are magpies and similar omnivous birds in the area. I need to solve this problem for next year as I will see that as the first commercial crop whereas this one will only produce some tasters of what is to come.

I have not mentioned the Latvian plants much. Of the four varieties they are all well covered in berries – much more successful than the Siberian varieties. But they do have thorns. They will not be ready for picking for another three weeks I suspect. It looks like Goldrain will comes first, with Sunny close behind. Mary and Tatjana coming maybe a week after that. With the thorns in mind these bushes will be harvested through a cut and freeze process, which will be the same as the german varieties.

The second field with the german varieties is covered in berries. In fact every bush is loaded down with fruit. But certainly these look at least a month off yet, with the exception of Sirola which I mentioned right at the beginning.

It might be of little interest to some readers but the really exciting thing this year is that the few remaining Finnish plants have also burst into action. These plants arrived in the UK in 2009 as tiny seedlings: three female varieties, two male. The males, Rupdolph and Tarmo have done better than the females. All are dwarf varieties by comparison with the german counterparts. Of the females Raisa and Terhi probably could be said have been more successful, but most of these failed to survive. So it is gratifying to see some produce and it seems fitting to find a Scandinavian in London to enjoy them.

So having planned for harvest to start mid July and go through to mid September I now expect it to be all over by the end of August. It sounds early, but until this process has run through for five years it will be difficult to gauge.

in the background with this I am still looking for grant support for development research. Analysis is the way forward that I have chosen. I have two forms of sea buckthorn plant here. The german plants which seem to survive with little or no management; and the Siberian which require managing with kid gloves. Commercially the former is clearly the way to go, but for want of market diversity finding a way to grow the Siberian exotics with no thorns, larger berries and new taste still remains a goal. To achieve this will need monitoring what I do, and fine tuning it on the basis of results – both good and bad. That will be a funding drain and a high risk venture. Funding assistance will speed up the process and allow that all important holy grail of seeking to develop consistent quality with consistent yield.

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Trust me – I’m a farmer

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With harvest coming and most of the family around last week was an opportunity for a holiday. Five days in Dubrovnik – a stunning city; friendly people; the weather and food to go with it – and a chance to have quality time with each other. Also a battery re-charge for the coming harvest. But while we were away I missed a BBC programme – Trust me, I’m a doctor, that has caused a stir in the health supplement world.

The programme raised the issue of health supplements derived from botanicals. Specifically taking milk thistle; gingko and evening primrose as examples and analysing them to see whether what was on the label was in the product. The subject of quality has been a concern of mine in these blogs. It also featured as my presentation at the Sea buckthorn Euroworks conference in Finland last year. The BBC report took 70 products. 30 were gingko, 8 of which contained little or no gingko in them. The milk thistle also had issues – 36% analysing with little or no detectable milk thistle. Only the evening primrose came out as a 100% consistent product.

What can we take from this. The problem starts when we start to compare the potential attributed to a product derived from a naturally occurring plant and a product that is derived from a pharmaceutical manufacturing process. Possibly until the early 20th century, rural populations and some urban still relied on medicinal relief for ailments from plants. The knowledge base for this would have come from centuries of experimentation and acceptance that certain plants when prepared in specific ways can alleviate health problems. As with all natural products they are derived from a living source. Once the source dies, change will start which will alter the bioactive compounds within the plant body. For this reason, harvesting, storage, transport and processing needs to be to a standard to lock the quality of the natural product through into the end product.

Comparing natural and pharmaceutical product is comparing chalk and cheese. Natural products comprise a package of many bioactives working in synergy together. When taken as a supplement for whatever reason, there is a multitude of reactions between the consumers body functions and the complexities of combinations of all these botanical bioactives working together. Hence we sometimes attribute botanically derived supplements to providing multiple functions.

Pharmaceutical products tend to have single active ingredients specifically targeting specific ailments. The ability to scientifically measure the ability of a single ingredient to perform a function is relatively easy, along with any side effects that might occur.

The multi-bioactive compound structure of a botanically derived supplement involves so many potential chemical pathways to a function that it is not possible to scientifically evaluate its specific capacity to achieve a single function. Hence we have an impasse with EFSA over health claims.

