Welcome to our Newsletter July 2006
The Food Link stall had its first outing at the NW Cattle Producers Association, “North Beef” event at Ribigill Farm, Tongue, at the end of May. Looking splendid with its green and white canopy, we set up shop under the watchful eye of Phil (who had hurt his back).
The stall contained a variety of vegetable plants, herbs, fruit bushes, strawberry plants and salads, all of which sold very well. Lettuce plants sold particularly well, and pots of mixed salad leaves (live salads) showed a lot of potential for the future.
There is definitely a demand for young vegetable plants in the early part of the year and there is a potential market for one or two individuals to specialize in producing these for other growers, especially brassica’s. We will be developing this idea and running similar stalls in spring next year.
As well as selling plants the stall also serves the purpose of raising the group’s profile and promoting our objectives
through display boards, flyers and face to face encounters with potential producers. The stall will be going to all the major events along the coast this year, we will also be found at various locations selling produce when it is available, we will be advertising locally and details will be posted at www.nwsfoodlink.co.uk
Support for Local Producers
The North West Sutherland Producers Group, an affiliate of the Food Link has finally got off the ground. Its aim is to
provide a support network for local producers through help with training, marketing, purchasing, and transport. Of the 35 individuals and families who had previously expressed an interest in the scheme, 24 have joined to date. Of these, two already have an established business, 7 are producing for sale this year, and a further 9 are planning to start growing for sale next year. Apart from running the stall to sell Producers member’s goods, the Food Link is currently looking to purchase a Van which members will be able to use to transport those goods.
Membership of the Producers Group costs £10 this year, if you are interested in joining or would like further information please see the contact information on the back page
Thinking of investing in a polytunnel?
I have been thinking about putting up a large polytunnel for years, (I have a weenie 10x10 ft which has been brilliant for extending the season.) Two things have made me do it now. The first is the appalling spring weather in the last couple of years which means late summer crops, and the second is my decision to expand production, join the Food Link and sell what I produce. I was going to try and give a complete guide but that would take more than this news
letter so here are some of the basics that I have discovered during my research..
Planning permission. If you are putting up your tunnel on a registered agricultural holding then you do not need
planning permission unless it is within 25 metres of a classified road, (a classified road in Sutherland seems to include almost any road with a tarmac surface). However outside of 25m limit you need to submit a ‘Prior Notification Form’ to the Highland Council Planning Dept along with a cheque for £50.
Grants are available to crofters and established small holders under the Crofting Counties Agricultural Grants Scheme, (CCAGS), however these will only be awarded to commercial ventures and come with some conditions attached. The tunnel is required to be of a size to support a commercial business and of a strong construction. In the view of SEERAD this limits the choice of suppliers to two or three companies and buying from another company will require special pleading.
SEERAD also advises that you protect your tunnel with Paraweb or something similar, this is not obligatory but if the tunnel is damaged then you will be ineligible for further grants within the 10 year replacement period. Polytunnel covers are not grant aided.
If you choose to erect the tunnel yourself then the Department will estimate the construction time required and payments of £6 per hour for labour will be made. The really positive part of getting a grant for a tunnel is that if you
meet the standards that the department require then they will aid everything else i.e. ground preparation, irrigation,
staging, paraweb protection, water supply, irrigation systems etc.
incremental increases up to 30ft.
Tunnels. Basic commercial structures start at 18ft wide with incremental increases up to 30ft. The important criteria is
the size of the steel tubes which need to be a least 50mm at 18ft to provide the necessary strength, (60mm for larger tunnels). Crop bars are horizontal tubes which fit across the main hoops, these support crops, but more importantly add strength and rigidity to the structure. These are optional extras but are recommended for exposed sites.
Each supplier has its own recommended hoop spacing and tunnel lengths can be any multiple of this measurement up
to 200ft. An important thing to consider is ventilation. The longer the tunnel the more difficult it is to ventilate; poor
ventilation increases the risks of diseases dramatically. The principle means of ventilating a tunnel is by opening and
closing the doors and louvre vents at the ends, the alternative is a side curtain, a mechanically operated vent system
which will significantly increase the cost.
