Organic Allotment

Day 5 - Sunday 13th November - Havana

As Sunday was my first full day off with nothing horticultural planned at all I took a trip into Havana with Marisol and her son Roberto. We left INIFAT about half nine and picked up one of the many taxis that runs between Santiago and Havana – a journey of about 20km. These taxis are totally different to what we’re used to here in the UK. Firstly, most of them are glorious classic cars that inventive and ingenious Cubans have kept on the road. Secondly they operate almost like mini buses with strangers sharing the journey and jumping in and out along the route when the get close to where they need to go. The cost of the journey to Havana was 20NP per person working out about 50p. If you made the same journey on the very crowed, hot, slow bus it would only cost you 1NP (2.5p!) showing why this kind of taxi journey is still a luxury for the average Cuban who earns around 1360NP per month. It is certainly the busy busy buses that most Santiago commuters are using to get to work.

The Capitolio

The drive into Havana took about half an hour and when we arrived we were dropped right in the centre outside the Capitolio Nacional that is at the heart of the city. It was built as a result of money earned from sugar by Cuba’s US-backed dictator Gerardo Machado between 1926 and 1930 and still remains one of the grandest buildings in the city. It cost around US$17 million to build and was made in similar style to the American Capitol Building in Washington DC. Originally the home of the Cuban Congress, it became the home of the Cuban Academy of Sciences and the National Library of Science and Technology in 1959, and still reamins their home today. From there we walked down into Havana Vieja which is the beautifully, if a little clinically, restored historical heart of the city.

This part of the city is one the best-preserved Spanish colonial centres in the Caribbean and Americas and is jam packed with over 900 buildings of historical importance in an astonishing variety of different architectural styles. Full of cobbled streets, shaded alleyways, 16^th Century buildings and leafy courtyards, the whole area was left virtually untouched from the 1960s to the 1990s. This meant that although it fell into serious disrepair and decay it also retained its historical integrity intact. We began our exploration of the area by heading down Calle Obispo that is one of the main ways of getting through the neighbourhood, and that was already packed with lots and lots of tourists by the time we got there. From there we headed to the Camera Obscura on the corner of Plaza Vieja that is one of the oldest and most beautiful squares in Havana. This was Marisol’s idea and it was a very good one because the camera and its tower gave amazing views and an excellent introduction to the geography of this part of the city.

View of the city from the Camera Obscura

After this we carried on walking, passing through the gorgeous Plaza de Armas where we sat a bit to admire the architecture, before carrying on through Havana Vieja to Centro Havana. This is a part of the city that many visitors ignore but it certainly gives a more realistic, less sterile view of what life is like for Cubans who live in Havana. It’s a much more residential neighbourhood than Havana Vieja and much less beautiful in many ways, but it’s got amazing energy and is the place you’re more likely to see children playing in the streets and people out on their doorstep chatting to their neighbours. Here we found a basic NP cafeteria to eat lunch. And where Roberto discovered much to his amusement that in me he had met his first vegetarian – a great rarity in Cuba so it seems! It was whilst we were eating this meal that the enquiries and questions started- something I was learning quickly was that as soon as Cubans feel relaxed with you and comfortable they also feel happy to start asking questions. Today it was Roberto’s turn…

“What is the average salary in the UK?... How do taxes work?... How much tax do you pay?... How much does a house cost?”

The questions are never rude or pushy, normally just genuinely curious. And sometimes with a melancholy undertone that life would have so many more possibilities if they lived somewhere else. As Roberto interrogated me I was happy to answer his questions because I have nothing to hide and no embarrassment about my country, but also because I felt it was important to reinforce my own belief that every country and every way of life had positive and negative aspects that have to be taken into consideration. Nothing is ever as simple as black and white. For example, of course it is true that Cubans earn a very low wage compared to people in the UK, but they do also have access to some of the best health care in the world. Cubans also have fluctuating access to basic things like electricity, and access to many consumer goods is limited and expensive, but their education system is top class with an adult literacy rate on the island of 100% - impressive by anyone’s standards. Of course, Cuba is the only place that Roberto has any experience of so it is hard for him to make an informed decision about whether the way of life there is the one that he wants to live. And this lack of information seemed to make this bright young man who wanted his own independence feel that he was being hindered making the decisions about his own life that he wanted to make.

