Water

Water is essential, and given the increasing instability of global weather it is probably worthwhile to think early on about how you will manage if the rainfall is insufficient during a growing period. By June 2010 some of our crops were getting seriously short of water.

Early on we purchased around 20 plastic 13 litre watering cans, which were in heavy demand during dry spells. These are too heavy for some to manage, so we also bought some smaller lighter ones.

The pond, our water supply

We took water in our watering cans from a pond about 30 m N of the first plots, but 200 m away from the last plots. Lugging water in a watering can from the pond was time consuming. Clearly we couldn't expect people to walk kilometres to draw enough water for a thirsty plot of potatoes! So, somewhat reluctantly we took the compromise decision and in June 2010 we bought a petrol operated pump from a local tools shop. With careful maintenance it is still working today. We asked the local fire service if they had any decommissioned hose pipe and they blessed us with about 200 m length in joinable sections. We investigated purchasing water butts but soon decided to buy Industrial Bulk Containers (IBCs). These are plastic tanks measuring 100cm x 100cm x 100cm with a metal frame around them. They generally hold 1 cu m of water (1000 litres).

Industrial bulk containers (IBCs) hold can 1000 litres of water

They are used often initially for holding fruit juices, but can be purchased second hand for around £40. These can collect rainwater if placed next to a shed roof, be filled with a hosepipe from a nearby tap or filled from a water source nearby using a pump. We mounted them on breeze blocks to allow a watering can to be placed under the tap near the tank bottom. These have been brilliant, they let the water flow out rapidly and so fill a watering can in about 3 seconds. The pump feeds the Fire Brigade hose and pumps water at a rate of about 500 litres min-1 to several IBCs situated around the site. Manhandling the hoses into place is a heavy task, but the reduction in time spent watering makes it worth the effort.

Developing the site

We decided to have ten teams each growing on two plots on opposite sides of the central path. Alongside these 20 plots are the polytunnels, soft fruit area, tool and pot sheds, sales area, social area, compost areas, and toilets. The vegetable growing area is constrained by a perimeter fence.

Initially we needed a shed for tools storage onsite. In addition to spades and forks, trowels and hand trowels we have found that wolf hoes are very useful for quick weed control and ground preparation. We have one or two rotivators and a few members have been trained in their safe use, but teams are generally reluctant to use them. Otherwise most of the cultivation is by hand. This has the advantage of teaching people, often with few growing skills the basic principles of growing your own food, but it does limit the area that can be cultivated and the quantity of food that is grown.

We tried to plan the site so that the communal facilities that quickly grew up were closest to the people who needed them and this plan shows how our buildings and structures developed in the first few years.



Sue, Les and Kate in our sales marquee
This was installed in our first winter 
and lasted until the seventh year when it was
replaced by another large shed 

We soon found that we were accumulating "clutter" at an alarming rate. We were quickly acquired additional materials, such as piles of wood of all shapes and size from a barn construction business on the farm, a second polytunnel, compost bins, many pots, fleece, mypex, (breathable interwoven sheet plastic), black plastic sheets, tea making facilities, seats and tables for recreation and rest, a portable loo, seeds, labels and many other things as well. Some of these materials were placed in sensible locations, others were just dumped in a convenient spot. People were suddenly incredibly generous when they wanted to throw something out - if it is easier to take it to the community farm than to the local Recycling centre they probably will. We found that all sorts of doors, window frames, broken tools, half full tins of paint etc mysteriously appeared. Some were useful, others not, so we had to be vigilant and eventually developed a policy of "No products to be brought onto site and left without first seeking permission from……"



The site developing in 2011

From the outset there has been little opportunity to increase the growing area within the first field but somehow the number of sheds, polytunnels, compost bins and additional items has managed to grow so that now this area which is situated at the side of the 20 plots looks like a small shed village! However we are fortunate that the locations of constructions reasonably correlate to the shortest paths between key installations.

The first growing season

We were fortunate that the farmer ploughed the field before we began, so we had a bare field with a polytunnel frame in one corner. Otherwise it takes a lot of time to rotivate or dig 4400 square metres of land.

Well weeded cabbages





Impressive onions

Our soil was a fairly heavy alluvial clay with flints set above a chalk bedrock close to the river Itchen. The soil drains fairly well and is fertile, but stones up to 6 inches long keep rising to the surface and require constant removal, particularly if root crops like carrots and parsnips are being grown.



