The last month seems to have flown by driven by the knowledge that everything is starting to grow and a determination to keep on top of weeds this year. The commitment to growing seabuckthorn organically comes at a cost. It would be so simple to go along the rows with a knapsack sprayer, spraying Roundup spray around each plant and move onto the next problem content that weed competition was not going to be a problem. But the knowledge that the end market for my seabuckthorn is a UK consumer that will be focusing on it being natural and healthy is my driver. In reality weeding is not so much of an issue. Walking the rows with a row and cutting out broadleaved weeds is quick – a full day covering almost 2000 plants. It will become less of a job as more plants are mulched with compost.
I am still waiting for the ground to become dry enough to have lorry loads of compost delivered to the field. A 13 ton load delivered in an 8 wheeled lorry is a recipe for disaster as the surface of the ground is soft and a large lorry once stuck creates more mess than the job is worth. Another three weeks hopefully and I will have a delivery and over the next month/six weeks all plants will be mulched. It still being a job done by small trailer and shovel I am looking forward to a future of more mechanisation. But that will only come once I have berries providing an income to buy the right tractor/loader/trailer/compost dispenser/etc.
One of the advantages of slower manual processes is that it gives time to regular inspection of all plants. So it was with dismay last week when weeding down the rows that I came across two plants showing signs of leaf wilt.
Experience from last year tells me now to be as worried as the plants will survive .But I do know that certain varieties are more susceptible that others and that it will kill branches if allowed to go unchecked. With only two plants involved I have pruned the branches showing problems and burnt them. I hope now that that might be the end of it, but I doubt it.
All plants have had a feed of either 150gm/plant or 200gm/plant of Greenvale Plant pellets. Having seaweeded all plants three weeks ago, they will have another dose this week. This will be followed by compost tea, having had a lesson in the process.
Farming is a job that relates as much to the office as to the field. Unfortunately as spring field work is demanding, so paperwork tends to build. Paperwork is not just routine but in the planning of where the seabuckthorn project is going. This year there will be a small harvest. I have this year to develop a simple and improved harvesting tool: Develop a number of areas within the plantations on different management treatments that might influence berry quality; and quantify what quality means in my berries and how the market perceives them.
The first communication paper has come from Finland for this year’s Euroworks 2014 conference on seabuckthorn. The conference themes are pests/diseases; cultivation technology and meeting the needs of growers; and the quality of seabuckthorn. Everyone is starting to focus on this issue which is as good for the consumer as it is for the grower. If seabuckthorn quality can be standardised then growers will focus on achieving and improving on the standards that deliver the benefits that consumers are looking for. Quality standards may be targeted at harvesting standards that minimise damage to the crop; standards that minimise disease damage within the crop so that berries are uniform in size/shape.; standards may be set for nutrient levels that provide market/consumer benefit. All these are valid, but they must be consistently deliverable to be worthwhile.
Next week there is the Natural and Organic Products Show on in London. These events are useful in terms of seing what the competition is up to. This year will provide an opportunity to go around and start to generate some interest in seabuckthorn now that a real crop is on the way. Part of the information I need is to know what processors want in seabuckthorn; what levels of nutrients they look for; which nutrients are topical.
Two weeks ago a group of foreign visitors came to the farm which presented an opportunity to make some product. Some of the juice options; jams; frozen sweet products and savoury concepts were put to the test. These were devised by my daughter whose creative culinary skills filled a table with products that passed the taste test. Seeing is believing and tasting is the best way for people to be convinced that seabuckthorn tastes as good as its excellence in nutritional content. So some of these tasty testers will be going to the Natural and Organics Show. That will start to give some real feedback.
So its back to the field now – go and check that all is fit and healthy.
Thank you for reading – comments always appreciated.