Glimpse into Centro Havana

So that’s another part of the Cuban dilemma, a highly educated knowledgeable population who are hungry to know more but who aren’t able to due to lack of access to information. Almost the polar opposite to many situations in the UK where people have the knowledge of the world at their fingertips, a great privilege, but they decide to turn their back upon it. And the reason for doing this seems to be almost as though their capacity to act and react has been almost entirely deadened by the world that they live in.

As José had said the day before;

“Cuba – a country of contradictions.”

And here was another one for me to try and get my head around. Only a couple of days in and I could already see that my trip to Cuba was going to give me a lot of food for thought, and this was before my learning proper had even started at the Ministry. I couldn’t even imagine what that may hold when I started properly the following day.

PS For those of you who tune into this blog to learn more about organic growing and who have been bored to death learning about Cuba instead I promise that the next installment of the Cuban adventure will really start to get to the bottom of how they grow food in their cities. I promise it'll be worth the wait!

Cuban Countdown

It's only a matter of days now before I head out to Cuba on my horticultural adventure and I feel overwhelmed by absolute fear and absolute excitement in almost equal measure. Although I have done loads and loads of research it's almost as though I have no real perception of what will greet me when I arrive. Of what the country will actually be like. My experiences so far seem to suggest that Cubans are extremely hospitable and helpful people but beyond that I don't know what expectiations I should realistically have of what the island will actually be like when I finally step off the plane next Wednesday. One thing that I am secure about though is my motivation for visiting in the first place - to get a feel for how their organic agriculture system actually looks on the ground, with particular focus on urban agriculture.

The break-up of the USSR in the early 90s signalled the beginning of a time in Cuban history that is referred to as the ‘special period’.  Prior to this Cuban agriculture was highly industrialised and had relied heavily on Soviet oil for farm machinery, fertilisers and pesticides. When the Soviet Union broke up Cuba lost more than 50 percent of its oil imports, much of its food and 85 percent of its trade economy. Transportation systems ground to a halt and people went hungry.

The Cuban response to the crisis included a series of major shifts in the way food was produced. Estimates suggest 50% of Havana’s 2.2 million population is now supplied by urban agriculture, a growing industry in which 140,000 people are currently employed. Lack of access to fertilisers and pesticides has also meant 80% of Cuba’s production is now organic with use of pesticides slashed from 21,000 tonnes per year in the 1980s to the 1000 tonnes it now uses. Use of oxen has also increased in place of petrol fuelled farm vehicles and large state run farms have given way to smaller co-operatives, with 10,000 acres leased rent free by the state.

Even now Cuban food production continues to increase and since Raul Castro took over as president from his brother Fidel in 2008 the state has increased what it pays for crops; decentralised agricultural decision making and distribution; and leased 50% of vacant state lands to 100,000 individuals and private and state co-operative farms. Investment continues in agricultural alternatives to fossil fuelled farming with estimates being made that the production of bio-pesticides saves the Cuban economy $15 million annually.

Amazing stuff huh? I can't wait to see how this will all look in reality and get a feel for how this organic farming revolution that I have heard so much about actually functions on a day to day basis.

 

Moss Cider

The Moss Cider Project is a brilliant group based in the Moss Side area of Manchester. Founded in 2010, their purpose is to harvest, or scrump, unwanted fruit, from parks and gardens in Moss Side and its surrounding areas, so that it can be mashed and made into cider. Dan Hasler, who founded the project, is a local project manager for the Manchester-based charity, Action for Sustainable Living. He was inspired to get it up and running by the proposed demolition of a local bus depot. Dan was taken by the amount of land that this demolition would leave and how green space could be integrated into its future re-development.

On Saturday 25th September 2010, a group of neighbours and volunteers gathered for their first 'mash-up' of locally 'scrumped' apples. In that first year they made over 40 litres of apple juice, of which 35 litres was turned into cider. Now, in October 2011 the group are looking for apples to be included in their current harvest and I was delighted to discover that they would be happy to take a donation of apples from our plot, even though we are a little outside their normal neighbourhood.

We only have one apple tree on Plot 45 but it is a big one that yields a huge number of apples - many of which go to waste each year. The apples off the tree are cookers which are not ideal for cider making as the resulting cider will be less potent, due to the lower sugar content I suspect. However, Dan and his team are confident that our apples will be of use to them and are going to be popping over later in the week to pick them up. I'll keep you posted how this year's brewing goes for them!