Maturing nicely



Potatoes cover the ground quickly



The courgettes grew very quickly

During our first season we grew 10 crops: potatoes, beans, courgettes, squash, sweetcorn, salad crops, parsnips, carrots, leeks and onions. Each team concentrated on one crop. Some teams had a relatively easy time, others had to work much harder. Salad crops grew quickly but required a lot of weeding and watering, and the team was unable to finish off digging and weeding the whole of their prescribed area. Those growing beans found that constructing frames for climbing beans took a lot of time and likewise they were unable to clear all their plot in the first year. The nice thing about growing courgettes and squashes is that the plants quickly cover the ground and hide the weeds, so people feel that they are making progress. However we had a glut of courgettes (or more accurately young marrows) which we couldn't even sell in the local market, greengrocers and delicatessens. Potatoes are another easy win, but everyone loved our potatoes and we soon sold out. Clearly a better balance of crops was needed! ! However we would advise growing easy big bulk fast growing crops like potatoes, courgettes, squashes and sweetcorn in the early stages and novice horticulturalist will feel a tremendous sense of achievement as they make their first harvest. 

And our weed pile grew even faster



Our weed pile

In the first year there was much ground preparation to be done including destoning plots where carrots or parsnips were to be grown, digging heavy soils, followed by weeding the weeds which seemed to grow even faster than the crops. The soil needed to be weeded very regularly for the first couple of years. Taking weeds out when they are small saves a lot of time later when they have grown, so try to keep on top of weeds (difficult in the early years). Mercifully after three years all annual weeds seemed to be under control in the vegetable plots, but persistent weeds like couch grass and bindweed remain in places. Lesson: don't plant perennial crops until an area of ground has been weed free for a year. We have never used herbicides in the vegetable field in order to be as organic as possible. This does mean that there are patches of nettles grow along fence lines and in other parts of the site, which the majority of members are prepared to live with.

Getting going

The farmer ploughed the field the day before
our new members arrived

When a reasonable number of applications had been received it was then necessary to go through them and identify those who could become growing team leaders or have other potentially useful skills.

There are three requirements for all effective team leaders and each leader must have each skill.

1. Skill in communicating with and managing a group
2. Sufficient time to devote to thinking about the issues, communicating with the team and leading and training the team by example
3. Sufficient horticultural knowledge and skills in growing the groups and dealing with some of the basic issues that arise and the humility to ask for help when it is beyond their experience

Our new empty field

The path was marked out and the 20 plots set

If a new leader lacks one of those skills it will soon become apparent. They can do damage to the organisation, but fortunately they tend to move on quickly.

We have found that it is really helpful when the teams are put together that there are a mixture of ages and skill/knowledge levels. Older retired people can come down during the week when younger folk may be tied up with families and work. They are very useful for making bits of equipment or putting up sheds or doing some of the routine tasks in the polytunnels, like watering. Younger people should have the strength for sustained periods of digging or weeding. Children have always been welcome as what they learn in their formative years will influence them for life.

Start up costs are relatively minor. We needed money for insurance and advertising. Some projects may need to pay rent in advance. Clearly if you are intending to buy land for a growing then you will probably need some form of external funding. By the time we started we had a rather ramshackle collection of tools, donated by members, elderly parents of new members, friends or picked up at the local Council tip. We know of some projects who have been given tools by their local DIY supermarket or hardware shop. As soon as we had money from members' subscriptions we were able to buy some essential tools like wolf hoes that greatly speed up weeding of previously dug soils. These were all kept in a small wooden shed that had been donated.

We collected up many stones and used
them to make the central path

While some members may be prepared to donate old or surplus seed stocks, we found it better to buy our own selected fresh seed for most of the larger crops. With time we have developed links to our suppliers which have been very beneficial. We took advantage of our local Allotment association shop which sell seeds and equipment to members at below shop prices. 

We call it the Roman road


Our inaugural meeting took place on Friday 9th April 2010. Over 60 people had turned up. The major points that were emphasised there were that we are:

• a community project, which means everyone will be expected to work together.
• a Co-operative, working in a very positive relationship with each other with give and take and trust as fundamental components. 
• involved in a new venture. We shall have lots of successes but mistakes will be made
• a simple start but will diversify and expand as we go
• worki
  ng in a hazardous place so need to be aware of health and safety issues.

Our treasurer then gave us a provisional budget for the year:

Income		Expenditure
Stakeholders	£1,000	Seed	£500
		Insurance	£210
		Leaflets	£190
		Hire of church	£50
Sub-Total	£1,000	Sub-Total	£950
Sale of produce to Stakeholders	£2,000	Fencing and plot rent	£2,000
Sale of any surplus produce to the public	£1,000	Hire of market stall	£200
Total	£4,000	Total	£3,150
Potential Surplus	£850

A few of the courgettes that those seeds grew

All who had attended the inaugural meeting had been given a few courgette and butternut squash seeds to get going in the warmth of their homes and bring on for planting out when conditions were a bit more favourable. One of our team leaders had grown some lettuces at home so these were planted out as soon as the ground had been cleared.

