Category Archives: Biodiversity

Overnight Frost

On the morning of 21st October 2010, an overnight frost had killed the Bean and Squash plants at Allotment Plot at MERL, leaving the remaining Squash Green Hokkadio vulnerable to elemental forces. The Squash seemed to be intact and was harvested, it had not met its maximum growth capacity because it had grown to late in the season, but it was not to be abandoned to decompose on the Plot.

The Bamboo canes that were still standing in pyramid formations, were stripped of their frost bitten Climbing Bean residue, dismantled and deposited in the shed. The Bean plant residue was roughly cut up and laid in the brick compost area. Ella Montt decided to raise the height of the bricks by one layer so that they would accommodate more compost. Yellowed leaves from the Mulberry tree next to the Plot were gathered from the ground where they had fallen, placed into the compost area covering the Bean plants residue and left to mulch down.

Allotment Plot CompostAllotment Plot Autumn

The next action was that of harvesting, because there had been a frost Ella Montt deemed it appropriate that the first Parsnips would be dug. In the space that the Carrot harvest generated more Pea Meteor were planted. The harvest consisted of: Squash Green Hokkadio = 1lb 1oz = 480g; Mixed Herbs = Chives, Mint, Sage and Marjarom = 2oz = 40g; Leek Almera = 2oz = 40g ; Parsnip Halblange White = 6oz = 180g; Carrot Amsterdam Forcing 8oz = 240g.

Carrots Leeks and Parsnips 1Carrots Leeks and Parsnips

Later that same day, 21/10/2010, a journey to Allotment Plot 326 happened. Ella Montt commenced digging again in an effort to clear more soil, attempting to banish more roots of the Bramble plants. As daylight started to fade Ella Montt’s digging reached the other side of the plot. Contemplating the Plot, Ella Montt has decided in order to try to thwart the Brambles, land based wildlife and other persistent plants, who are not particularly welcome in the overall scheme of the Plot, that it will be necessary to dig the perimeter of the Plot in preparation for fencing. Whilst bio diversity is encouraged in organic growing, certain creatures become over zealous when Plants of their liking start to grow. This fact has already been noted on the Plot at MERL when the Brassicas have suffered Pigeon attack. The act of fencing in of Plot 326, will be an attempt to try to deter hungry wildlife from foraging and allow the planted vegetation a chance to grow to harvesting potential. Given time constraints, Ella Montt expects it will be some weeks before fencing commences. Ella Montt would like to emphasis the fact that fencing the Plot in is not based on Speciesism and that wildlife will coexist on and around the Plot with the Plot, the act of fencing is merely an attempt to stop the wildlife eating everything that Ella Montt attempts to grow. The wildlife have their own strategies for survival and will no doubt find a way to breach the fence if they are so inclined.

Ella Montt planted another row of Spinach Giant Winter, then Garlic (1) Elephant = 3 cloves, Garlic (2) Dukat = 17 cloves, Garlic (3) Sprint = 32 cloves, Garlic (4) Thermidrome 16 cloves, followed by 1 row of Broad Beans Supersimonia and 1 row of Broad Beans Super Aquadule.

Allotment Plot Overwinter 1Allotment Plot Overwinter 2

Energetic Force Field

16/09/2010 in the garden at MERL at the Allotment Plot, Ella Montt harvested a small Squash that had unfortunately been attacked by something with teeth. Glistening trails were detected as the evidence of slug and snail activity, this kind of activity has been thankfully minimal, presumably because of the dry weather conditions this growing year. The Sweetcorn need to accelerate their growth in order to be edible if not their destiny will be compost material. Cosmos Cosmea pink will continue to flower for the next few weeks, the white Cosmos’s life force has faded as has the Sunflowers, the latter is concentrating its energetic capacity in seed generation. The Leeks are growing, but slender, beans continue to be prolific and reach for the sky. It was decided that two small Soleil F1 Courgettes would be left to survive another week on the Plot to maximize their growth, will they be attacked or will their energetic force field hold and not be penetrated, only time will tell. The temperature of the days and nights are dropping, the evenings are getting darker, the angle of the sun is shifting, Autumn is on its way. Green Manure seeds Phacelia Tanacetifolia were scattered on the Plot (to be dug in before flowering, some flowers can be left to attract biodiversity). SweetcornCosmea 2

Harvesting commenced: Tomatoes = 1lb4oz = 560g; Kale Pentland Brig 1oz = 40g; Squash Green Hokkadio = 4oz = 100g; Dwarf Bean Royalty = 1oz = 40g; Runner Beans = 12oz = 340g; Climbing French Beans Blue Lake = 12oz = 340g and Blauhide 2oz = 50g.

