Organic
We are certified organic with the Soil Association and have been from the day that we started growing. We will not compromise with this - we feel strongly that we have a responsibility to grow vegetables in a way where looking after the soil and environment in which we grow is not just an afterthought. Having been brought up on an organic farm, this ethos was normalised from an early age, and is the clearest way for us to be producing food with the least negative impact on the environment.
Minimum cultivation
Having started out at Trill using fairly conventional, traditional organic methods of growing veg, we have changed the way we do things over the years, and continue to look for innovative approaches to growing that will not only minimise the negative impact we may have, but hopefully build healthier soils and more biodiversity. This is not always as easy as it seems - the theory is all there, and there are lots of methods used around the world to farm in a way that gives back to the soil and environment, rather than the extractive process that is so often seen. However, implementing the theory into practical techniques can often be difficult, especially on low grade soil that does not drain well. So, we strive to build a more resilient system to the one that we started with, and we have made huge strides to developing a way of growing that not only produces a huge range of crops and high outputs, but also has a positive effect on the land that we tend.
We now only cultivate up to about a fifth of the beds in the market garden once a year, and this is usually down to needing to prepare them for plantings a little sooner than the usual technique that we use for bed preparation. Generally we kill off old crops and weeds by flail mowing them (with a small two wheel tractor which is fairly light on the soil), and then we cover the beds with black plastic. Depending on the time of year, crops and weeds will be killed off in two to 6 weeks (much faster in the summer, and slower in the late winter). We then remove the black plastic, rake out the beds and they are ready to plant. If we have not left enough time for this process, we mow and then cultivate with the power harrow on the two wheel tractor which only goes a maximum of a couple of inches deep. We no longer use the larger tractor in the market and no longer invert the soil with any ploughing whatsoever. This has hugely benefitted the soil in terms of the biological activity and drainage capabilities.
Green manures
Along with the minimal tillage, we grow a lot of green manures. Some of these are longer term mixes, with plenty of clovers, yellow trefoil and then some annuals such as phacelia, buckwheat, linseed, oats and millet, along with other annual flowers. These mixes will stay in the ground for at least a year, but sometimes two years, whereas we have plenty of shorter term green manures that are all about covering the soil through the autumn and winter. We use various techniques to establish these green manures, and different mixes of species depending on the crops that they are being sown with and the time of year that it is sown. Some of our longer term crops such as kale, sweetcorn and squash are undersown about two to three weeks after planting with a diverse mix of the species mentioned above, plus some tillage radish and chicory too. The crops grow up along with the green manures which are slower to get going, but then bulk out once the crop is being harvested, and they cover the ground through the wetter months, ensuring lots of diversity of living roots in the soil. Other shorter crops are undersown through August and September, and generally there are three different methods that we use to get these going. Firstly, we broadcast a mix of oats, phacelia, buckwheat, linseed and vetch through august, over crops like fennel a couple of weeks after being planted. We then hoe these mixes in, which not only knocks back the weeds, but ensures better seed to soil contact and therefor improved germination rates. Our second method is broadcasting a mix over a crop that has come to the end during August and September and then mowing it. The mulch from the weeds and crops that are mown, covers the seeds and the green manure establishes. Finally, our last method is to successionally broadcast areas of beds that we are harvesting as we harvest them. The green manures slowly establish through September, and the crops such as endive, lettuce and parsley grow back after harvest along with the green manures.
All of these techniques result in beds that have plenty of diversity of roots growing in them through the autumn and winter, and they are then killed off by mowing and covering with black plastic (occultation) in the Spring before we need to plant them up.
All of these techniques result in beds that have plenty of diversity of roots growing in them through the autumn and winter, and they are then killed off by mowing and covering with black plastic (occultation) in the Spring before we need to plant them up.
No dig
We do not cultivate at all in the polytunnels, and we have some dedicated no dig beds as part of the market garden too. In the outdoor beds we simply top up the paths with semi composted woodchip once a year, and otherwise use the same techniques as described above in terms of preparing beds for planting. In the polytunnels we usually mow and hoe to prepare beds, which results in a more rapid turn around of the beds so that we can make as much use of the space as possible without covering beds with black plastic to kill off crops and weeds. We apply a little compost strategically to some beds if we think it is needed in the tunnels, but otherwise we use very little compost now, and rely more on the use of green manures throughout the market garden for soil fertility.
The field
After growing in the market garden for about 11 years, we decided to rent an adjoining field to produce more of our own autumn and winter crops. We set out knowing that we would be using different techniques in this field to prepare the ground and grow the crops. Most of the crops grown in the field are in the ground for long periods of time, so as a general rule we plant, hoe a week or so later and then undersow the crops with a diverse green manure mix. This doesn't work with all crops as some are less tolerant of competition, so the leeks for example are kept weed free up until early autumn and then, once they have established, a green manure is sown amongst them. Other crops we may just sow the paths with green manures, to still add diversity for the soil life, but not compete so much with the crops.
Whilst we establish our growing systems in the field and try to get on top of some of the more pernicious perennial weeds we are ploughing and cultivating, but we inted to do this less and less as time goes on and we are more in control of these perennial weeds.
Whilst we establish our growing systems in the field and try to get on top of some of the more pernicious perennial weeds we are ploughing and cultivating, but we inted to do this less and less as time goes on and we are more in control of these perennial weeds.
