autumn 2009 The last word from the Chair So dear BOGgers this is the last time you will be forced to quickly flip through the first page of this fab mag on your way to juicier articles. I will be resigning at the next AGM in November – though if one can resign from something one has never been elected to is an interesting but ultimately pointless debate. That means we need a new chair (and various other officers) – please no false modesty, if you fancy the job call me and I can tell you how easy it is. Looking back on the last 10 years,three things stick in my mind: The first is that the BOG garden is as wonderful now as it was then. So my untold admiration goes to all who have turned sod on that hallowed plot – it is a gem to be valued and proudly shown off. The second is that when I started as not chair, ‘organics’ was considered jolly weird – slightly less bizarre than trepanning but more weird than crop circles. Now it is mainstream and doesn’t raise the faintest of eyebrows. That means of course that we have to work
harder to get members, raise money and change minds. I believe that organic gardening is one of the ways we will save the world from its dependency on fossil fuels. What we should be doing now, more than ever, is actively teaching people to garden and garden organically. We organic gardeners have valuable skills – we need to share them. The third thing is - I still hate slugs – I have had therapy, they have had therapy
and together we have had extensive counseling but I still hate them. Always will. Ghastly gastropods. Don’t forget the AGM and shared lunch on November 28 – I really look forward to seeing you there.
Peter Andrews Temporary Chair but not for much longer – until I have claimed my expenses that is — and my free duck house.
On other pages • Events on and off the plot • Diary and events • The co-ordinator’s guide • Gardenshare launch • Between the lines of that organic food report • Kilter play reviews • Once a Pip is back • Baking with Broadlands
keep up at www.bathorganicgroup.org.uk
MEET THE MONEY MAKERS
After all the hard work volunteers put in through the year on the plot, this is where the produce is turned into hard cash for our funds, by the members who turn out very early on a Saturday morning once a month to run the group’s stall at the farmer’s market. The stall has made more than a thousand pounds for BOG funds since April, and the coming months are usually some of the most profitable. (photo: Simi Rezai)
School visits take the biscuit You get some funny answers when you set a quiz for six and eight year olds about gardening and wildlife, but sometimes the adults are just as far off the mark as the children. This summer Sheila Blethyn organised two visits from children at St Andrews School in Northampton Street featured the quiz, some seed sowing and planting of herbs, potatoes and flowers, and the ever-popular trick of emptying the biscuit tin.
A lesson in allotment show success Once again this year BOG stalwarts dominated the Allotments Society summer produce show at Oriel Hall on August Bank Holiday weekend. Tim Baines, Sue Kendall and Brigitte Sibbick walked away with the silverware. The show is fast becoming a really big attraction, with one feature we should not be ignoring - the use of sponsors. The organisers listed more than a dozen local businesses that had contributed to their success.
Southstoke no racing certainty The weather forecast was for heavy rain, but that never arrived. The Derby was also being run that afternoon, and that certainly did happen. Perhaps those two factors made the difference, but whatever the cause the annual John Brook’s plant sale at Southstoke had fewer punters this year, and that knocked sales for everyone, even the cream teas. The result was a profit of just under £120, compared to £160 last year, and rather more plants to return to the garden than usual, but as ever it scored heavily on a social level.
Buffet displays best of BOG There were five sardines on the barbecue and a couple of loaves among the mountains of delicious food brought to the BOG buffet in September but miraculously it all seemed to disappear over the course of a leisurely afternoon in the sun. This is undoubtedly the best of BOG as our own little harvest ritual marks the end of the growing season.
Danny the farmer, miller and baker Danny, almost certainly our most sustainable member, is also our most resourceful. After creating soya milk and tofu from his own beans for our last edition, he’s gone one better now with his own bread. It was made from wheat which he grew in the garden this summer, then ground and finally made into a superb-tasting loaf, which was served still-warm to anyone who arrived in time at the BOGfest. It had all gone shortly after this photo was taken. Danny will be providing tips on how to emulate this feat in the Spring newsletter - just in time to start your sowing for next year.
