Page 29 - Simply Vegetables Spring 2022

Mole, the Fox and the Horse which sold 56,000 copies. A book of words and hand drawn pictures, which could have been written 100 years ago. In the book the boy asks the horse what the bravest thing he’s ever said, and the horse replies ‘help.’
John Harford
I have to say I am impressed by John’s heat mat idea and have an old electric blanket so will give it a try. Just make sure it is safe to use and have it inspected if necessary – Ed.
Pallets
I am sure members are well aware that pallets are very useful to make a compost heap bin just put four to form a cube and either tie the in the corners with wire or knock a stake between the top and bottom of each pallet which holds them upright and in place.
I have used both methods and they work fine even when the bin is full of compost and they hold nearly a cubic metre. We need to compost all plant waste (unless affected by certain diseases or perennial weed roots) to produce compost / organic matter which soils need to produce good crops. Adding compost to the soil not only improves soil fertility and provide some nutrients but also adds carbon to the soil much of which is locked in the soil reducing the carbon dioxide in the air which we desperately need.
Pallets are extremely useful things and are usually free, they can be used to make bed edgings for raised beds. I have also seen them used to make
fencing, seats / benches, small table, shelves, tool rack, vertical gardens, plant containers and even a shed if you have enough! There are loads of ideas on the internet and well worth a look and after they have been used, they can be burnt on your wood burnt if you have one!
Whilst on the subject of recycling there has been a lot in the garden press recently about reducing plastic use in the garden, this does not mean getting rid of the plastic you have but not buying any new plastic. To dispose of any existing plastic would be wasteful and stupid, keep reusing as many times as you can and then get rid of it by recycling if possible. Plastic pots and seed trays can be used many times before they break and need throwing away. Even the thin plastic modules should last for five or six uses and if only one module is damage put one inside another and they can still be used.
Brexit disrupts plant and seed supplies for Irish Members
Take the far-reaching consequences of a global pandemic, add the painful, messy divorce that is Brexit. The result is a perfect storm for Irish
NVS members, with many long- established Irish suppliers struggling to keep certain items in stock while others in the UK are forced to turn away valued customers.
The situation as it stands is particularly frustrating for anyone in search of hard-to-get seed/bulb/plant varieties, tools or equipment that can’t be sourced in Ireland. Before Brexit, the next natural port-of-call was Britain, whose large gardening population and centuries-old tradition of horticulture has long supported our garden supply needs.
Citing a lack of clarity as regards
the new post-Brexit rules and regulations, increased costs and the financially unfeasible, time-consuming bureaucratic burden of additional paperwork and inspections, British suppliers have reluctantly decided to suspend their mail order service to Irish customers.
One notable example is seed potatoes, almost all of which are sourced from Scotland. In Autumn 2019 the Department of Agriculture in Ireland announced that the importation of all seed potatoes from the UK would be banned following Brexit, which was a real shock. Thankfully most suppliers succeeded in getting in stock before the December 31st deadline. But there has been a real shortage for 2022 and near impossible to find exhibition varieties such as Winston and Kestrel.
Thankfully a couple of well-known British mail-order suppliers are continuing to take orders from Irish customers, but these orders come with a warning that potential additional custom charges must be paid on delivery of seed and plants. In some cases, the custom charges can be more expensive than the original cost of the seed. Plants must now be sent soil-free to Irish and EU customers (accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate)
Irish members are struggling to
get access to exhibition seed and will inevitably face some interruptions to the supply chain in the months/years ahead. As yet, there has been no progress in establishing a real solution.
Raymond Higgins FNVS
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