That’s it – after four wet Julys in a row we are giving up trying to grow strawberries in the open and joining the rest of the world under plastic. The strawberries that do survive the rain are amazing – there seems to be something about growing outside that improves the flavour – but it’s heartbreaking to be throwing out half the crop because it’s just too damp.
The Soil Association were out last week to consult on their standards for protected cropping. The seemingly inexorable drive for scale means that organic growers are starting to build field-size greenhouses for tomatoes – and with that sort of investment and specialization they can’t afford to grow anything else… so some of the basic organic standards like crop rotation and growing in soil rather than substrate are coming under pressure. Organic producers can’t use fumigants like methyl bromide to kill soil pests, so there have been calls to allow soil sterilization using steam – something an organization set up to defend the soil and its small inhabitants will be resisting vigorously.
The drive for scale and specialization in food production fits well with the current pattern of giant food retailers and large distribution networks. On this model, producers have to get big or get out – and this is what the industry body Scotland Food and Drink wants to see.
But the roots of scale and specialization go back further. As colonial powers found land (or sea) which could yield more than the local inhabitants needed to eat, they could start producing purely for export. And if the local inhabitants weren’t happy they could always be cleared off through force or disease to make room for sheep or sugar.
Cheap food imports not only put pressure on traditional mixed farming but also allowed cities to expand over the land which used to recycle their waste into food and vegetables.
We’ve just got hold of The Winter Harvest Handbook, the new work from Eliot Coleman (who is the Jimmy Page of vegetable growing). He draws inspiration from the Parisian market gardeners of the 19th century who in turn learned from the London market gardeners of the 18th century, producing an extraordinary range and volume of crops from a tiny land area worked with hand and skill.
Lots of ingenious techniques for using fleece inside polytunnels and moving tunnels along rails to protect crops at different times of year, so we are already thinking about how to use the strawberry tunnels for winter salads once the season’s over. But he does admit that there’s more light and heat in their winter sun despite the freezing temperatures – while he’s growing south of Bordeaux we are up with the polar bears in Hudson Bay.
Talking of Bordeaux, the Tour de France is passing through today – and in its honour Didier is putting the finishing touches to his gastronomic Tour de France special menu for our evening opening on August 5th. If there are no fraise left, let them eat framboise
