17/04/2010 by andy.

If you live in the UK, or anywhere in much of northern Europe for that matter, chances are you’re enjoying a fine and unusually quiet morning today. The reason for this is the closure of your airspace to civilian air traffic, leaving the sky empty for the first time since KLM commenced operations in 1920. Thanks to an Icelandic volcano, we have our first glimpse of a world without air travel.

Under the flightpath at Heathrow, householders are finding out what it’s like to be able to leave windows open; in Manchester, one anxious lady complained to local radio that she’s had to leave her radio on loud because the quiet is scaring her; and in many supermarkets the shelves are already emptying of perishable items as supplies of airfreighted food dry up. Since 95% of us shop at supermarkets*, it’s the last one that should really scare you. If you’re one of the people who scoffed at Lord Cameron’s ‘nine meals from anarchy’ observation in 2007, it may be time to think again.

Predictions about how long the ash cloud will last vary, and media coverage still seems to be concentrating on the poor souls whose holidays are being disrupted, but it’s worthwhile reflecting that the last eruption at Eyjafjallajokull lasted for two years (1821-1823). What would it mean for Europe if chunks of airspace had to be closed every time the wind blew from the north for a few days?

To paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson, going green is a journey, not a destination. If your own journey has not yet included growing some of your own food, or at least starting to eat seasonally, then this might be a good time to consider it.

*Source: UK Food Standards Agency, 2001

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02/04/2010 by andy.

Aiding carbon sequestration, providing a valuable growing medium and reducing landfill all in one, compost making is the original Black Art and local councils are very keen that more of us should be doing it. But what makes the difference between two hundred litres of dark crumbly goodness and a bin full of smelly old muck? Nicky Scott breaks it down for us.

I’m terrible at making compost - there, I’ve said it. It’s not for want of trying, though. Within my first few years of composting I’d read five books on the subject, and each one left me more confused than the last. Would this book be my salvation?

After a fairly technical and slightly daunting introduction the book settles down into the familiar instructions of how to make good compost. To my surprise, however, the how-to chapter is very short at just six pages which, to be frank, is probably all the space that the guts of this very simple process needs. Other authors have taken half a book to cover the same ground (perhaps that’s why it can seem so confusing) but Scott pushes on immediately to discuss types of bins, making leaf mould and composting with worms. There is also a detailed section on how to use your finished compost (an option curiously overlooked in some books), including simple recipes for making up potting mix, cutting mix and seedling compost.

Throughout, Scott takes a refreshing pros-and-cons approach which points out the drawbacks of each option as well as the benefits, and although commercial options are discussed thoroughly the build-it-yourself option is never overlooked. In keeping with Green Books’ ethical stance there are also sections on large-scale composting, community composting schemes and composting in schools. There is also an A to Z which, although perhaps not terribly useful given that the book is indexed, is worth looking through for a few gems that weren’t included elsewhere in the text (such as how to compost old cooking oil, and the fact that custard is one of the most difficult materials to compost).

Unlike the other composting titles I have read, Scott’s unusually thoughtful treatment of this well-trodden subject has not made me feel enthused and ashamed that I am not composting every scrap of material from my home and garden. Instead I feel enlightened and ready to replace my monster bin with something more suitable, to rethink my worm bins, and to take a more realistic attitude to how I make compost. There’s a difference.

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01/04/2010 by andy.

… I think.

So! More than a year of work comes to a close - the second book is finished. It’s been retitled - it’s now How to Grow Food in your Polytunnel, which is hardly going to tempt the Booker, methinks (although at least it won’t attract the attention of the bods who give out the Diagram Prize). I don’t mind, really - I think the title and cover of non-fiction books are really the territory of publishers and marketing folks, and just try not to get in their way much. They know their job, I’m sure.

I’m a bit shell-shocked tonight, since the actual writing of the book has taken two months, including two weeks of round-the-clock slog at the end, which seems to be an inevitable consequence of collaboration. Or maybe it’s just me being pants, who knows?

I took Witchypoo and the Sons out for dinner last night to celebrate the End Of The Book, and then had to come back and work to midnight to actually finish it (the 31st was the deadline and we got it in 20 minutes before midnight) - but I have a bit more time for other things now. I’ll get a book review up in the next few days which I’ve been feeling guilty about for a while, and then I’m going to do some things that I’ve not had much time for lately like playing with children, watching TV and sleeping.

Oh, and working in the polytunnel. Even that’s been neglected…

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