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Steven's Blog - June 2008

Steven Lamb is our resident host at River Cottage HQ (Park Farm), and is involved in our whole range of courses and events on a daily basis.

The past is a powerful place but it is the future that holds the key.

One day it’s all fine and the next you’re knocked for a metaphysical six. Right or left handed it doesn’t matter how you get tonked out of the ground. You just know the boundary has been breeched. Just like Burt Lancaster as the adult Doctor turning back into ‘Moonshine Graham’ when he entered ‘the field of dreams.’ The line’s going to have an effect no matter which way you cross it.



My last blog entry was some time ago but at least that fits my theme and since I mentioned that I was hitching a ride in my own tardis and heading back in time to re-visit the River Cottage of old it has been more Dr When than Who. I’m glad to say that footage is in the can and will be available to watch soon.

However this latest blog focuses on the opposite direction and it is the future we are looking at. The past was a lovely place and I felt quite moved to be there for a while but there are more pressing matters.

By now some of you would have sat through the new TV series and will be familiar with our resident land team expert Mark Diacono. Mark specialises in sourcing and growing foods that would not normally be associated with our climate. He has recently planted an area at Park Farm that we have called the ‘climate change garden’. The premise of which is, if we are all going to go to hell in a hand cart because of the change in climate then we should take advantage of the warmer days by growing crops that would normally be imported, such as olives, fruits and vines; hence cutting down on food miles as well as creating new and interesting versions of popular recipes using local ingredients.

It’s not often that we can predict what’s coming on the horizon but by chatting to Mark you get a real sense of what could possibly be the garden of the future or the 21st century allotment.

I caught up with Mark during a photo shoot for his forthcoming River Cottage Veg Patch Handbook and we chatted about how best to prepare for the new food era. We also tried some of the products currently growing in the poly-tunnel. I hope you enjoy watching this snippet.

If any of you wish to comment on what is quite a current issue, especially if you have any experience or ideas of your own then please feel free to post them here and Mark or myself will be happy to comment.

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