Generous helpings for all at the buffet, and (inset) one of the table decorations made by Axl, one of our newest members
The day we went to Hidcote Hidcote Gardens, destination for the summer BOG outing this year, is a good example of the wrong way to do things for an organic gardener. Laurence Johnston, who created the garden in the 20s and 30s, regularly chartered a train to bring peat from Somerset to create some of his beds. But if you forget that the effects he achieved through the garden rooms he created are spectacular, which is why it is one of the National Trust’s most visited gardens. Which is why a group of seven headed off there in a minibus on a soggy July morning. Despite the rain the drive up the Cotswolds was pretty and the rain cleared when they got to
Hidcote . Each of the garden rooms has it’s own theme (some famous in their own right, like the ‘Red Border’). Great use of hedging is used for the division but many of the spaces do not feel very formal and display a large range of plants, some of which Johnston introduced to the UK. Interesting features include an enormous grow house (with removable glass doors), stream side garden and a new kitchen garden. For the gardener who prefers edible to ornamental the garden adjoins a small fruit farm and an interesting smallholding (private - but can be seen through the hedge).
Jane Yates, one of the founders of BAGS, got a garden share plot in spring, and within a couple of weeks she had (with a little help) cleared the stones, dug up countless dead bramble roots and was ready to start planting. By the end of the summer (below right) it was producing oodles of veg for herself, daughter Rosie, and the owners. Recently other sharers have rescued the rest of the garden. Jane co-ordinates BAGS in the northern half of the city.
Sam Knight only came to the scheme in July but was already making good progress with his plot in Southdown when the television cameras arrived a few weeks later.
If you know of a noticeboard that would be improved by one of our elegant little BAGS recruiting posters please contact Geoff Andrews on 338473 or g.andrews@mac.com
BAGS for (a better) life B
ath Area
Garden Share, trumpeted as about to happen in the Spring newsletter, sprang into life shortly afterwards and has already achieved several successful matches across the city. Because we started a bit late into the growing season the number of matches we have been able to make has been modest — about 10 so far — but that in itself was fortunate, because it has enabled us to see just how much work is involved in creating successful matches. And to refine the complicated spreadsheet system that enables us to do the matching. All of which will be useful in preparing for a much bigger programme for next year. Central to this will be the opportunity to email everyone on the allotment waiting list who stands little chance of being offered a plot in the next year and offering them the opportunity to take a BAGS plot in the interim – or instead. Getting that emailing organised was a lengthy business and by the time we had negotiated Data Protection hoops and council officer’s workload hurdles we decided it would be better to send those emails out at the beginning of next year rather than in September. The process of matching gardeners and gardens (and owners) has been an interesting one.
One of the co-ordinators visits the garden before accepting it on the scheme to see its condition and talk through what the owner wants from the scheme. Gardeners answer another set of questions and we speak to them on the phone before meeting, usually just before a potential match. At that point both the garden owner and the gardener can say whether they want to go ahead with a match through the co-ordinator, which means either side can be frank without feeling any embarrassment. Publicity for the project is vital and we had a boost in August from ITN for the regional news bulletin when they filmed Sam Knight, one of our gardeners, working on his new plot in Southdown, and interviewed him, the owner, and myself. It brought in several new gardens and gardeners, an enquiry from someone in Bristol who wants to replicate the project there, and requests from some people outside the area and too far away for us to be able to help them. We have also made a link with Somer Housing Trust, which could see the establishment of estate based sharing schemes. In addition the Trust’s sustainability group of tenants has made a link with BOG through the garden share contacts. Geoff Andrews
How garden sharing works
B
AGS is based on a scheme run by volunteers which has worked successfully in Totnes, Devon for the past three years. In exchange for providing a plot of ground that a keen vegetable gardener can use, a garden owner gets a share of the veg it produces, and hopefully, new friends as well. The plot doesn’t have to be a big area – many people will be happy with one the size of a front door. If you have a garden you can’t handle you propose an area of garden suitable for an outsider to come in and till.You can put
Bath Area Garden Share a range of limitations on the use of the site – so that your privacy is not compromised, for instance – but garden maintenance on the cheap is definitely not part of the deal. So they shouldn’t
expect free lawn mowing or weeding of their flowers. BAGS then matches gardeners to the gardens, and introduces growers and owners. Either side can say no to the match at any point before signing an agreement, which lasts, initially, for a year. Joining BAGS is free for owners. Gardeners pay £5 to cover running costs and £2 for insurance – so it’s much cheaper than an allotment. The project is a voluntary initiative from Transition Bath, working with the Allotments Association, and BOG.
