Posts by — Agric

Kerr’s Pink & Pink Fir Apple

This is the space and time question.

You aren’t going to completely feed a family of five with just 10 square feet of garden (1 square metre) or 100, or even 1000 square feet. And certainly not on one hour’s work a week. So what can you achieve?

First, assess what useable growing space you have; how many people you are trying to feed; what are they like to eat and how much time will you all be able to spend gardening – particularly in spring when the workload is highest. (more…)

Baby steps to protect your data-Illustration by Chris Dichtel for Silicon Valley Watcher”

Nick Rosen was on BBC radio Tuesday 6th November talking about his book How to live Off-grid: journeys outside the System about being watched, privacy, identity fraud, the use and misuse of personal data.

You can listen to it here if you’re quick – it will only be available until around 12 noon GMT on Tuesday 13th November when the next program replaces it. Nick’s interview starts about 70 minutes into the three hour program, and he talks about how to get under the radar of the the Big Brother surveillance society.

It is amazing how vast a trail of personal data we leave behind us as we go about out daily life. All our non-cash financial transactions, who we phone and email, what we visit online. (more…)

Autumn magic

Summer has long waned now, days that were twelve hours little more than a month ago seem so much shorter.

It’s true! Hours of daylight change fastest at the equinoxes (about 21st of March and September) and slowest at the solstices (about 21st of June and December), it’s a sine wave if you want to get technical. Then daylight saving changes kick in, the Pagan year ends and it feels winter is almost here.

Upshot is: this is as good as it gets in the northern hemisphere until early March at least. Let that be the guide to your gardening now, make the most of the good days and conditions you find, beacuse it is likely to be the best for at least four months. (more…)

Garlic & shallots drying on bean trellis

One of the hardest things when you start growing vegetables is knowing what to do when. Well that question plagues the most experienced, too! Weather can be a tricksy thing that’s hard to be sure about a week hence, let alone a month. But you will find, over a season or three, that you’ll begin to get a feel for when is a good time to do things. That’s important – every place and patch of ground is different – no set of fixed rules will be right all the time, your growing intuition can be invaluable.

There are some basics about the seasons that you can’t fight, so calendars of tasks are very useful to give you a good starting point. I garden in UK and it is surprising how much climate variation there is in such a relatively small island. In USA those variations are much greater so it is important you seek out knowledge that is local and relevant to you. All of my posts here will be pertinent for gardeners in northern temperate latitudes, many for gardeners anywhere, but you will need to factor in your own local knowledge.

These links should help you get to know the season … (more…)

Space to grow

I’ve been growing vegetables for over 30 years, on and off, but it’s only in the last 5 years that I’ve made any effort to become nearly self sufficient in veg all year round. The good news is: it’s surprisingly easy if you give it a little thought. The photo is about a quarter of my garden in October a couple of years ago, you might spot: pak choi, mizuna, swiss chard, shallots and spring cabbage.

Even using just part of my back garden – a space about 30 feet by 30 feet – I’ve been able to grow the majority of vegetable needs for one or two people with plenty to give away during the summer and autumn glut. (more…)