Well it's time to get growing again folks- after a really cold and wet winter the soil is also wet and cold and any attempt to try to work it will only do damage- so resist the temptation unless you can work it without it sticking to your boots.
Just as well I invested in a polytunnel last year which we have already planted and sowed with new potatoes [queens and duke of york] and beetroot and carrots for an early crop.
People are always asking for tips on growing carrots. The most important thing is the soil- make sure you have a depth of at least 30cm or a foot of well tilled soil or your roots will fork and you won't get good length. don't put manure in as this also encourages forking better to grow on well fertilized soil from last year after e.g. potatoes.I always make a deep drill and water after cutting out my lines where I will sow then carefully sow your seeds making sure you aren't too mean [you can always thin but you can't sow more] then cover carefully and when seedlings are three or four cm high earth up to discourage carrot fly. If you do this continually you will prevent the fly from being able to get at the roots and you will also help with carrot top [green tops] especially important is to earth up immediatly after thinning.
You should also have sown your tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers if you are going for them. Sow now if not in trays, water first then sow then cover with plastic to keep moist-when seedling show uncover and make sure they are near light and warm.
All salad types can be started in trays and planted out in late march or in containers now but best to cover as weather can still be cold.
Onions, shallots and garlic should be in by now plant in well manured ground.
Well hope you enjoy your spring sowing and lets hope the weather improves.
Remember that good soil preparation helps to give plants a good start and reduces pests like slugs getting your plants before they get going.
Saturday, 26 February 2011
Friday, 25 February 2011
what are the issues around GM food
Last week the Irish goverment voted for a proposal to change the position of the EU with regard to it's 'zero tolerance' of GM animal feed. While feeds that now contain only 0.1% gm contamination will now be allowed belies the underlying importance of this decision.
It effectively allows the GM industry in the USA, Canada, Argentina and Brazil to continue growing their crops and contaminating non GM crops without it affecting the sale of the non GM crops which was formerly the case.
GM crops are grown mainly because they are engineered to be resistant to certain agri- chemicals [monsanto's roundup being the best known] they claim that this improves crop yields and reduces the amount of chemicals used. This is a claim hotly disputed by opponents who say that in some cases yields are not any higher given good farming and agri tecniques, and that, in the case of alfalfa [a hot issue in the US at the moment] most conventional farmers use little or no chemicals to produce their crop.
There are other concerns about superweeds which are resistant to herbicides and dangers of cross-polination of other plants, the consequences of which are unknown.There is also growing concern among beekeepers that Gm crops and the methods of farming associated with them may be affecting bee populations which are in crisis.
Monsanto claim that their crops can meet increased food requirements set to increase over the next years and that they go through a strict regulation process. Again this is disputed and only last week a leading US Scientist, Don M. Huber of Purdue university wrote to the USDA asking them to stop the derugulation of some roundup ready crops because he had found a previously unknown organism in soil associated with this product which they believed could have health related effects on both plants and animals.
Perhaps the most sinister potential problem with GM relates to dead-end geneing where the seeds are engineered not to reproduce from their mother plant necessitating the grower to buy their seeds annually from the seed company. In this way the company can control world seed banks of which they are reputed to already have about 40%.
It's interesting to note that EU farmers will plant significantly less GM crops this year. Given the risks verus the gains it is not surprising that over 60% of EU consumers reject GM food.
It effectively allows the GM industry in the USA, Canada, Argentina and Brazil to continue growing their crops and contaminating non GM crops without it affecting the sale of the non GM crops which was formerly the case.
GM crops are grown mainly because they are engineered to be resistant to certain agri- chemicals [monsanto's roundup being the best known] they claim that this improves crop yields and reduces the amount of chemicals used. This is a claim hotly disputed by opponents who say that in some cases yields are not any higher given good farming and agri tecniques, and that, in the case of alfalfa [a hot issue in the US at the moment] most conventional farmers use little or no chemicals to produce their crop.
There are other concerns about superweeds which are resistant to herbicides and dangers of cross-polination of other plants, the consequences of which are unknown.There is also growing concern among beekeepers that Gm crops and the methods of farming associated with them may be affecting bee populations which are in crisis.
Monsanto claim that their crops can meet increased food requirements set to increase over the next years and that they go through a strict regulation process. Again this is disputed and only last week a leading US Scientist, Don M. Huber of Purdue university wrote to the USDA asking them to stop the derugulation of some roundup ready crops because he had found a previously unknown organism in soil associated with this product which they believed could have health related effects on both plants and animals.
Perhaps the most sinister potential problem with GM relates to dead-end geneing where the seeds are engineered not to reproduce from their mother plant necessitating the grower to buy their seeds annually from the seed company. In this way the company can control world seed banks of which they are reputed to already have about 40%.
It's interesting to note that EU farmers will plant significantly less GM crops this year. Given the risks verus the gains it is not surprising that over 60% of EU consumers reject GM food.
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