The pip pops up again O
nce a Pip should have been republished years ago. Its collection of apple recipes was such a success that the first printing sold out in a matter of months when it was published by BOG several years ago. But now, responding to some polite prodding from Bill Brown, the pip is popping up again. It doesn’t look like the first version, and some of the poems have been replaced by pithy quotations about apples, but all the old recipes are there plus a couple of new ones. In fact the number of apple recipes on offer was rather an embarrassment as we really wanted to keep the book to a price anyone can afford, while at the same time helping to swell our depleted coffers. Once a Pip will be available on the Farmer’s Market stall, at BOG events and at the community garden It would make a tasty stocking filler or even an organic Christmas card — so much better than all that tinsel, and you know all the money is going to your favourite very good cause.
Dig up some veg recipes Once a Pip had too many recipes but the Farmer’s Market need lots more. Often customers arrive at the BOG stall interested in trying some thing unfamiliar that has been grown in the garden but totally ignorant of the best way to prepare it. And while the volunteers on the stall could almost certainly give a very full answer to all those questions it’s not possible when there are people queueing to be served. The answer is coming in the
recipes that Margaret Williams is collecting and collating which will be printed out to be given to customers. But she needs more. So think the kind of thing that is grown in the garden and is likely to be on sale on the stall and provide her with lots of ideas to add to her collection. But no apple recipes please. We want to be selling those recipes in the book rather than giving them away. Contact Margaret at 01225 487709
Apart from the doors the exterior of the building is little changed. Inside there is an interactive white screen which doubles up as a projection screen for films. Heating is from a ground source heat pump, photovoltaics provide power, and solar panels hot water for the kitchen at the rear. The seating is hand-made locally, and from species which occur in the gardens outside
Well worth the wait Crumbling foundations, rotting roof, and the recession putting two contractors out of business — just some of the problems that beset the project, but now the new Interpretation Centre in the Botanical Gardens is open to the public and available for hire. Expect to see some BOG events being held there in the near future but if you want to see the place it is open from 10-4 during the week at from12-2 at the weekends. Weekend opening will be expanded soon, but it depends on getting volunteers to man the place. If you don’t know the gardens the interpretation centre is at the top, adjacent to the road and the ponds.
Spring is sprung, the grass is riz — I wonder where the sunshine is?
O
Growing Green Day this year the apples blossomed, the plots were pristine, and the cakes were (as usual) unsurpassed, but the weather, for a May Bank Holiday was not spring-like. It didn’t quite rain but the day was cold, overcast and generally uninviting. Which makes it all the more creditable that the community garden was buzzing throughout the day, with lots of interest from newcomers. Meanwhile up in Victoria Park at the Spring Show Tim Baines and his team were selling plants that had been raised in the newly revamped polytunnel. Building on the lessons learned from the Square Meal project the previous year, the emphasis this year was on producing veg plants for sale instead of creating demos. The result was a profit of £240 for BOG funds. Well done everyone. n
What’s cooking at Broadlands ?
Autumn’s the peak time for orchardsharers and this year Broadlands looks likely to achieving fame by appearing on the BBC Autumnwatch programme gathering in their crop.The full list of their events and those of the Bathford orchard appears in the diary. An innovation at Broadlands this year is the earth oven which was built earlier in the summer with the help of Liz Clarke. Copious amounts of sand, straw and clay were mixed and layered to form the elegant traditional shaped oven which will be the centre of a cooking course on October 3, being given by Ali Mosey. The course costs £20 or £15 if you have sponsored a tree, and lasts from 10-4. It includes a meal cooked in the new oven. Booking is essential because numbers are strictly limited. Call or text to 07532 472256 or email broadlandsorchardshare@googlemail.com
Di ar y an d eve n t s September 24
Harvesting Afternoon and after-school session September 26 Garden development meeting September 26 Orchardshare at Farmer’s Market September 26 Trading hut closes till December October 3 Farmer’s market + Orchardshare October 8 Broadlands harvesting afternoon October 10 Broadlands volunteering day October 14 Organic gardening for beginners October 11 Bathford Apple Day October 22 Broadlands harvesting afternoon October 24 Biodynamic gardening – talk by Mike Ather(provisionally) ton from Stroud October 24 Farmer’s Market October 27 Garden Development group November 7 Farmer’s Market November 14 Transition Bath’s Big Event and Ceilidh November 28 Garden Development group November28 Annual meeting December December 19 February February
Broadlands 2-6pm 11am 8.30-1.30 Green Park 2-6pm 12-4 Contact Peter Andrews 9am to 12 noon 2-6pm 11 am
8.30-1.30 11am Green Park BRSLI transitionbath.org.uk 11am St Mark’s Community Centre, Widcombe 1 pm Trading Hut opens this month for seed col- Saturdays 10-12 lection Farmer’s Market Green Park Seed swap (date and venue tba) Trading Hut open for potato collection Saturdays 10-12
Annual meeting - well worth a detour The annual meeting, another culinary highlight of the BOG year will be taking place once again in the cosy St Mark’s Community Centre in Widcombe, on November 28. It starts at 1pm with lunch, to which, as usual, we all contribute, followed by a nice short meeting and then lots of cake.