I love this project because it is an amazing example of local food production, demonstrating how to make the best use of every day crops that nearly all of us have access to right on our doorsteps, but which often goes to waste. Have you got any examples of projects like this in your local community that you'd like to share? I'd love to hear about them!

 

Urban Farming in Detroit

Amazing film from The Guardian on urban agriculture. Inspirational stuff!

Happy Birthday Plot 45

It was around this time five years ago that we first got our allotment. I can't remember the exact date but I remember vividly being shown round the different plots that were available by Brenda, our Site Manager. She showed me a couple of different plots, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Typically for me I chose the most over the top and un-manageable plot out of the four that I was shown.

Plot 45 had been perfectly tended by its previous owner but it was at least twice as big as what I had imagined, included a beautiful pond (that I didn't have a clue how to look after) and, as the then chair of the Committee had put it:

"That plot is really unsuitable for a woman gardener. Much too big for them to deal with."

Of course that was like a red rag to a bull for me and made me absolutely determined to take the plot on, no matter how big and unwieldy it may prove to be...So, going into my sixth season as an allotment gardener, what do I think that I've learnt from my experiences on Plot 45?

• Despite what any book or newspaper column may try to persuade you, looking after an allotment takes alot of hardwork. Especially in the first year when you probably won't have a clue what you're supposed to be doing.
• Despite what any grumpy fellow allotment holders may try to persuade you, this hardwork is not thankless and boring. It will soon become some of the most satisfying time you will invest and, despite what they may also try to persuade you, you will be well able to deal with it.
• Listen to the old handers on your allotment site when they offer advice - they've got a whole load of knowledge that can really help you out cultivating your plot. However, don't feel that everything they say is right! Everyone grows in different ways and it's about each individual finding their own way of doing things that works for them.
• Listen to your soil and respond to what it tells you. It knows everything that it needs and the knowledge is all there for the taking if you respond to the way that your soil behaves and accept that this may not be the same as you're told it will behave in the books that you have been reading.
• And finally, enjoy yourself. Cultivating an allotment is a pleasure and a privilege that not everyone has access to. It is also one of the most satisfying ways you could hope for to spend your down time. Remember this above all else and you can't possibly go far wrong.

Fierce Tomato

 

We ate this tomato and thought it looked totally like a lion. Because we can be a little juvenile at times in our house this revelation caused at least ten minutes of uproarious laughter. And that was good fun so I decided to share it here with you. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

PS - It tasted great as well.

Worth The Weight

When we first moved to our house nearly five years ago the thing that we really loved was the garden. We only live in a little terraced house but the garden was remarkably generous for a property of its size. The only problem was that the whole thing was covered in horrible concrete tiles that needed to be moved - quite a job I can tell you! What we didn't know was that the concrete was hiding a real surprise... When we moved it we discovered that it had been laid on top of loads of lovely old York Stone tiles! What good luck?

As soon as we saw the stone we knew that it would be perfect to make the paths that we wanted to make in our new garden, so we stacked it all up ready to be laid down when we needed it. The only problem with York Stone is that it is very, very heavy - we actually worked out that one of the really big stones must weigh close to a quarter of a ton! The other problem that we had was that the stone has often got in the way as we made our garden so we have had to move it several times in the process of creation. That's why today was such a special day because we finally got to lay the stones in their final resting place and (hopefully...) that means we should never have to move them again.

Now, looking out on our lovely garden it's hard to imagine that it was ever covered in concrete and that it hasn't always been the haven for plants and wildlife that it is now. I'll post a picture as soon as we've made the finishing touches next week. But in the meantime, here's a picture of Jo laying the very last stone, in its very last resting place. Phew! It's been a long time getting here but now that the garden looks so lovely it all feels worth it. And I can still hardly believe our luck that the last residents in our house were lazy enough to leave behind all the stone that is now such a feature in our garden instead of moving. It just goes to show that it's amazing what unexpected delights you can come across digging around in your garden.

Adventures In Composting

Those of you who have followed this blog for a while will know already that I really love composting. In fact, I've got it down to such a fine art at the allotment that I can now make good compost in about three months which is good going by anyone's standards. As well as our compost bins we have a wormery in the garden for kitchen waste which allows us to get rid of green waste in a useful way closer to home. We also have a larger compost bin in the garden for garden waste. Although our local council does provide a brown bin we try and compost what we can ourselves as this is the most ecologically friendly way of doing it.