The BBC programme has identified the problem that supplements can have variable quality. As a farmer growing sea buckthorn ( as well as wheat/barley/rape/beans/etc) I have to accept that every year I have a changing weather impacting upon my soil and my crop. The soil is as, if not more complex that the plants that grow from it. These environmental variables will alter the quality of my end crop – whatever it is. It can be influenced by better agronomy. By the use of controlled applications of analysed fertilisers; by the reduction of the impact of pests; but the sun and rain are huge uncontrollable variables.

Harvesting, transport, storage and processing then become human designed processes governed by time and efficiency. These are subject to variables but they are a subject to choice. The fact that some products of all types appear on the market in adulterated or fraudulent form does not and should not reflect on the quality of the whole market place. Crime is crime and looking to achieve profit from adulteration or fraud needs rigourous enforcement.

The fact though that there is a huge market across the world for botanical supplements indicates that there are many thousands of products delivering satisfaction to consumers. Consumers who are deriving the benefit they seek and find.

The fact that EFSA ( European Food Safety Agency ) have problems with botanicals is now being addressed through initiatives like the BELFRIT list which is being legalised in France, Italy and Belgium. Regulation is a consumer benefit and important, but it is also often inflexible and a real challenge to small business without the resources to analyse all product batches to complex standards. Sea buckthorn has been a traditional medicine across Asia and Europe for many centuries. It is a Traditional medicine on those grounds but to put it through a regulatory process will take time and resource. The BBC mention that some products are expensive. It is not always the case, but if companies are to deliver quality to a regulatory standard then they are probably going to become more expensive.

This topic is going to roll and roll.

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Europe and sea buckthorn – looking for a sustainable future

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It is Monday July 6th, a day which will go down in European history as the day when EU leaders woke up to a management crisis that calls the stability of the last 50 years into question. In the UK we face a new government whose budget looks for more cuts to welfare, but there will be other targets. Against this looming air of depression, for the UK at least we have seen the banking crisis of 2008 revert to some normality. But this is not the same as the pre 2008 era. Parliamentary expenses; bank greed; the shrinking of the tesco empire; enquiries into the behaviour of public figures, all of these have marked a changing nation. A nation within a changing world where the gun rules over democracy. A changing world were weakness will be exploited for personal and political gain. Although this last issue has been a constant for probably 2000 years and more.

As an SME developing a new business not of the above are helpful, but as none of them are in my control they cannot change  the aims and objectives of British Sea Buckthorn. It will make a need for ensuring that cashflow is positive and hardens a resolve to borrow money. One thing that seems certain is that certainty is never 100%.

In this climate July is the month potentially for the start of harvest. The most forward variety at Devereux farm is Etna. A siberian variety that was planted here in 2012/13. This has grown well and not been impacted by disease nor pest. As young plants these first signs of berries boad well for the future. Altaiskaya, the Siberian variety that has been troubled throughout the season by pest, has as plentiful a crop as any variety – which personally i am very pleased about because this is a good all round multi-purpose use berry. Chuiskaya, another Siberian has the strongest plant form being sturdy in size and shape. It was the last to show any berry this year and has just a tiny few, but these plants are still only in their fourth year, so I expect greater things next year.

All the latvian varieties – planted the same time as Etna, have berries on. They also have a significant amount of leaf with few thorns. These plants will have to be branch cut for harvesting but this will not be until late August  I suspect.

German varieties are packed with fruit. Potentially Sirola will come first, but these berries are still very green. So within all this each variety is starting to spread the harvest period although late August thorugh to mid september will be a busy time.

It will be a busy time, but still a small – if not tiny harvest. So plans to install large scale freezing capacity for branch cutting have been put on hold. Branch cutting will be the way to harvest this crop at devereux farm, but the technology needs to be good and efficient. Delivering quality is the aim and preserving nutritional potential in the crop must be an objective. This might not matter to a chef, but it matters to the grower because it will help to maintain taste and goodness for the discerning consumer. One reason for not rushing into installing equipment is the need to look at energy efficiency. As with the political world, the climate is changing. New development needs to have an eye to the future. Sea buckthorn is a perennial crop. The plants in the ground at Devereux farm now may still be being harvested in 2030 and beyond. Sea buckthorn is a crop that can be grown with few inputs. Experience here is showing that following a conservation farming approach, without the use of chemical pesticides is possible. There will be tials to come with new pests emerging as climate change progresses, but each should be met with an intervention that considers the impact on the environment for the future. Building soil health will be a priority as this is the key to helping maintain a healthy plant. Not using chemicals; looking to protect and enhance soil ecology is a mindset that is holistic when considering the whole crop management. Therefore it follows that when it comes to processing – it too should have a minimal impact upon the environment. The issue is of course that one is constrained by technology. Sometimes if the answer cannot be provided by technology then we must look to being more innovative and always continue to seek for better solutions, even if those solutions cannot be perfect.