Covers are stretched over the frame and attached to a wood or aluminium base rail at the sides. At the ends the cover
is traditionally secured to a wooden “goal post” frame from which the doors and louver vents hang. However there is
now a choice of an aluminium end frame with an integral quick and easy cover fastening system, (at extra cost of
course). Sliding doors are preferable to hinged swinging doors because they are easier to control in a windy environment. The main cover is tensioned by raising the hoops using a special lever.
Prices. If you are prepared to economise, keeping the structure simple and make your owns doors then prices can start
at £1500 plus vat. I am looking to put up an 18ft by 64 ft and have been quoted about £2000 plus Vat. A water supply to the tunnel is essential.
More information is available on the web site at www.nwsfoodlink.co.uk.
An Encouraging Response.
Marlene Shaw, former member of the Food Link Management Committee recently did a survey of all the hotels and restaurants between Lochinver and Melvich in order to assess the demand for locally grown produce, the results were very encouraging.
With just a few exceptions, all of the respondents were very keen on taking locally grown crops especially fresh herbs and salads. The few who didn’t require produce either already had an existing local supplier or were growing their own “because the quality of imported goods was so poor”.
It is important to emphasise that “locally grown” will not be enough in itself to sell produce; cost, continuity of supply,
quality and regular delivery were all raised as potential stumbling blocks, but if these issues are addressed professionally, then there is a market waiting to be filled.
Marlene commented that “this survey was about generating interest in the supply of produce for 2007 but I hope that
this positive response will encourage growers, and that their efforts will be rewarded by an eager group of consumers”.
Walled Garden Seeks Purpose.
Following last year’s dramatic community buyout of four Sutherland mountains by the Assynt Foundation, the community of Assynt now also owns Glencanisp Lodge. The lodge has extensive grounds and a lovely walled garden containing characterful old fruit trees and bushes, herbs, a small greenhouse and, currently, a lot of weeds! Recently, around half of the walled garden has been given a digging-over by a heroic group of visiting volunteers. The soil is good, having reportedly come from Ireland as ballast in ships. The Assynt Foundation is seeking interest from someone to take on the role of gardener in the walled garden, perhaps to establish a food-growing business there or to lead a group of volunteers from the community to turn it into a community garden. Maybe it should be a tree nursery, a herbarium or a permaculture garden? The directors of Assynt Foundation will consider any well-intentioned proposal.
A group of Assynt Foundation members has also formed a gardening group to help with the ongoing maintenance of the grounds. Anyone interested is welcome to become involved - we indulge in lots of tea, coffee, chocolate and cakes and have been known to take something a little stronger too.
If you would like to look around the garden at Glencanisp Lodge (it is about a mile out of Lochinver), please contact Derek Louden on 05171 844100.
Bringing the Beef Home
For the last few years a small group of crofters from Bettyhill, Skerray and Tongue have been selling there year old cattle directly to John MaClellan of the Glenfernate estate in Perthshire. John had seen the cattle while on holiday here, judged that they were excellent healthy stock and realised that they would thrive on good Perthshire grass. The cattle are finished, slaughted locally and then butchered on the Estate for sale by mail order.
Now consumers in North West Sutherland are going to get the chance to try some of this tasty tender beef as the cattle producers are about to start bring this beef home and selling it here, initially through two shops, The Post Office in Tongue and The Store in Bettyhill, but hopefully in the not too distant future they would like to find other outlets and possibly sell directly to the public. In the long term they would like to set up there own mail order business under the heading Mackay Beef from Mackay country. Ted Birchill spokesman for the group said that “this was a great opportunity for the public to support local agriculture and enjoy the taste of good healthy food” The first batch of beef should be in the shops by mid to late August.
Sarah Kish of Kinlochbervie shares her experience of starting a new Vegetable plot.
So there we were standing in a January gale, completely clarted in mud, drookit from the wind-driven smirr, cutting sods to expose the soil for the first time in 30 yrs on our veg. plot, and then I wasn’t, standing that is, for the gale had blown me over!!
A question I have been frequently asked since becoming a tenant crofter in November is “Are you enjoying having a croft?” Despite my opening sentence, I reply with an emphatic yes, for there is nothing I like better than being muddy and grubbing about in the earth, with visions of the end produce in my head. Hard work, it has been, but the feel good factor is worth it all, even before I know the results. I was assigned the croft through the Croft Entrants Scheme and had to submit a 3 yr plan of what I intended to do with it. Having been a frustrated gardener for several years due of lack of space, I had been looking for some land so I could increase production for my family and to sell to local people.