The complication of Fine Art Practice Based PhD research should not be under estimated.

Slender Leeks

Another Planting Performance

The Allotment Plot thickens with another Planting Performance in the Garden at MERL (18/03/2010). The weather conditions were good for planting again. The day was pleasantly warm with the Spring equinox approaching. Rain was in the forecast and needed, but that did not occur until the evening when darkness fell.

Ella Montt selected seed packets, some tools, gardening gloves, a small bell, a thermos and a measuring stick and placed the objects next to Allotment Plot. Then with a hoe and small hand fork proceeded to remove some grass plants growing on the Plot. Shallow drills were constructed with the hoe, these were ground incisions for seed accumulation in the planting process. The first seeds were delivered to their destinations. The bell was rung along the line of seeds to awaken them from dormancy to germination state. The hoe was then utilized to cover the seeds with the soil to complete the planting process. More seeds were chosen and the process of planting began again.

Allotment Performance Again

As the Allotment Plot thickens, Ella Montt pauses to observe the notes written about the seeds that had previously been planted. Ella Montt drinks a cup of tea from the thermos, a normal activity for a person or persons working on their allotments and part of the Performance. Pondering on the size of the Plot, and the space limitation, Ella Montt decides that an optimum number of seeds should be planted. This would maximize the Plot and may retain more water through ground coverage rather than water evaporation process taking place in a drought situation. Irrigation would be ideal and a water butt close to hand, but this is not a current option. Ella Montt is conscious that intensive farming can destroy the fertility of the soil.

The notion of what to grow and how to grow it, can be calculated and assisted. Ella Montt chooses to grow organically without the assistance of animal by products, but with the assistance of biodiversity present within the Garden, a veganic method.  A ladybird (ladybug) arrives on the scene at the Allotment Plot, a very welcome guest, who will assist in pest control. One perhaps could wonder if a vegan (who eats plant based foods), should choose the biodiversity of wildlife as a form of natural pest control in the growing method of plant based food products. A genetically modified seed could grow without the use of natural wildlife pest control, no insects or animals would be harmed in the growth of the food product. However, genetically modified food production results in the loss of biodiversity, it breaks the food chain for insects and animals, resulting in the loss of species on the whole planet. Using the immediate gratification of growing genetically modified crops as an answer to world need for food production becomes its own fictional myth and as a consequence produces its own catastrophe not just through the loss of species, but also through crop failure and the ingestion of genetics that are in themselves harmful to the being that eat them. Veganic growing uses no animal by products to fertilise the soil, it instead relies on green manures and composting to make the soil fertile and it encourages biodiversity of insects and animals to act as agents in pest control, and the use of companion planting which is also very important in the growing process.

Ladybug

Seeds that were planted during the Planting Performance were as follows:

Leek Almera, Kale Red Russian Curled, Spinach Matador (Atlanta), Leaf Beat Rainbow Chard, Beetroot Bolivar, Cabbage Savoy (Vertus), Rocket Wild, Lettuce Lollo Rosso, Spring Onion White Lisbon, and Lettuce Marvel of Four Seasons. What will germinate and grow for now remains a mystery, but hope for a good harvest will be constant.

The coldest winter in thirty years awaits the coming of warmer weather. Later that day, a bee was seen, a frog hopped by in search of a pond and a snail arrived to eat the vegetable crop. The growing cycle continues.

A Caterpillar

Why is the caterpillar on the broadbean plant at the allotment plot in February? Where has it grown from? Surely no butterfly has fluttered by and perched long enough to deliver eggs that have then grown over a week into a fat caterpillar? Or has the caterpillar overwintered on the broadbeans surviving the chill of winter, choosing not to turn into a crysalis or to evolve into a moth or butterfly? Was the caterpillar found by a passing bird that spied a worm so dropped the caterpillar into the broadbean leaf to cradle? The multiplicity of event occurs and mystery at the allotment plot.

Caterpillar