The solutions to Europe will not be perfect, but let’s hope that our political masters are able to meet the crisis with foresight and vision for a better future.

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Not one, but two new bugs on the sea buckthorn

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There are people that find bugs and insects fascinating. This time of year is a time when we need to be focusing on flying pests that might attack the sea buckthorn at Devereux farm. Spotted winged fruit fly (SWD) and sea buckthorn fly are the two in particular that are creating concern across Europe.

So this week when Sam, ( youngest member of the Eagle family ((16)) found not just one but two mystery bugs I was concerned. Our sea buckthorn is sourced from Siberia so knowledge as to what insects are good and which will be pests is an issue. One of the principle reasons for sticking to a concept of growing sea buckthorn with organic principles is to protect beneficial insects when trying to control pests. Beneficial insects are part of a wider diversity that needs environmental balance.Destroy any part of it and we create a situation when intervention to control pests becomes more and more intensive. The concept of light management requires a reactive approach to control issues when they appear as opposed. The alternative proactive approach would require imposing control measures on an insurance basis incurring cost and environmental impact that might not be necessary. As year’s go by, identifying which pests are an issue and when they appear will provide annual program of management that will react to the first appearance of a recognised problem. This is something that is already an action that looks to control the vapourer moth caterpillers.

So what were Sam’s bugs. He poured over google identification sites and came up with the fact that not just one but both were of foreign origin. Both thankfully for Devereux are not a pest for the sea buckthorn but they might have implications for our native species.

The first is a larva from the Asian multi-coloured ladybird bettle ( Harmonia axyridis). A handsome black insect with six legs and orange spots on its back. The second a grey, six legged insect again with orange, but also black spots on its back. This he identified as the 7 spotted ladybird ( Coccinella Septempunctata). Both of these are insect eaters and therefore I see as beneficial for our crop for the future. The fact that there are a lot of them may have implications for other competing insects living within the same environment. For there to be a significant population they must be feeding on a good food source.

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2015 – a truly significant year of development

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The highlight of the past three weeks has been the success over the issue of keeping rooks off the sea buckthorn plants. Daily, new scarers go onto the site or else old ones are moved around. A large kite has made a difference, but I am only flying it when birds start to return. When it is used in combination with a firework rocket that is designed for bird scaring I can now expect 36 hours of keeping the rooks off the site.

I often reflect upon the issue of what this project is all about. The original objective was to provide the farm with a new high value crop to enhance the farm’s income. But farming is a business and as with many smaller farms diversification is not always centred on crop production. Developing a new crop required on-going investment and is high risk and so far sales of imported sea buckthorn has helped to fund the sea buckthorn project at Devereux farm. Sales of anything however requires concentration and time to develop and increase those sales. How many times do I say that time is a finite resource. This time of year however the sea buckthorn field is demanding and this clash of demand for time is an issue.

The issue this year with the farm has a particular focus as it will deliver the first, even though only a small crop. The question always has been how do you efficiently harvest it. Hand picking german berries last year indicates a picking yield of 2-3kg an hour. Importantly it is as much a matter of ensuring that picking does not damage the berries as the yield. Broken berries creates juice over other fruit to which broken leaf, dust and dirt sticks to the berries. This source of contamination doubles the time needed to clean the crop.

Hence the acceptance that cutting branches, freezing them so that the berries will fall off them easily improves picking yield per hour and minimises damage and contamination. The process is said to require -30 degC for effective fall of the berries.

Delivering -30 deg C is not as easy as it seems. Refridgerated lorry containers can be bought or hired, but standard containers can only really guarantee -20 to -23 deg c. Multiple domestic freezers for a small crop could be a solution, but again these are not designed to give -30 deg. More importantly I have to keep the berries frozen so the operation of knocking the berries off the branches needs to be done within a cold environment. The new generation of cold store lorry containers can deliver -30 degC but they are available at double the cost – around £14/15,000. This for an operation that will be all finished in eight weeks. For this year the crop may only deliver 300kg or so.

300kg seems very low but the Siberian plants are still only young ( planted 2012). It will take another three years for them to reach their peak yield of up to 15kg and possibly more. This year is the year to define a harvesting process for the future that is effective and affordable.