Garden Development Group meetings Development group meetings are open to all members, and are the chance to make suggestions and air grievances. They are held at the garden at about 11 o’clock on either Tuesday or Saturday. See the diary for dates.
LOST PROPERTY We have a rust coloured hooded top and a silver specs case in the kitchen shed
How to be a perfect co-ordinator Saturday morning work groups rely on a good co-ordinator to make things work smoothly. It’s not a demanding job and volunteers for the task are always welcome. You should arrive by 10 o’clock. If you don’t have a key to the gates Tim or Pauline will either be there or will arrive shortly after. Here are 12 things to remember:
1 Bring a mobile phone 2 Welcome new volunteers and visitors 3 Take a litre of semi skimmed milk(organic if possible) and biscuits or cake [Tea, coffee,sugar and squash are in the kitchen shed] 4 Unlock and lock up sheds putting keys in correct place 5 Get helpers to sign in the garden diary 6 Make tea at about 11 and take some to trading hut if it’s open. 7 Cross off jobs listed in the book that have been completed 8 Add any that need to be done the next week. 9 Make sure everyone takes share of produce at 12.30 10 Check garden for tools and anything people may have left behind 11 All jobs can be delegated 12 Co-opt a helper from volunteers
Food w ars m ake f or u n e asy lau gh s
Kilter Theatre Group created quite a stir when they took over part of the community garden for their Roots production in July. Here are some of the comments from critics in the Bath Chronicle (pity the writer didn’t know the difference between the allotments and the community garden) and in Metro, which gave the performance 5 stars. The Chronicle: ‘It is rare to find a piece of live entertainment that is completely unique, but Kilter’s breathtaking piece of site-specific theatre is refreshingly original and a real slice of bohemian magic. ‘As we were shepherded through the Victoria Park allotments, it felt as though we were somehow transported to Glastonbury festival; there was more flower power
that just in the gardens around us. ‘It would be very difficult to give a synopsis of the play, or even of a time period in which it took place - it seemed as though the play was set in the past and the future at the same time - but this didn’t matter a jot as we were taken on a trip through growing food security issues, amidst the backdrop of a blossoming romance. ‘From the moment the experience began, we felt like Alice, falling down the rabbit hole, as we planted flowers, dug up maps and ate delicious nettle soup in a Hansel and Gretel house made almost entirely from junk found in the area. ‘This was such an intimate and organic piece of contemporary art that the audience left the allot-
ments with an experience that will last long after the trees have shed their leaves. ‘ Metro: ‘This “tale of love and vegetables” is a guided sunset walk around an allotment in the company of five characters. ‘Through scenes that take place up trees, around ponds and over raised beds, we learn how the early embracing of convenience food led indirectly to global problems, while in the 2050s they are tacking a post food-riot future. ‘But Roots is more than a lecture on sustainability - such close proximity to the actors creates an intimacy as the play’s message is delivered at point-blank range. ‘ And an audience member: ‘Delightfully “uncomfortable” to watch’.
So is organic food any better for you?