Recruitment, critical mass and launching

Initial publicity posters of Eastleigh Transition Network

A significant sized group is necessary to get a project off the ground. We were very fortunate to have a small group of about 12 people who were committed to Transition values and local food production in ETNet. Most of the original 12 are still involved. A variety of skills are needed to get a project off the ground including horticultural knowledge, vision, community development, financial, leadership, writing, publicity and secretarial skills.

It is also necessary to have a critical mass of housing within journeying distance. We thought the best method to gain interest was to leaflet the local areas and so we leafletted 8000 houses. There were a little over 200 responses. Our experience suggests that 1-2% of households respond to door to door leafletting, so if you need to bring in 10 new members you may need to distribute to 1000 homes in the area.
Door to door leafletting is the most effective way to ensure that the majority of people have heard of your project, although many households will throw the leaflet in the bin with scarcely a glance. Leafletting is also expensive. We then decided to get a leaflet designed, produced and deliver it to up to 10,000 homes in the area. One of our team asked a friend to provide us with the artwork and liaised with the printer who was willing to produce 10,000 A5 sized fliers. Notices advertising the project on community and church noticeboards may well bring in some new members.

Our observations and research suggest that people with large gardens may be less likely to get involved as they may already have enough space for growing their own fruit and vegetables. We know of attempts to form community farm groups in small villages where most people have large gardens have been less successful as there were a smaller number of people who would be interested in such a project and the number may be insufficient to give the project critical mass. In these situations community orchard projects seem to have been more successful. Conversely people living in houses with small gardens or flats are often keen to join.

Someone needed to be available to answer each telephone enquiry or email for a period of about a month. Forms were emailed out and occasionally posted, and the data collated when the responses are returned. It is worthwhile collecting full contact details at the outset. We wanted to ascertain the applicant's skill level. We used a scale of 1-5 for complete novice to expert grower. It was helpful to learn something of the past experience of those with growing experience because they could make team leaders but might have been too shy or self-deprecating to offer. We tried to discover other skills which could be useful to the project and whether they could introduce new aspects to the project which we had not thought of. We wanted to discern the applicants' preferences within the various groupings of the project. Are they able to undertake heavy gardening duties or just take on lighter tasks and will they have sufficient time to fulfil their obligations? We wanted to ensure that all applicants understood the responsibilities and privileges involved in the work. So much of a project like ours is undertaken on trust and so we explained to potential recruits that they were expected to behave in a trustworthy way.

We have always believed that our activities must be sustainable by our own efforts, so we have never applied for a grant. We look at some organisations who spend the first year applying for funding and doing little else and we smile and think back to how we rolled up our sleeves and got on with organising our new members and preparing the ground. Throughout our six years all of our income has come from membership, sale of produce or special members events. Some of our equipment has been donated, some has been purchased with our own funds. We feel that we are resilient!

The period from February to April 2010 was frenetic for the Highbridge Community Farm organising team. First we met to formulate a plan. We would start a workers co-operative by inviting 100 people to pay £10 for a year to become stakeholders, commit to working 10 hours over the year (a hopeless underestimate), in teams of 10, each team growing 1 crop. Then at harvest time all the produce would be made available to all the stakeholders to buy for approximately 1/3 of the shop price. Each team would have a team leader who would decide when and how to sow, weed, water and harvest the crop and the selling price. It seemed simple really. We were soon to learn that 10 hours a year was a hopeless mis-calculation of the time needed to get the land into production and soon revised the figure to an expectation of 10 hours per month.

We then decided to get a leaflet designed, produced and deliver it to up to 10,000 homes in the area. One of our team asked a friend to provide us with the artwork and liaised with the printer who was willing to produce 10,000 A5 sized fliers. Two looked into insurance, health and safety issues and funding issues. As it happened the farmer Mr Russell wasn’t keen on us applying for funding as such a young organisation, so we concentrated on getting the flier produced and delivered to about 8000 homes. Individuals loaned the project money to supplement the finances of the ETNet kitty and to raise the £200 for printing the leaflet and membership card. We also began to prepare for an inaugural meeting, in a church close to the centre of our catchment area.

