As the Devereux farm sea buckthorn project has progressed each year has achieved some milestones. From 2012 to 2014 the Siberian sea buckthorn plants were imported and established. 2014/2015 disease became an issue and solutions were found following the principle that the project was to be organic. 2016 the Soil Association started the three year organic accreditation process. 2017, non lethal anti-bird measures to protect the crop were installed and the first crop developed.
Having found a stage where there is a crop of up to 10kg on some varieties there are two clear objectives for the next twelve months. The first of these is technical. Investing in facilities that pass Environmental health inspectors, and pursue quality accreditation for our product to add to our Soil Association application which will make us organic by 2019.
As farmers and growers we are a primary producer, producing a simple berry product the only processing being put into a punnet for market. As such the Environmental Health regulations are not tight, but if we are installing processing equipment this winter so the regulations will have to conform as to full food manufacturing standards. In the long term this will be worth it, but this adds a significant learning curve to the project at this stage.
Alongside this the other objective is to really get to understand how to grow Siberian sea buckthorn here in the UK. It is one thing to grow the plants successfully. Achieving a good pollination has shown that we can produce a significant amount of berries. The next stage from that is growing a consistently larger berry.
In siberia berry size varies, but for some of the varieties we have a target of over 1 gram per berry is achievable. So this has to be a target. Currently we are seeing berry size of an average of up to 0.85gm. Soil type has always been an issue as our clay soils are the direct opposite of the soil that sea buckthorn likes. To improve our soils we have to improve the organic matter and moisture retention in the soil and ensure that all the nutrients that are key to developing good fruit are available to the plant.
Soil samples taken earlier this summer provide guidance, but as a new crop in an unfamiliar environment success will come from more exacting trials. The taste of the berries we are producing is superb, but perfecting taste, size and nutritional quality will take time.
As this harvest progresses we are starting to understand the way each of the varieties ripens. So far Etna started the process with small sweet berries, slightly red in colour. Klaudia – having given an impression that this was still maybe two weeks from maturing has ripened incredibly quickly. The berries are long, but not filling to a size that was anticipated. Thick clumps of berries are ripening at different rates on the branches, making picking a difficult process. Next year we need to start earlier and it is clear that picking Klaudia will require multiple picking visits over a period of time to make harvest effective. Chuiskaya is ripe now, but Elizaveta is also very close. Chuiskaya berries are rounder and full, which is how one would expect other varieties to present themselves. Some Chuiskaya plants have bigger berries than others indicating that maybe variation in soil in the field is an influence.
As these factors need to be considered and a program developed for next year to focus on improving berry size across the crop.
With this melting pot of ideas we are picking all varieties, but trying different approaches with different varieties trying to find the most effective way to hand pick quickly, accurately and without damage. We are picking some of all varieties and freezing them down for processing trials this winter. Without full Environmental health inspected facilities we will not be selling this year, so picking is down to the family. But we are confident in perfecting growing method, picking, storage, processing and that is a huge leap forward.
