It’s not too late to Grow Your Own!

By Stepanie Summerell

Growing your own is not only satisfying, but does a huge amount towards looking after our world.

Modern food production has been transformed more in the last two generations than in the previous 12,000 years and has moved from sustainably based, locally focussed production to an industrialised system that relies on fossil fuel. Almost every aspect of our modern food production creates greenhouse gas emissions, whether in the production and distribution of agrochemicals, the mechanised process of tilling, sowing and harvesting, the preparation and packaging of the produce for sale, or in its storage and transportation, sometimes from thousands of miles away. In Britain we import more than 60% of all that we eat. Take green beans: as many beans as we grow here come from Kenya – and a Kenyan bean has used at least 12 times more energy than one grown locally at the right time of year. And, as they can be up to 10 days old, much of the nutrient value and taste has disappeared.

Growing your own cuts this all out at one fell swoop. You don’t need a lot of space and you don’t have to be an expert. Many vegetables can be grown in pots, although you’ll have to keep them well watered. Give it a go – there are lots of books, TV programmes and websites devoted to showing you how.

My advice is simply to grow what you like eating and to start with just a few different things. Unless you don’t eat it at all, lettuce or salad leaves are a must – they are one of the quickest crops to grow and are generally trouble free so long as you keep them watered and keep the snails and slugs away - and their commercial equivalents have been sprayed up to 15 times in their short 12 week life – yuk! Sow seed in pots of compost and keep them damp. When the seedlings are large enough to handle, plant them on at the required spacing into larger pots, window boxes, grow bags or in open soil that has been prepared well. Sow seed at frequent intervals to ensure an ongoing supply.

A Wildflower Hay Meadow in Forty Green

By John Smiley

In 1983 I was fortunate to be able to buy two fields adjacent to my house. Over the next 15 years I attempted to farm them conventionally, but challenges such as cattle which jumped fences as if they were competing in the Grand National, led me to conclude by 1998 that my modest conventional farming operation was doomed. By chance at the same time I heard about a charity that combined two of my passions – my Christian faith and wildlife, (A Rocha). This led me to think how I could use my fields for God’s glory and, taking advice, I started on the long haul to create a wildflower hay meadow. The first two years were spent with a bare fallow to remove as many perennial weeds as possible. Then the special seed mixture of 13 native wildflowers and a variety of native grasses was sown. Initially there was very little to see from my efforts, but gradually more and more wildflowers appeared. Last year a group of botanists identified 41 different wildflower species. It has been exciting to see so many wildflowers appear that were not in the original mixture. Ragged Robin is a particular favourite and we have also found 3 common spotted orchids. But it is not all flowers, 17 different butterfly species have been seen.

It was a great thrill when Natural England offered a conservation agreement under ‘Higher Level Stewardship’ which gives a grant to help defray the costs of the specialist management that is required to maintain the wildflower hay meadows and the hedges around them, in which threatened farmland bird species such as yellowhammers nest. We are greatly blessed to live beside this lovely example of God’s creation and of course it gives us great personal enjoyment, but the greatest pleasure comes from the appreciative comments of visitors. We hope that, in a small way, our meadows do give glory to the God who has made this wonderful world.

We are very close to the Royal Standard of England pub in Forty Green which provides maps of short walks that take you on the public footpaths through the fields. Do come and enjoy the meadows. The best time is between mid April (for the cowslips) and July (knapweed and butterflies) after which the meadow should be cut for hay.

Walk more / Drive Less

On Sunday May 11th you are encouraged to walk / cycle to Church or to share lifts, if at all possible. Cars create as much Carbon dioxide as the generation of electricity and heat for our households. Some of us may be able to drive less and walk or cycle more, to church, to town, or to school!

We can offset our carbon emissions from driving and flying by making donations to Climate Stewards, set up by A Rocha. www.climatestewards.net

Climate stewards offset emissions by planting trees in Ghana. Trees absorb CO2 as they grow. Working with schools and communities in Ghana to plant indigenous trees means that their work also improves livelihoods and restores biodiversity.

So perhaps it would be a good idea to offset one's annual mileage and any flights used, once a year? See how to calculate on the climatestewards web site.

Examples of carbon emission calculations :

Annual car mileage

According to the UK government, in 2010 average annual car mileage was estimated to be 8,430 miles, which, in a medium size petrol car (1.4 to 2. 0 litre engine) emits around 3 tonnes of CO2 which would cost £45 to offset with Climate Stewards.

Holidaying in France?

London / Paris
Flight : £3.75 / 250kg ( 4 people = £15.00 / 1000 kg)
Car of 4 people 40kg + 10kg for ferry = 50kg / 75p

Simple Action - BIG IMPACT

Did you know that the CO2 created by households accounts for around 40% of total emissions in the UK - and that we in South Bucks are the highest emitters of CO2 in the country?

Imagine if all the domestic energy used by everyone at St. James was powered by renewable energy… This would make an enormous difference - and it's entirely possible simply by changing your energy provider.

The two main providers of purely renewable electricity are Good Energy and Ecotricity.

In a recent report by Which? on energy providers these two companies were voted the top two in customer satisfaction.

It takes 5 minutes to switch. You can compare prices on Which: which.co.uk/switch/news   or  USwitch: uswitch.com/gas-electricity/

If you do so through the link on the St. James or A Rocha websites below then it attracts a charitable donation of between £40 and £60 for each household or office that signs up.

To find out more please visit:

arocha.org.uk/get-involved/donation/  (Look further down the page to see the link to ecotricity or Good energy)

or www.saintjames.org.uk/lovecreation

Ecotricity by Phone: Call free on 08000 302 302 and quote the code AROC1.

Good Energy by Phone: Call 0845 456 1640 and quote St.James Church

For any help or more information regarding switching then please contact Robin Summerell