The croft is 1Ha, was fenceless, and had been grazed forever by sheep. The first job was to fence it and then prepare the ground for planting, which was what we did in the winter months, (we being; my husband ,3 children & I ). Last year the outgoing tenant allowed us to grow tatties on it which we hoped would help to break down some of the weeds. The crop exceeded our expectations and I hope this means that we will have success with this years crops. The tattie patch was 15m by 25m ,so we decided to cut sods on an equivalent area next to this, leaving a ½ m strip of grass between as a path. The sods we upturned onto the tattie patch, in the hope that the weeds would break down a bit, but it wasn’t as effective as we had hoped. The worst weeds are silverweed and docken. We took a flamethrower to some of it and again it had some impact, but at the price of paraffin it was a little costly! However the kids are well impressed and my “don’t do weeding” husband will use it.
Both plots were covered with sheep manure & compost and have a rabbit proof fence around it. We have planted our brassicas on the tattie patch and root & legumes on the new area. Weeding is done by hand or hoe and next year I will leave a space of 1 ½ ft between rows to make this easier.
Being our first year I have decided to grow a variety of things, though more of what I have had success with previously,
like; broad beans, carrots, cabbage, peas, rocket, onions, lettuce, spinach & swiss chard. I am also trying garlic, parsnips, beetroot, calabrese, broccoli, leeks & spring onions.
I have also planted strawberry plants & blackcurrant bushes which if they take I will add to next year. We have ploughed up a new tattie patch, 30m by 25m and put in two varieties of 2nd earlies, Nicola & Maris Peer (seed from organic pot. Merchant, 30p per kg!!) My methods are organic but the cost of certification is prohibitive. I had thought I would use a pick-your-own & honesty box method for selling, but now the Food Link Producer Group has made the sale of produce easier and provided a larger market for me. Working together with other growers means we can get access to training, share ideas, advice and costs of production, and sell a greater variety of produce to our local community, who often have limited access to fresh produce. So if you have the inclination, get a bit of ground and start growing.
There is nothing more satisfying than pulling a carrot and savouring the flavour of home grown veg.
The stall contained a variety of vegetable plants, herbs, fruit bushes, strawberry plants and salads, all of which sold very well. Lettuce plants sold particularly well, and pots of mixed salad leaves (live salads) showed a lot of potential for the future.
There is definitely a demand for young vegetable plants in the early part of the year and there is a potential market for one or two individuals to specialize in producing these for other growers, especially brassica’s. We will be developing this idea and running similar stalls in spring next year.
As well as selling plants the stall also serves the purpose of raising the group’s profile and promoting our objectives
through display boards, flyers and face to face encounters with potential producers. The stall will be going to all the major events along the coast this year, we will also be found at various locations selling produce when it is available, we will be advertising locally and details will be posted at www.nwsfoodlink.co.uk
Support for Local Producers
The North West Sutherland Producers Group, an affiliate of the Food Link has finally got off the ground. Its aim is to
provide a support network for local producers through help with training, marketing, purchasing, and transport. Of the 35 individuals and families who had previously expressed an interest in the scheme, 24 have joined to date. Of these, two already have an established business, 7 are producing for sale this year, and a further 9 are planning to start growing for sale next year. Apart from running the stall to sell Producers member’s goods, the Food Link is currently looking to purchase a Van which members will be able to use to transport those goods.
Membership of the Producers Group costs £10 this year, if you are interested in joining or would like further information please see the contact information on the back page
Thinking of investing in a polytunnel?
I have been thinking about putting up a large polytunnel for years, (I have a weenie 10x10 ft which has been brilliant for extending the season.) Two things have made me do it now. The first is the appalling spring weather in the last couple of years which means late summer crops, and the second is my decision to expand production, join the Food Link and sell what I produce. I was going to try and give a complete guide but that would take more than this news
letter so here are some of the basics that I have discovered during my research..
Planning permission. If you are putting up your tunnel on a registered agricultural holding then you do not need
planning permission unless it is within 25 metres of a classified road, (a classified road in Sutherland seems to include almost any road with a tarmac surface). However outside of 25m limit you need to submit a ‘Prior Notification Form’ to the Highland Council Planning Dept along with a cheque for £50.