One thing we have always struggled with getting rid of though is any left overs that can not be eaten or anything fatty that can not go into the normal compost bin. It is for this reason that we have decided to try our hand at bokashi composting and invested in two bokashi compost bins to do it.

The bokashi concept originated in Japan. It’s accelerated composting using bokashi bran, wheat bran that has been inoculated with effective mirco-organisms (EMs), which act to anaerobically pickle your kitchen waste. There are no odours and the system doesn’t attract flies, so you can safely store your bokashi bin inside the home. And, when transferred to the garden, bokashi compost breaks down incredibly quickly and doesn’t attract vermin.

Apparently, all we need to do is add any plate scrapings, and food waste, including meat, fish and dairy products into our bokashi bin. Then we need to sprinkle over a handful of bokashi bran and fit the air tight lid to let the composting begin. Once full, the material needs to be left to ‘pickle’ for 2 weeks. Then, the contents of the bin can be added to our home compost heap, or mixed into the soil in your garden.

Another bonus of the bokashi bin is the juice that it produces. This rich liquid fertiliser can be drained off every couple of days and diluted with water to give plants a boost, or simply poured straight down the drain to prevent algae build-up and eliminate odours.

We've just got started with our first bokashi bin (we bought two so they can be used in rotation) so I'll keep you posted how we get on. And, if any of you out there have any experience of bokashi composting I'd love to hear your tips for success.

Nosing Around

I love having a look at other people's allotments. It's fascinating to see what they're growing and the way that they lay out their plot. I'm also interested in the solutions they've found to get water to their plot or the constructions that have been created to act as sheds and greenhouses. Whether I get a fleeting glance from a train or bus window or can poke my head over a fence to look more closely it always puts me in a good mood to see a well cared for allotment flourishing.

I was up in Berwick-Upon-Tweed a week or so ago and that's where I saw these wonderful allotments right in the centre of town. For those of you who have never visited Berwick, it is a beautiful, old walled town right on the border between England and Scotland. As with many similar places like York and Chester space is limited within the walls so many houses do not have gardens at all; historically most growing would have taken place outside the walls with people living inside the walls for protection. This lack of space is what makes it all the more admirable that the people of Berwick have managed to find space to squeeze in these allotments; and they've been there for some time by the look of the big old wall that surrounds them.

Out of a matter of interest the house that you can see on the right of the picture has its own interesting story to tell. Lowry used to spend a lot of time on holidays in Berwick and did many paintings up there. In fact, he loved it so much that he wanted to move up there and this house is the place that he really wanted to live. Unfortunately this never happened but, if it had, we may have had some atmospheric Lowry paintings of allotments inspired by the view he would have had out of his window!

No Meat and Two Veg

You can hardly move these days for people telling you how great it is to grow your own veg. From Sara Cox growing as part of the BBC's "Dig In" to Hugh Fearnley Wittingstall, it's all about getting out there into the fresh air and growing something to eat, which has to be a good thing as far as I'm concerned. Especially as there is little more satisfying in life than planting a packet of seeds and ending up with fresh and tasty food to eat within a matter of weeks for many crops - what's not to love about that? 

The one reservation that I have about many of these veg growing evangelists is that whilst they speak out about growing and eating your greens they are generally also advocates for a healthy portion of meat on the side. I am not against eating meat as such if it is fairly and sustainably produce but as someone who is interested in sustainability it is always going to be difficult to justify the ecological credentials of tucking into a hearty steak alongside your garden-fresh kale and peas.This is one of the reasons that I am so impressed by Nigel Slater's latest book "Tender" that was featured in today's Observer. In a culinary world where the size of your pork chop seems to be considered as a direct representation of your prowess in the kitchen it takes a strong minded cook to step forward and make the statement that, in the world that we now live in, we should all be making the move to eat a lot less meat and fish in our diets - if we continue to eat it at all.

I have always loved the way that Nigel writes so passionately about growing and cooking your own food but now I'm doubly impressed by his recognition that eating meat and fish should be a luxury addition to a diet based mainly around veg. Hurrah for Nigel! And hurrah for me because it means there's finally a Nigel Slater recipe book that I as a vegetarian will also be able to enjoy!