The option that has developed is to install a new cold store that is designed to be  modular so that it can be expanded as the crop develops. This will require a 3 phase electric supply.

Sea buckthorn is being developed as a sustainable crop so using a harvesting system that is focused on high use of electricity is in conflict with its sustainable credentials. Finding a renewal generation system to reduce primary use of power will be an objective over the next twelve months.

I return to the concept of the need to develop the income capacity of the business. The business that is developing from Devereux farm will focus upon berries destined for food and drink use. Pump priming that business through market development using high quality food grade sea buckthorn imported from selected suppliers in Europe is the next priority. This offering will come with an opportunity to take our first berries into the marketplace. With ten Siberian varieties and three german to offer, taste trials will be important. Taste is king in this market. From the farm perspective the future will be established through the selection of the right varieties. That selection will be based on best for our soils and environment; for yield; for harvestability; but importantly best for the market.

So by the end of 2015 harvesting and understanding the needs of the market will be two more issues solved. Significant progress for the farm – 2016 will then look to really focusing on the market and its development.

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Battles overseas and closer to home

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Time I keep reminding myself is my most valuable asset, but often I waste it.

Spring and early summer we know in our gardens is a time for battling with weeds. Trying to remain organic does not help this issue. I set myself a task this month to weed 100 plants a day. The task started well because there had been 8mm of rain at the weekend. With our clay soils and hot weather, after four days the soil baked and my 100 plants a day dropped to 60, as I set myself the job for first in the morning before breakfast. This morning we had another 3mm of rain and again it has become easy to pull thistles. But in the process of this I also contemplate that although I am pulling up 150mm or more of root with each one – there must be a huge network of roots beneath the surface waiting to produce the next wave of weed invasion. So what do I take from this? I have to admit that the sea buckthorn will not look pristine and weed free. It hurts my pride, but probably not too much yield. It is certainly better where I have applied the compost mulch. In real terms this comes back to time management and accepting that one must prioritise what is most productive and not waste time on trying for perfection.

Talking of invasion, today is Waterloo day. Two hundred years ago Napoleon Bonaparte’s army that had been a thorn in the side of Europe and Russia for fifteen years was finally defeated. In the UK it is seen as a British victory, but without allies the result might well have been different. Certainly the intervention of the Prussian army made all the difference. It proved that partnerships are valuable, but it is a sad reflection on the human race that we are still causing immeasureable suffering by inflicting war upon the world. 59 million refugees currently on the move in the world. It is no wonder that the UK is a popular destination when we have been privileged to have been free from invasion; civil disruption; economic chaos and able to carry on our lives without fear.

Back to sea buckthorn – I have another invasion to deal with – rooks. The traditional way would be shooting. There are sophisticated methods using loud audio systems that send bird distress calls across the site. There are less sophisticated methods. The enemy – if that is how I can describe them are intelligent. But I have to stop myself there. They clearly have intelligence and understand how to measure the risk of coming to steal my berries. This intelligence should not be measured in human terms. I used to consider that they would work out that any counter measure that I used that did not physically hurt them would not deter them. But a daily change of method does seem to be working.

Basic scarecrows of a single stake in the ground with an old yellow waterproof jacket on it seems to have some effect.

A more sophisticated version is an unturned bucket. A cross of wood is then bolted across its base fitted with old CDs at the end of each arm. The upturned bucket is then dropped onto a bolt fitted into the end of a stake that has been driven into the ground. The CDs at the end of each arm catch the wind and the bucket rotates. Add to that two 3 m strips of hologram silver tape and the whole thing can be seen from a way off. These “scarecrows” I move around each day. Alongside, 3m of flexible drain rods pushed into a base made from old electric cable drums with the silver tape attached providing some added flags of fluttering tape.  Additionally I have a hawk kite held aloft by 6m of carbon fibre ex-fishing rod pole. When all else fails – I will start to use rockets to fire over the top of the rooks when they are crowding up on a neighbouring field, waiting to hop over the fence. All this of course takes time. But having lost all the berries last year to these pests, I am leaving little to chance.

Next issue is going to be sea buckthorn fly and the spotted winged fruit fly. The end of June is the period to monitor the appearance of these pests. I will leave this problem to my next blog.

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Sea buckthorn as a shining future when the future itself is under threat.

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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.

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Field Work : pests, disease and pollination – viability for the future

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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.