Thank goodness for home-grown!
By: Steve Ott
At the time of writing, news on the E. coli outbreak in Germany seems to have fallen from the front pages. As far as I’m aware bean sprouts have been blamed but so far no positive proof has been found linking the German farm that produced them to the source of infection. However, as we point out on our news pages this month, the source seems likely to be animal waste in some form that has somehow got into the food chain and the effect on the sales of salads has been catastrophic Europe-wide.
Steve Ott, Editor
While I am in no way making light of the tragic situation on the Continent – it is of course terrible that lives have been lost – it’s very easy to overreact when such problems arise. After all we have lived with these bugs and beasties throughout our time on the planet and have evolved to fend off such attacks (I suppose if you go back far enough we might have called E. coli a cousin… albeit a distant one you might not have liked and would have tried to avoid at Christmas!).
I recently heard an expert describe how we virtually live in a ‘soup’ or cocktail of different viruses and bacteria 24/7 – they are in the air, on every surface and in every bite of food, no matter what the source, but that unless we are debilitated in some way either by age or illness, we don’t even notice most of them.
The lack of evidence of exactly how and where the outbreak occurred is worrying and it certainly makes me even happier to be growing my own for at least I (and you) have the final say over what you use to grow your crops and how they are grown. If you don’t, for example, wish to use animal manures then you don’t have to and if you do, then you can take simple, sensible precautions to keep problems at bay – such as those on page 7. And if you do that you really needn’t worry.
On a happier note, we have a really varied and packed issue for you again this month and there really is something for everyone who loves to grow their own. Our experts bring you all the information you need to grow great peppers, lettuces, figs and sweet potatoes this month, as well as offering tips on pollination that could increase the yields from your plot very easily and with very little effort. We have advice on water saving and bags of new products for you to see as well as advice for those hoping to set up a new allotment site in their town or village. As Sue Hinton proves starting on page 52 – where there is a will there is a way!
Happy plotting,
Steve Ott
Editor
P.S. Of course we also have our usual money-saving offers for you this month to help you make the most of your gardening pound and I do hope you’ll enjoy growing your TWO free packets of seeds to be found on the front cover this month – delicious pak choi and radish.
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