The 30 Year Old Intern

Not a bad film title, my new job situation... I have been slack with posting recently. Really need to stop writing epic posts and get into a little-and-often habit with the old blogging, methinks. Heyho. But, have been incredibly busy these last couple of weeks as I have started an internship with the amazing FARM: project, based at FARM:shop in Dalston.

This might be a slight deviation from my usual balcony-centric blather, but hopefully that will be a refreshing change for you devoted readers. (All 3 of you)

(FARM:shop - A farm, in a shop!)

So, the long and the short of it is - having become more and more interested in growing plants and food these last few years, I was starting to wonder about making a serious career change in that direction. When the charity I worked for went belly up at the end of May, It seemed as good a time as any to make a change. Though I have useful and transferable professional experience, none of it is in the world of growing. As well as continuing to develop my balcony, and possibly start an evening/correspondence horticulture course (any recommendations? RHS level 2 maybe?) I wanted to find voluntary work with a project, preferably an urban agriculture one, to learn more about the technical side of things, and generally get a foot into the door of that world...  I'm not really a believer in fate but sometimes things do seem to happen at the right time, and chances arise just when you really need them.

When I saw that FARM: were recruiting for an intern, it seemed like the most incredible opportunity. Though there are lots of city farms and brilliant veg growing projects in London, I was particularly excited by FARM: because of their experimental approach, the aesthetic element of their work, and the fact that their project is so completely different from the others. (And they have chickens on their roof! To be honest, that's what tipped the scales...) As well as traditional growing, they work with hydroponic and aquaponic systems, which has been fascinating to learn about. I have literally learnt more in one week with them than I have in full years with other jobs. It's amazing how easy it is to learn about something when you find it so interesting.

A very cool external project I'm working on for them is maintaining their 'FARM:wall', installed at Hackney House (a summer pop up venue on Shoreditch High St). It consists of 3 caged hydroponic wall systems, growing basil (Thai and Genovese) and rainbow chard. I think they look amazing! 

In the same area as the FARM:wall (an open-air section at the front of the venue) is a 'Lily Vanilli' cake and coffee concession. If you haven't had the pleasure, Lily makes the most ridiculously delicious cakes in her bakery on Columbia Rd. This week I have helped to design and build an 'edible wall' for her. Contrary to my slightly panicky/paranoid expectations, the finished thing is a dead ringer for my design drawing. Very satisfying!

 

I realise this whole post sounds a bit like an advertorial for FARM: (what can I say, I'm loving working there!), but needless to say, FARM:shop is well worth worth a visit if you're in the area. They have a cafe serving up produce grown on site, and you can eat in the garden (or polytunnel if its rainy!). You might even stumble across me, propagating basil for a hydroponic wall, cropping fresh salads from the garden, or clucking at the chickens.

I really am having the most absolutely brilliant time in my internship. No doubt I'll be writing a lot more about it all...

Tinned geraniums and a box full of beans

It's been a hectic couple of weeks on the balcony. I recently went on a Capital Growth course specifically about growing in containers - it was fantastic, and left me full of ideas and excitement. (I know, I know, I'm a massive geek). Everyone there was a Londoner, growing mainly food, often in small or awkward spaces. It's so exciting to see how many people are doing this, it really does feel like a snowballing thing. 

We got some great advice from a fellow student on the course. She volunteers with Food from the Sky (a permaculture growing project on a supermarket roof in North London) and said that all of their growing containers are old recycling boxes from Haringey council. Lucky for me, my mum lives in Haringey, so I was able to thieve a couple of her old boxes to repurpose.

This one is full of runner beans (I really loved making a bamboo frame for them! Something incredibly satisfying about it. Can't wait for them to start climbing and twining up it.) The boxes are a great size, big enough to fit lots in, and deep enough for serious rooters. Another consideration is that I'm fast running out of space on the balcony, so using square sided containers rather than round ones is a good idea. Not to mention the fact that they're free. I'm hoping to obtain a few more. Perhaps some nocturnal scavenging round the streets of Haringey is in order...

I also picked up some pallets locally - one of the many great things about east London is the amount of useful things left out on the street. They're perfect for gardening purposes, solid and durable. As well as boosting the height and therefore the light available to the plants, the pallets lend a sense of structure to the space - I much prefer having a group of pots on a pallet than just hanging out on the floor.

On the theme of freebies, I've made some planters out of old double-size tins (in this case, chickpeas, fresh from feeding my hummus addiction).

A few drainage holes in the bottom and it was good to go. Although for the next ones (I'm saving all my old tins now) I'll line it with something to insulate the roots - apparently (and logically) they scorch a bit otherwise. This trailing geranium seems happy enough though. Probably because we've had so little sun!

Along with the tinned geraniums, and box of beans, other recent additions are an aubergine plant, courgette, peppers and more tomatoes. I've also gone a bit crazy with new seeds, so will be sowing pak choi, kale, and - after the current ones so rudely bolted the other week, more perpetual spinach.

A final mention on this accidentally but seemingly recession-themed post has to go to the nice folks at Alara. They have decided to use a bit of land in front of their muesli factory used as a municipal compost pick up. It's free! I went and filled up 3 huge bags of lush, dark, still-warm compost from them.  Absolutely brilliant. 

Our trainer on the Capital Growth course, Tom Moggach, had some interesting things to say about the ever-increasing commercialisation of gardening, and the fact that we really really don't have to buy into it.  Most of the necessities can be found for free, if you look hard enough, and seeds and cuttings can be shared between gardeners. A true and timely point.

Onwards! To more growing and less spending.