Vegetable Trials 2010 - Final Report

Vegetable Varieties Trialled:-

Skirret and Rampion.
Pea Bean
Cannellino and Orca beans.
Soya beans
Chic Peas
Cardoon
Passion fruit
Japanese rice
Peanuts
Okra

Overview

The motivation for these trials was based on the fact that in this country, there are few high protein, traditional vegetable varieties available that can be grown for winter use.  The vegetables chosen for these trials reflected this premise being mostly high protein varieties such as beans, peas, nuts and rice.  Okra is grown for it’s pods which could be a useful addition to meals.  Skirret and Rampion are root vegetables, the part of the Cardoon used is the blanched stem and Passion Fruit is as the name suggests, a fruit.  These types are included here to add variety to a winter diet.

Skirret and Rampion need to be sown directly into the growing site as they do not like transplanting. Sown in early May, I had no germination of these seeds at all.  This was probably due to the very hot, dry weather at the time.  I will try again next year.  These were the only germination failures of the trials.  Everything else started well with good, strong plants coming from both module sown seed and direct sowing.

Results

Pea bean, Soya, Cannellino and Orca beans along with Chic peas all produced a very good crop of seed which I have subsequently dried for storage. All of these varieties were grown inside an unheated pollytunnel and cropped from late July to mid October.

Japanese Rice was also grown on in an unheated polytunnel and it grew very well in the hot weather of May/June, but slowed down considerably in the cool, wet weather of July/ August. Consequently, this rice did not produce seed heads and was therefore a failure.  This particular variety needs more heat to kick it into seed production and is probably not worth growing in the climate of mid Wales.

Okra grew well inside the tunnel initially, but stopped growing completely in July/August.  Again the cool weather was probably the reason, although there might have been a problem with the type of soil it was planted into.

Peanuts were grown in pots inside the tunnel and they grew well and flowered in late July.  According to information on growing peanuts gained from the internet, I earthed up the plants like one does with potatoes.  This information proved to be misinformation as 4 of my 5 plants promptly died on being earthed up.  I managed to save the last plant and it continued to grow producing nuts by mid October.

Passion Fruit was grown in pots inside the tunnel.  It grew very well and was not bothered by the cool weather. By mid October, the plants were 1 meter tall and looking very healthy.  These plants are climbers and are a long term investment, with fruit being produced a few years after sowing.  If I can get the plants through the winter, they could do well.

Cardoon was sown outside and has grown well.  The plant stems were wrapped with newspaper in mid October so as to blanch them.  Culinary use starts from mid November onward.

Conclusion

All the peas and beans are worth growing. I am quite excited by the results of these pea and bean trials and especially the Soya and Chic pea returns. If it is possible to grow them here reliably, imports become unnecessary. Next year, I plan to try all these varieties outside as well as inside to determine if field scale crops are a realistic proposition.

With regard to the rice, I will look around to see if it’s possible to fine a variety that is more suited to the climate here in Wales. The variety that I tried this year was almost successful, but was not quite right for this area.

I am going to give Okra another go next year to see if I can get it to grow better than this year. I think it is worth another try.

Peanuts, I will definitely grow again next year.  They do not require a lot of looking after and once the growing methods are sorted out, I think they could be a good addition to what can be grown around here. Could be grown in pots in a conservatory or on a windowsill.

Skirret and Rampion I will try again next year just to see if I can get any germination, perhaps in slightly different conditions.

I will probably grow Cardoon again, but I will see what the taste is like before making a final decision on this.  

Also next year, I plan to grow Lentils and some other vegetable types not normally grown in Britain. Perhaps it is possible to add to the pool of varieties that can be grown here in mid Wales.

David Burridge

RENEW Newsletter - April 2011

Thank you to all the Members and Friends of RENEW for your support  during 2010. The project has made significant progress on a lot of fronts during the last year and 2011 should, with luck, see us moving even closer to our goal of becoming an education centre for sustainable living offering residential and non residential courses and learning experiences in the walled garden.

In spring 2010 we received an offer of a Single Investment Fund grant from the Welsh Assembly Government. RENEW has used this grant to fund feasibility studies on a new entrance to the walled garden and to look into the possibility of generating hydro electricity from the stream that runs beside the garden. It has also funded the costing of plans for the infrastructure development of the walled garden and a detailed business and marketing plan. The information gained can now be used to back applications for funding which, if secured, will enable us to go ahead with the full development work. RENEW is currently looking into applying for funding from the Big Lottery Fund and if we are successful in our bid, we hope to fund the development of the walled garden from this source. It is also possible that we might get funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore the walls and old greenhouses of the garden.

Alongside the work on funding, RENEW is also currently in discussion with Coleg Harlech about developing accredited courses at the walled garden. The college is quite keen to move into this area of Wales and they see great potential in what the walled garden can offer. The ability to provide courses with real qualifications at the end of them will be a real boost for us and for the area. A meeting with the college management has been arranged for 18th April to discus how best we can take the partnership forward.

In June 2010, RENEW held a mid summer fund raising concert in the garden. The turnout was very good and although the midges did their best to spoil the evening, the event went down very well. Last year also saw RENEW hosting the 30th anniversary celebration weekend of the Welsh branch of the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens in early September. Although the weather over the weekend was none to good, the event was great fun and very enjoyable. A number of RENEW members helped with organising and running the event and a big thanks to them for all the hard work that they put in. We are hoping to hold something similar in the summer this year.

Work in the garden itself has continued throughout 2010 and we now have a brand new seating area complete with pond just inside the top gate. Also, nearly completed is a large fruit cage in which we can grow soft fruit along with 2 fig trees fan trained onto the south facing wall. Our growing spaces scheme has also moved on and we now have six allotments in the garden utilising nine growing beds. This year we plan to apply for some small grants to enable us to install timber sides to the growing beds and to continue the gravelled paths further around the garden. Both these measures should make maintenance easier and improve the look of the garden.

In May 2011, RENEW will be running a stall and display at the annual smallholders show at the showground in Builth Wells. We were asked by the organisers if we would like a free stall in exchange for your Chairman giving a talk to the public on the Saturday afternoon. It seemed to be too good a chance to miss as the weekend should give us a chance to get across what we are doing to a wider audience. All members are welcome to call in to see us if you are at the show.

Other summer fund raising events and courses are currently at the planning stage, so we can’t give details at the moment, but a mid summer barbeque has been suggested. If you are interested in what might be going on please check out our web site for further information.

Well, that’s about it for news, but it looks like 2011 is shaping up to be an interesting year and one that might see RENEW and the walled garden taking a big step forward towards our goal of becoming an education centre.

I wish everyone all the best for the year and hope that you all have a good one.

David Burridge (Chair)