While I was ‘away’ on my Writer’s Retreat, I thought about books I would like other people to write, and from there was gently reminded that my bookshelf is a graveyard of good intentions. There’s no point buying new books if they remain unread!*
And so I have tried to get back into the reading habit. First on the list to finish was a book I started last winter, Out of the Scientist’s Garden, by Richard Stirzaker. Stirzaker is an Australian agricultural scientist, and so his take on gardening is a little different to the ones we normally see. And, from a British perspective, there is far more emphasis on water use than we’re used to, although water is something we can no longer take for granted.
The book is comprised of 21 separate essays, divided into three main sections. In Section one, ‘The View from Our Garden’, Stirzaker uses the familiar environment of the garden to examine the less familiar topic of turning water into food. He talks about the water cycle, different ‘colours’ of water (you may have heard of grey and black water, but how about blue and green?), virtual water and the difference between physical and economic scarcity.
He takes us through a year in the vegetable garden, with the cycles of sowing and harvesting, hungry gap and gluts. In the orchard he introduces the idea of chilling units, essential for healthy crops of some fruits. He talks about pests and diseases, wildlife and the factors involved in flavour. Then he starts to explain some of the differences between horticulture and agriculture, a theme that continues through the book.
In Section 2, ‘A Journey Through the Soil’ we learn that no two soils are the same, and hence although it is possible to produce food with less water it is difficult to do so in agricultural situations where homogeneity is the norm. There’s a lot in this section about the science of irrigation (Stirzaker’s speciality); there’s probably more than an amateur gardener would ever need, or want, to know.
The final section, ‘Feeding Ourselves’, looks at what we actually eat and how we feed our ever-increasing population. There’s an interesting note in chapter 15 – apparently the only Australian native species (animal or vegetable) to ever be successfully domesticated is the macadamia nut.
In chapter 16 there is a discussion of the use of edible perennials, which highlights why they have not been used more in agriculture. There’s the usual stuff about the ease of harvesting, etc, but the book also explains that perennials divert more energy into growth – of root systems, woody stems and defence systems – than annual plants. Although these mean perennials can access more resources, it means their ‘efficiency’ at converting these resources into edible food is lower.
The final chapters look at permaculture and agroforestry, no till systems and why it’s hard to deliver agricultural solutions in developing countries.
In fact, that becomes the final theme of the book – the problems scientists face in developing solutions. It’s easy to ‘solve’ one problem and simply cause another; ecological systems (that both horticulture and agriculture rely on) are extremely complex. There are no portable solutions; what we need to do is ensure that gardeners and farmers – wherever they are – have the training and information they need to make the best use of their local resources.
If you’re interested in the science of gardening – horticulture – and food security issues in general then this is a very informative book. It’s also a little heavy going at times, and interesting but neither inspirational nor immediately useful. One for the reference shelf.
*Inbetween beginning and finishing this post, I had lunch with Pete. He has also come to the conclusion that there’s no point buying me new books until I have read more of the existing ones. And me with a birthday on the horizon! :(