Apr 23 2024 107 mins 2
Adrienne Gordon loves growing veg.
And after touring the world by bike, volunteering on organic farms along the way, she returned to the UK with a wealth of knowledge and experience in how best to turn seeds into food.
This is the story of how Adrienne found a plot of land close to where she lived and turned a plain 4 acre field, that only grew one crop, into a sprawling, diverse oasis of delicious veg.
In this conversation we discuss Adrienne's journey Wwoofing in New Zealand, what she learned through that experience, how she secured the land to grow on, the real cost of growing food, why we should support local growers, how organic certification works, how her popular veg box scheme took off and how she incorporates community shared experiences though food on her land
For more information on Sweetpea
https://sweetpeamarketgarden.co.uk/
https://www.instagram.com/sweetpeamarketgarden/
Mentioned in the Conversation:
Wwoof: https://wwoof.net/
Oxford Real Farming Conference: https://orfc.org.uk/
Cambridge Organic: https://cambridgeorganic.co.uk/
Land Workers Alliance: https://landworkersalliance.org.uk/
Eves Hill Farm: https://www.eveshill.uk/
Get in contact:
https://www.instagram.com/tombryanyeah/
https://www.facebook.com/greatbritishadventurespodcast
https://www.youtube.com/@greatbritishadventures
Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:30 Recording in polytunnel 07:38 Traveling world by bike 11:45 Wwoffing in New Zealand 16:53 The real cost of growing food 22:13 Securing land to grow on 29:43 Benefits of building a pond 36:50 Lessons learned from Wwoofing 43:21 Why start a market garden 46:06 What it takes to create a market garden 48:23 Going with the flow of the seasons 52:57 Demand for local food in lockdown 57:57 Food supply chain problems 01:00:05 The value we place on food 01:05:52 Adrienne's veg box scheme for a local workplace 01:13:34 Supporting local growers 01:15:55 Celebrating certified organic 01:22:05 Growing in the face of climate change 01:25:01 Regenerative farming 01:30:22 Future of Sweetpea 01:33:07 Minimal dig practices 01:36:09 Working in hardcore clay 01:37:56 What grows here 01:45:18 Closing words written by Adi
