Tag Archives: allotment

Is organic farming out of date?

Posted on June 2, 2014 by argylesock

There’s evidence that organic methods can be very productive, as I’ll discuss in this blog when I get around to that. I grow food on an allotment here in Britain. There, like many modern allotmenteers, I use organic methods. I … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, horticulture | Tagged allotment, America, Asia, biotechnology, Europe, farmer, gardener, genetic modification, grocery, law, Marsh_Steve, Monsanto, organic, patent, pesticide | 17 Comments

Act locally

Posted on April 6, 2014 by argylesock

We’ve all heard the slogan, ‘Think globally, act locally.’ Here in Britain that can mean getting involved with Garden Organic’s Healthy Communities. Gardener or not, organic or not, you can be part of this. For example if you’re in Farnham, … Continue reading →

Posted in food, horticulture | Tagged allotment, Europe, family farm, food availability, fruit, gardener, local community, organic, vegetable | 1 Comment

Lepidoptera of the month: Large white and small white butterflies

Posted on August 1, 2013 by argylesock

Here’s my Lepidopteran of the Month series. You might choose to follow my ‘butterfly’ tag for other posts in this series. Today, a day late for July, let’s admire the cabbage whites. Admire them? Well, more likely loathe them. For … Continue reading →

Posted in ecology, horticulture | Tagged allotment, arthropod, brassica, broccoli, butterfly, cabbage, cabbage white butterfly, garden, gardener, history, insect, large white butterfly, larva, lepidopteran, pest, plant_dicot, small white butterfly, vegetable | 2 Comments

Bees and butterflies are doing surprisingly well in Britain

Posted on July 31, 2013 by argylesock

Lewis at woodlands.co.uk tells us that, in Britain this year, bees and butterflies are doing better than expected. There’s still time to do the Big Butterfly Count one sunny day, and we’re getting plenty of sunny days! I did the … Continue reading →

Posted in ecology, horticulture | Tagged allotment, arthropod, brassica, butterfly, conservation, data, garden, hymenopteran, insect, insecticide, invertebrate, law, lepidopteran, neonicotinoid, pesticide, plant_dicot, wild bee | 6 Comments

Electric cars and bacterial plastics

Posted on July 16, 2013 by argylesock

We need to get better at using organisms. Organisms are alive so they can breed. That is, they’re renewable. Some of them can be used in ways that, people claim, are sustainable. That is, using some organisms is supposed to … Continue reading →

Posted in knowledge transfer, miniculture | Tagged allotment, bacterium, biobased industry, car, compost, fuel, garden, knowledge, laboratory, plastic, renewable, soil, sustainable, technology, transport | Leave a comment

British allotments’ history

Posted on May 19, 2013 by argylesock

Originally posted on Dear Kitty. Some blog:
This video from Britain says about itself: The English Enclosures July 19, 2011 The devastating enclosures of the English commons forced peasants into the labour market and the factories of the industrial revolution.…

Posted in horticulture | Tagged access to land, allotment, culture, food, garden, gardener, history, land use, tradition | 2 Comments

Crop of the month: Asparagus

Posted on May 10, 2013 by argylesock

The moon was full two weeks ago, so I’m late writing about harvest this month. You can see other posts in this series by following my ‘harvest’ tag. This month, let’s admire asparagus. I’d like to tell you that the … Continue reading →

Posted in horticulture | Tagged allotment, asparagus, crop, garden, gardener, harvest, history, plant_monocot, vegetable | 2 Comments

Gardening and farming with rockdust

Posted on May 8, 2013 by argylesock

On the allotment site in Northern England where I grow food, there’s a fashion for rockdust. Some of my neighbours swear by it. I’m not tempted, and my plot’s the envy of the site (well it was so, until my … Continue reading →

Posted in horticulture | Tagged allotment, calcium, farm, fertiliser, garden, magnesium, mining, pH, quarry, soil, sustainable | 7 Comments

Dandelions control and allelopathy

Posted on May 5, 2013 by argylesock

Originally posted on changinglifestyleblog:
Although where ever possible I am not a user of herbicides, dandelions could be considered an exception. Even the smallest fragment of root will regenerate and with the production of hundreds of seeds from each plant the…

Posted in horticulture | Tagged allelopathy, allotment, dandelion, flower, foraging, garden, glyphosate, herbicide, landscape, leaf, Monsanto, perennial, pesticide, plant_dicot, root, Roundup, seed, seed dispersal, taproot, weed, wild food | 4 Comments

Research Breakthrough: Less Inputs = More Yields?!

Posted on April 14, 2013 by argylesock

Originally posted on Food (Policy) For Thought:
“The food crisis can only be conquered with even greater intensification.” “A new ‘Green Revolution’ to match that of South-East Asia is needed to improve yields further.” “Organic farming is a cute idea,…

Posted in agriculture, food, knowledge transfer | Tagged allotment, biodiversity, crop, crop rotation, development, farm, food, Green Revolution, intensive, knowledge, land use, organic, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, research, sustainable, yield | 2 Comments