Paul Bradbury is Growing Communities' new grower and we asked him to tell us about what's going on at the sites right now. Given that it's January you might be expecting him to say " not much" but as you'll see below, there's more happening at the Urban Market Gardens than you'd expect. Over to Paul:

"Well, our gardens are resting under their winter fleeces, which I’m happy to say have so far survived the bouts of lashing wind and rain that we have had over the last few days.  Storms aside though, the winter has been so mild that everything is still growing.  As a result, we are harvesting a few bags of rocket which will be on sale at our Urban Farm Shop at the Old Fire Station next Wednesday.  Also at the Farm Shop will be a rare chance to buy some Oca tubers.  Also known as New Zealand Yam, Oca actually hails from the Andes and has a lemony flavour reminiscent of wood sorrel to which it is related.  For that fresh crunchy taste, the tubers can be eaten raw but they can also be boiled, baked or fried like potatoes.  In Mexico, they are traditionally eaten raw with salt, lemon and hot pepper.  If all this wets your appetite, then be sure to pick up a bag at our Farm Shop – it may be the only time you see Oca on sale in London.
The downside of the mild temperatures is that aphids are still abroad.  They are currently having a bit of a party in the Allens Gardens greenhouse, which I’m doing my best to break it up with my trusty nettle and garlic sprays.   I think I’m making headway, although the greenhouse has taken on the aroma of an ancient piece of garlic bread! The gardens will be opening up again to volunteers at the beginning of February – an exciting time when we will begin planning and planting for the new season, so if you fancy coming along and getting involved, it would be great to see you."

Last week, on an unseasonably sunny hot morning in Jan, I visited Ripple farm to talk about planting plans for the coming season. 40 mins by train from London, Ripple is a small 14 acre farm situated in the Stour valley at the foot of the North Downs. Growing Communities partnership with Ripple goes back 10 years, when we visited them to persuade them to have a stall at our farmers market in Stoke Newington.  Ripple then began supplying the box scheme and is now one of our main suppliers.

The farm is rented by farmer Martin Mackey, originally hailing from county Cork, Ireland. Martin first went to Wye to study for a masters from the (now defunct) Wye valley agricultural college. After graduation, a job at Ripple farm later led to him renting the site with a colleague from the landowner and assuming the management of the farm in 1999. 

‘Home farm’ is the hub of the farm: The two fields surrounding the barn are a visual testament to Ripple farm’s commitment to small scale, sustainable, organic mixed farming. Phacelia is grown to encourage bees. A patchwork of different vegetable growing is interspersed with pollytunnels of salad and strips of fallow ground, where grass and clover is grown to rejuvenate the soil before crop rotation ensures the soil’s nutrients are once again utilised to grow the food that GC members eat. On the other side of the valley an ancient earthwork is evidence of the 2000 year old agricultural history of the area.

As well as Martin and his wife Sarah, the team at Ripple consists of local growers, harvesters and packers. Many have worked at Ripple for years.  Some have come through the apprentice programme that Martin runs in conjunction with a local college.  Being a tenant farmer is very far from a lucrative occupation. It is also very hard work, with long hours and six day weeks the norm. But get Martin on the subject of organic farming (particularly potatoes) and you get a sense of the drive that keeps this operation going.

The story of the relationship between Ripple and Growing Communities symbolises everything that Growing Communities was set up to try to achieve.  As the box scheme has grown and thrived so it has provided a stable, predictable income to Ripple farm. This in turn has enabled Martin to be confident in renting and utilising more land in the local area for sustainable growing: which includes an unused Victorian walled garden complete with Haversham-esque collection of dilapidated buildings and glass houses, now used for propagation. Both organisations have been able to generate employment for their communities and train the much needed growers, processors and farmers of the future.

More news this week of former Growing Communities employees going on to do great things. Many long standing members of the box scheme will already know the trajectory of our previous growers, with Ru Litherland running Organic Lea’s hawkwood nursery in north London (also supplying our box scheme) and Sara Davies busy setting up growing projects in her native Zimbabwe.

Now we’ve heard a rumour that Maisie 1 (our former milkfloat and stalwart extraordinaire of the delivery run) is treading the boards at the Barbican no less! Yes, the old gal was renovated and rejuvenated by the magic fingers of milkfloat engineer Trevor, before being painted green and tasked with ferrying on the operatic cast of Britten’s adaptation of a midsummer nights dream.  We imagine that Maisie’s somewhat temperamental nature might fit in quite well with the artistic warblers of the Guildhall school, although providing her with her own dressing room will no doubt prove to be a bit of a sticking point. Show starts 28 February 2012 http://www.barbican.org.uk/music/home