Grants are available to crofters and established small holders under the Crofting Counties Agricultural Grants Scheme, (CCAGS), however these will only be awarded to commercial ventures and come with some conditions attached. The tunnel is required to be of a size to support a commercial business and of a strong construction. In the view of SEERAD this limits the choice of suppliers to two or three companies and buying from another company will require special pleading.
SEERAD also advises that you protect your tunnel with Paraweb or something similar, this is not obligatory but if the tunnel is damaged then you will be ineligible for further grants within the 10 year replacement period. Polytunnel covers are not grant aided.
If you choose to erect the tunnel yourself then the Department will estimate the construction time required and payments of £6 per hour for labour will be made. The really positive part of getting a grant for a tunnel is that if you
meet the standards that the department require then they will aid everything else i.e. ground preparation, irrigation,
staging, paraweb protection, water supply, irrigation systems etc.
incremental increases up to 30ft.
Tunnels. Basic commercial structures start at 18ft wide with incremental increases up to 30ft. The important criteria is
the size of the steel tubes which need to be a least 50mm at 18ft to provide the necessary strength, (60mm for larger tunnels). Crop bars are horizontal tubes which fit across the main hoops, these support crops, but more importantly add strength and rigidity to the structure. These are optional extras but are recommended for exposed sites.
Each supplier has its own recommended hoop spacing and tunnel lengths can be any multiple of this measurement up
to 200ft. An important thing to consider is ventilation. The longer the tunnel the more difficult it is to ventilate; poor
ventilation increases the risks of diseases dramatically. The principle means of ventilating a tunnel is by opening and
closing the doors and louvre vents at the ends, the alternative is a side curtain, a mechanically operated vent system
which will significantly increase the cost.
Covers are stretched over the frame and attached to a wood or aluminium base rail at the sides. At the ends the cover
is traditionally secured to a wooden “goal post” frame from which the doors and louver vents hang. However there is
now a choice of an aluminium end frame with an integral quick and easy cover fastening system, (at extra cost of
course). Sliding doors are preferable to hinged swinging doors because they are easier to control in a windy environment. The main cover is tensioned by raising the hoops using a special lever.
Prices. If you are prepared to economise, keeping the structure simple and make your owns doors then prices can start
at £1500 plus vat. I am looking to put up an 18ft by 64 ft and have been quoted about £2000 plus Vat. A water supply to the tunnel is essential.
More information is available on the web site at www.nwsfoodlink.co.uk.
An Encouraging Response.
Marlene Shaw, former member of the Food Link Management Committee recently did a survey of all the hotels and restaurants between Lochinver and Melvich in order to assess the demand for locally grown produce, the results were very encouraging.
With just a few exceptions, all of the respondents were very keen on taking locally grown crops especially fresh herbs and salads. The few who didn’t require produce either already had an existing local supplier or were growing their own “because the quality of imported goods was so poor”.
It is important to emphasise that “locally grown” will not be enough in itself to sell produce; cost, continuity of supply,
quality and regular delivery were all raised as potential stumbling blocks, but if these issues are addressed professionally, then there is a market waiting to be filled.
Marlene commented that “this survey was about generating interest in the supply of produce for 2007 but I hope that
this positive response will encourage growers, and that their efforts will be rewarded by an eager group of consumers”.
Walled Garden Seeks Purpose.
Following last year’s dramatic community buyout of four Sutherland mountains by the Assynt Foundation, the community of Assynt now also owns Glencanisp Lodge. The lodge has extensive grounds and a lovely walled garden containing characterful old fruit trees and bushes, herbs, a small greenhouse and, currently, a lot of weeds! Recently, around half of the walled garden has been given a digging-over by a heroic group of visiting volunteers. The soil is good, having reportedly come from Ireland as ballast in ships. The Assynt Foundation is seeking interest from someone to take on the role of gardener in the walled garden, perhaps to establish a food-growing business there or to lead a group of volunteers from the community to turn it into a community garden. Maybe it should be a tree nursery, a herbarium or a permaculture garden? The directors of Assynt Foundation will consider any well-intentioned proposal.
