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.