Getting ready for the launch - our facilities

One bare, ploughed field


The enquiries and applications came in rapidly. Within six weeks, by the end of March we had nearly 200 enquiries, either by phone or email. Each one had to be dealt with individually as they had specific questions for us and we had specific questions for them. We sent all enquirers a three page introduction with brief questionnaire, asking them to state their three preferences for growing teams and to give their experience on a scale of 1 (novice) to 5 (very experienced). Approximately 70% were novices with little or no experience of growing their own food- so we were assured of the educational value of the project. The first 100 to return their forms with £10 were made stakeholders. 85% of stakeholders were assigned to their first preference crop team and another 10% to their second preference. The late applicants were fitted in where there were spaces. Subsequent enquiries were put on a waiting list.
We were ready to launch. But would it work?

...and some willing workers

Some of the benefits of a Community Farm

Some advantages of growing your own food locally

Getting together to grow food



·         Reduction of dependence on imported food which has a high food miles and a high carbon footprint tariff.

·         Mental and physical health benefits from encouraging local people to be physically active outdoors growing their own food.

A new  project helps build new friendships

·         Consumption of more fresh and local food.

·         Use of organic growing methods that help to increase local biodiversity.

·         Regeneration of underused urban and rural spaces.

·         Increasing community cohesion by bringing together diverse groups of people around a common theme.



·         Educational value through retaining traditional growing skills, learning new skills, and the possibility of exploring modern methods of food growing.



Sharing the burden reduces the load



·         New opportunities for putting more money into the local economy rather than International Supermarket companies. It is known that for every £1 spent locally generates £2.50 of wealth locally. Campaign to protect Rural England

·         Potential for creating and sustaining local jobs.

Two further advantages need a little more explanation.

Community farming ensures the highly efficient use of land for food production. It has the added advantage of getting a large number of people onto a small area of land

 

 To compare our vegetable growing field with a local allotment of an equal size  (0.71 ha or 7100 m²) it would be possible to place 20-24 x 10 rod allotments (1 rod = 25 m²) in a similar area. It is interesting to observe that individual allotment areas allocated by councils are now being reduced, some to five or even two rods.  So considerably more people can be involved our community farm than an equal area given over to traditional allotments. A further advantage of placing allotment size areas under the cultivation of a team of stakeholder is that we ensure that all the land is being cultivated all the time. Some stakeholders may be busy, or ill, or on holiday and so unable to cultivate for a period, but other members of the team will ensure that the crops are looked after and there are therefore no periods of time or pieces of land that are not cultivated or appropriately managed as is often found in allotment areas.



Each plot is about 200-250 m2

We feel that our community farm is of interest to planners of new towns and villages who are looking for planning gain from new and imaginative food growing projects into newer higher density housing developments. For example, in Kettering a provision of 0.4 ha  (4000 m²) per 1000 people is established for allotments and community gardens. Kettering requires developers to provide costs for 12 months of maintenance of these new sites, after which maintenance is transferred to the Council.


 

Hand weeding avoids the use of herbicides

Second, Community growing assures the health giving values of the food consumed. There have been increasing concerns in recent years over the safety of mass produced food available in the supermarkets.  Initial the green revolution of the 50's and 60's significantly increasing the amount of calories produced per acre of agriculture. At the same time battery farming was introduced with scarcely a murmur of protest despite the fact that animals were being kept in crowded conditions and dosed with hormones and antibiotics. However the British public soon became concerned about the state of farming when they discovered that their eggs were infected with Salmonella, (despite Edwina Currie's assurances 1988), cattle were developing BSE from being fed the brains of infected animals (the BSE crisis of 1992) and foot and mouth disease was spreading from farm to farm (2001). So the public has become more aware of some of the less pleasant aspects of intensive agriculture which is bringing us cheap food.  

We feed the soil, rather than add chemicals

Successive Governments have taken little interest in farming and food and in consequence supermarkets have been allowed to gradually take control of the whole of the food supply chain. An example of this are the powerful supermarket chains who have dictated the price for milk paid to the farmer and this has caused many dairy farmers to go out of business. Then supermarkets with their lower out of town costs, free parking and bulk selling which reduces the price have outcompeted the local green grocer and driven them off the High street.  So now we have a situation in the UK where many of the less competitive British farmers have gone into bankruptcy and we are forced to eat food such as apples imported from around the world from countries that can produce them more cheaply than our own farmers, but at unknown costs to their workers, the soil and the food's  nutritional value.

 Carolyn Steel: Hungry city


 

A community farm gives people the opportunity to get back to the soil


Some have suggested that there are lower nutritional values of food grown intensively compared with food grown organically. Other people have expressed concerns over genetically modified foods entering the food chain. For others rising global prices of food and the concept of having to import food from all over the world when we can grow the same crops in our own county have all stimulated the growth of local food growing projects in recent years. defra