A group of Assynt Foundation members has also formed a gardening group to help with the ongoing maintenance of the grounds. Anyone interested is welcome to become involved - we indulge in lots of tea, coffee, chocolate and cakes and have been known to take something a little stronger too.
If you would like to look around the garden at Glencanisp Lodge (it is about a mile out of Lochinver), please contact Derek Louden on 05171 844100.
Bringing the Beef Home
For the last few years a small group of crofters from Bettyhill, Skerray and Tongue have been selling there year old cattle directly to John MaClellan of the Glenfernate estate in Perthshire. John had seen the cattle while on holiday here, judged that they were excellent healthy stock and realised that they would thrive on good Perthshire grass. The cattle are finished, slaughted locally and then butchered on the Estate for sale by mail order.
Now consumers in North West Sutherland are going to get the chance to try some of this tasty tender beef as the cattle producers are about to start bring this beef home and selling it here, initially through two shops, The Post Office in Tongue and The Store in Bettyhill, but hopefully in the not too distant future they would like to find other outlets and possibly sell directly to the public. In the long term they would like to set up there own mail order business under the heading Mackay Beef from Mackay country. Ted Birchill spokesman for the group said that “this was a great opportunity for the public to support local agriculture and enjoy the taste of good healthy food” The first batch of beef should be in the shops by mid to late August.
Sarah Kish of Kinlochbervie shares her experience of starting a new Vegetable plot.
So there we were standing in a January gale, completely clarted in mud, drookit from the wind-driven smirr, cutting sods to expose the soil for the first time in 30 yrs on our veg. plot, and then I wasn’t, standing that is, for the gale had blown me over!!
A question I have been frequently asked since becoming a tenant crofter in November is “Are you enjoying having a croft?” Despite my opening sentence, I reply with an emphatic yes, for there is nothing I like better than being muddy and grubbing about in the earth, with visions of the end produce in my head. Hard work, it has been, but the feel good factor is worth it all, even before I know the results. I was assigned the croft through the Croft Entrants Scheme and had to submit a 3 yr plan of what I intended to do with it. Having been a frustrated gardener for several years due of lack of space, I had been looking for some land so I could increase production for my family and to sell to local people.
The croft is 1Ha, was fenceless, and had been grazed forever by sheep. The first job was to fence it and then prepare the ground for planting, which was what we did in the winter months, (we being; my husband ,3 children & I ). Last year the outgoing tenant allowed us to grow tatties on it which we hoped would help to break down some of the weeds. The crop exceeded our expectations and I hope this means that we will have success with this years crops. The tattie patch was 15m by 25m ,so we decided to cut sods on an equivalent area next to this, leaving a ½ m strip of grass between as a path. The sods we upturned onto the tattie patch, in the hope that the weeds would break down a bit, but it wasn’t as effective as we had hoped. The worst weeds are silverweed and docken. We took a flamethrower to some of it and again it had some impact, but at the price of paraffin it was a little costly! However the kids are well impressed and my “don’t do weeding” husband will use it.
Both plots were covered with sheep manure & compost and have a rabbit proof fence around it. We have planted our brassicas on the tattie patch and root & legumes on the new area. Weeding is done by hand or hoe and next year I will leave a space of 1 ½ ft between rows to make this easier.
Being our first year I have decided to grow a variety of things, though more of what I have had success with previously,
like; broad beans, carrots, cabbage, peas, rocket, onions, lettuce, spinach & swiss chard. I am also trying garlic, parsnips, beetroot, calabrese, broccoli, leeks & spring onions.
I have also planted strawberry plants & blackcurrant bushes which if they take I will add to next year. We have ploughed up a new tattie patch, 30m by 25m and put in two varieties of 2nd earlies, Nicola & Maris Peer (seed from organic pot. Merchant, 30p per kg!!) My methods are organic but the cost of certification is prohibitive. I had thought I would use a pick-your-own & honesty box method for selling, but now the Food Link Producer Group has made the sale of produce easier and provided a larger market for me. Working together with other growers means we can get access to training, share ideas, advice and costs of production, and sell a greater variety of produce to our local community, who often have limited access to fresh produce. So if you have the inclination, get a bit of ground and start growing.
There is nothing more satisfying than pulling a carrot and savouring the flavour of home grown veg.