Two years ago newspapers were full of a report that ‘proved’ organic food was better . Then in July the Food Standards Authority came out with evidence widely reported as saying that organic food gave no benefits. James Bond of Avon Organics read through the evidence to find out what was really being said, and kindly shared with us his findings. He has not added any criticisms or comments of his own
T
Food Standards Agency commissioned two reports, published July 2009, both being internet searches for peer-reviewed articles in journals, having abstracts in English, from 1958 to February 2008 for the Nutrient report, and to September 2008 for the Health Effects report. But conference proceedings, even if peer-reviewed, were excluded as were articles about pesticide or herbicide contaminants, vetinary animal health, food production methods, effects on the environment, etc. he
The Health Effects report
Nearly 92,000 articles were retrieved from the internet for the Health Effects report, but excluding those that did not have a relevant health outcome or did not directly compare “organic” to “conventional”, left only 11 studies. Five of the 11 are “testtube” studies of extracts added to cell cultures, three of these studies are of the effect on cancer cells of strawberries, red oranges and apples respectively; the other two are of the anti-oxident potential of Cabernet Sauvignon red wine. Separately categorised were articles that did not clearly define “organic” type,amount,proportion or production method; the “statistical method” employed; or clearly state the health outcome. So only 3 of the 11 were considered high quality.
Of the six human studies, all are very short term, from 22 days down to three minutes apart from a one-year study of the possible role of anti-oxidants in the prevention of eczema and wheezing in the 2,764 0-2 year old infants surveyed. There are three other antioxidant studies, of apples on six people, tomato puree on 20 people, one of grape juice and a 22-day dietary study of flavonoids and anti-oxidants on 16 people. One human study is of one dose only, and another is of two doses. Finally there is a study of the breast milk of 312 women who filled-in a dietary questionnaire in week 34 of pregnancy and at the time of breast-milk sampling. The F.S.A. concludes: ‘It is recommended that in future, high quality randomised controlled trials should be conducted which have samples of sufficient size to reliably detect the presence of effects, longer and more realistic dietary exposures, and more accurate and objective approaches to measuring dietary intake and health outcomes.’
The Nutrient Report
For the Nutrient report it is stated that the nutrient content of animal and plant foods depends on breed, age, fodder regime, cultivar, soil, growing conditions, season, etc then on post-harvest storage and method of food preparation. The internet search found 52,471 citations not including those concerned with contaminants such as
cadmium, lead, mercury or pesticide residues. Then were excluded 145 not peer reviewed, those without an abstract in English, those not fully defining ‘nutrient’ and those not directly comparing ‘organic’ with ‘conventional.’ Eleven papers were excluded because the full text could not be obtained and others once the full text was read, together with those investigating the effects of fertiliser. This left only 162 studies to survey: 60 field trials, 76 taking samples from farms, 23 taking samples from retail shops and three a combination of these. However one fifth of the 162 studies failed to state the breed
or variety and half failed to clearly define ‘organic’. So only 55 studies are of high quality. Because of the varied study designs and differing methods of reporting outcomes, the FSA report summaries the 162 studies by nutrient groups and substance, not by crop or animal product. Of the vitamins, studies for only the vitamin C group and beta-carotene were located. A single species study is the subject of 129 reports and another 16 on at most three species. These include 19 on wheat or bread, 13 on tomatoes, 12 on milk or dairy, 11 on potatoes, seven on peppers, seven on chicken or eggs, six on grapes or wines,
Poly-filler
six on strawberries, and five each on lettuce, cabbage, carrots and apples. The purpose of many reports is to study only a single nutrient. The most studied were: Nitrogen (N) (45),Vitamin C (37), Phenols (34), Magnesium (30), Calcium (29), Phosphorus (P) (27), Potassium (K) (27), Zinc (25). Note however that N-P-K are usually regarded as fertiliser ingredients, NOT dietary desirables.
Conclusion
The FSA findings conclude that high-quality research is lacking. Both of the reports sometimes found that organic was better, but ‘no difference’ if only the highest quality relevant research is included. That being three papers out of 91,989 for the Health Effects report and 55 out of 52,471 for the Nutrient report.
YOUR CONTACTS AT BATH ORGANIC GROUP Peter Andrews 19 Maple Grove, BA2 3AF 01225 319117 zen20627@zen.co.uk Tim Baines 28 Ashley Avenue, BA1 3DS 01225 312116 timjbaines@yahoo. co.uk
Some dudek (or dudhi) seeds from India, provided by Rupesh Shah, grew into this polytunnel-filler by late summer. It had loads of fruit, but they were only a couple of inches long, not the 18-inch bottle gourds (inset) the plant produces in a hotter climate. Dudek is the basis of many Indian dishes.
Sheila Blethyn 9 Winsley Road Bradford on Avon BA15 1QR 01225 866150 sheilablethyn@tiscali. co.uk