Growing Green: Organic Techniques for a Sustainable Future [Paperback]

Growing Green is about growing organic food on a home-grown and commercial scale. On the surface of it you could be forgiven for thinking that this is just another organic gardening book. This is no ordinary organic gardening book. If you are an organic gardener and you do nothing else, then buy this book. If you are interested in the ecological crisis in the world today then you should buy this book. Who does that leave? Ah yes, everyone else. You, too, should buy this book!

Basically, Growing Green provides practical information on growing food for a planet in crisis. It is based on a `Stockfree Organic' system which is a way of growing plant foods without animal inputs (manures, blood, fish, bone) and without poisonous chemicals. It is the `greenest' most carbon neutral way of producing healthy food.

With the risks of CJD, Foot and Mouth, salmonella and other food-related problems high on the health agenda, who wants to take the risk of using animal products or chemicals when growing fruit and veg? I certainly don't. Most people are under the misapprehension that animal manures are needed to provide a rich organic growing medium. But this is not so and this book proves it. Think about it. Animals eat plants and then they pass that plant food through their body to provide fertility. It is an inefficient and unsustainable system. Plants provide the fertility. Period.

The book itself is a good size and I think you get value for money. You really need to read the whole thing to get an idea of how everything is inter-related and works as a whole but you can just dip into it too to find specific information. A list of Stockfree standards pop up in boxes throughout the book and provides a useful set of criteria for commercial growers and the home grower to work from. These standards enable commercial growers to attain the Stockfree Organic Symbol. Inspection and certification is undertaken by the Soil Association and commercial growers can hold the Soil Association and the Stockfree-Organic Symbol at the same time. There are some inspirational colour photos of Stockfree Organic growers standing by fields of healthy Stockfree Organic crops and line drawings by one of the authors. There is also really vital information from established Stockfree Organic commercial growers about their proven techniques.

Chapter 1 - Introduction - this gives a good overview of sustainability and the definition of Stockfree Organic. It includes an explanation of the wider principles of how plant-based diets are good for people, animals and the environment including the economics of current agricultural policies. It gives some information that really makes you think. For example, it has been estimated that it would take 0.07 hectares of land to feed a person on a plant-based diet and 8.85 times more than that to feed someone on the average US diet.

Chapter 2 - Soil Protection - this covers soil protection and cultivation. There are many useful pieces of information throughout the book which explain stuff I was sure I knew already but was reassured to see in print. In this chapter it says that autumn crops are one of the principle causes of erosion in the UK, as the ground is left clear of developed vegetation during the higher rainfall winter months.

Chapter 3 - Soil Fertility - this chapter gives information about soil fertility and plant nutrients with a little bit of chemistry thrown in. It explains how to use composts, legumes for nitrogen, green manures and other fertilizers such as seaweed, wood and minerals.

Chapter 4 - Composting Procedures - this explains how to make a good compost and how plant-based composts should be free from weed seeds, pathogens and nematodes.

Chapter 5 - Propagation - this is about propagation techniques, its problems, the use of different `media' and equipment, diagnosis and correction of transplant disorders.

Chapter 6 - Rotations - this chapter tells how to grow different plants in different places each year to avoid soil-borne diseases, spread the risk of pest attack and help with weed suppression strategies.

Chapter 7 - Weed Control - this chapter explains different techniques for weed control.

Chapter 8 - Pests and Diseases - this looks at functional biodiversity and the techniques to reduce the incidence of disease, competing molluscs, insects, mammals and birds.

Chapter 9 - Environmental Conservation - this is about the environmental conservation of biodiversity which is an important part of a sustainable organic system.

Chapter 10- Environmental Accounting - this chapter tells how organic production techniques do not rely to the same extent on fossil fuel intensive and polluting inputs. It reinforced my reasons for not buying conventionally grown crops because of the use of pesticides, the waste involved (plastics) and the use of genetic modified organisms.

Chapter 11 UK Vegetable Crops - this lists crops and best growing practices. Really useful information for getting the best out of your crops.

Chapter 12 - Season Extension and Crop Storage. This shows how we should be extending the growing seasons by various methods to lessen our reliance on imports. It also give useful information for crop storage for the commercial growers.

Chapter 13 - The Marketing of Stockfree-Organic Produce - this chapter provides great information for the commercial growers.

Chapter 14 - Conclusion - a summing up with some inspiring blurb from the authors, Iain Tolhurst and Jenny Hall.

It finishes up with information about the Vegan Organic Network, a bibliography and a list of journels and useful organisations.

I've written a lot here but don't feel I've done Growing Green the justice it deserves. Growing food using the Stockfree Organic method is a really crucial concept and provides answers to the Climate Change crisis facing the world today.