Has anybody got or read Valuable Vegetables by Mandy Pullen. It is the result of her 7 years at Ragmans Lane Farm, not far from here.
1-899233-12-1
The price is a bit steep if it only tells me what I already know, no cheap copies available.
Allan
Book review please
Moderators: KG Steve, Chantal, Tigger, peter, Chief Spud
Hello Allan
I can't help you with a review of the book but if you're happy with a secondhand copy, you could try:
http://www.abebooks.co.uk
A quick search here shows quite a few copies available - much cheaper than new.
John
I can't help you with a review of the book but if you're happy with a secondhand copy, you could try:
http://www.abebooks.co.uk
A quick search here shows quite a few copies available - much cheaper than new.
John
The Gods do not subtract from the allotted span of men’s lives, the hours spent fishing Assyrian tablet
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning Werner Heisenberg
I am a man and the world is my urinal
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning Werner Heisenberg
I am a man and the world is my urinal
Thanks for trying, chaps but I think I have seen enough to confirm it's not for me. The best price is £3 off RRP, I'm still woundering how anyone has the temerity of asking £35 for a £15 book. As MacEnroe said, "you can't be serious!"
The review is in generalities, the sort of claims that have bombarded us all along about box schemes, Farmers Markets etc. The sad truth is that we have been at the game for about 17 years, Mandy was at it for 7, her legacy if you care to check is that none of her pioneering work is still running at Ragman's Lane, we are still in business and after some setbacks have some very well established contacts who would be very disappointed if we packed it all in. I could quote the Organic Box schemes and the markets round here that have folded since we started.
Perhaps it is time for me to write a book, it would probably pay more to give others advice than to carry on with the hard graft ourselves, MD is doing very well out of it and so are all the others who go under the flag of Expert or Celebrity!
The review is in generalities, the sort of claims that have bombarded us all along about box schemes, Farmers Markets etc. The sad truth is that we have been at the game for about 17 years, Mandy was at it for 7, her legacy if you care to check is that none of her pioneering work is still running at Ragman's Lane, we are still in business and after some setbacks have some very well established contacts who would be very disappointed if we packed it all in. I could quote the Organic Box schemes and the markets round here that have folded since we started.
Perhaps it is time for me to write a book, it would probably pay more to give others advice than to carry on with the hard graft ourselves, MD is doing very well out of it and so are all the others who go under the flag of Expert or Celebrity!
Hello again Allan
Do you know what's happening at Ragman's Farm these days. Unfortunately I missed their last open day which was several years ago now. I haven't heard much about it recently and I think I saw that it was up for sale a while ago but perhaps I'm mistaken.
John
PS Get writing and put me down for a copy of your book!!
Do you know what's happening at Ragman's Farm these days. Unfortunately I missed their last open day which was several years ago now. I haven't heard much about it recently and I think I saw that it was up for sale a while ago but perhaps I'm mistaken.
John
PS Get writing and put me down for a copy of your book!!
The Gods do not subtract from the allotted span of men’s lives, the hours spent fishing Assyrian tablet
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning Werner Heisenberg
I am a man and the world is my urinal
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning Werner Heisenberg
I am a man and the world is my urinal
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TROUSERS
- KG Regular
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- Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 7:40 pm
- Location: Mmm.... Forest of Dean.....
wellie swears by it allbe it that cost a bloody fortune(16.95) its a good read but we dont want to set up a small business so that chapter does not apply to us.
wellie has sent kg alist of gardening and related cook books for them to do a feature on as we all get those book tokens at xmas but as yet has not had a reply. weve enough books to open a mini library.....
wellie has sent kg alist of gardening and related cook books for them to do a feature on as we all get those book tokens at xmas but as yet has not had a reply. weve enough books to open a mini library.....
Ragmans Lane Farm is down to Apple Juice, Shitake logs, Comfrey juice and of course the inevitable courses about Permaculture etc which is really the only sure moneymaker. No mention of veggies, livestock, box schemes etc. Have a look at their website, google will get you there, or www.ragmans.co.uk.
It's sad but I suppose inevitable once the novelty has worn off. They never did sign up to be totally Organic.
Interesting side issue, On Your Farm this weekend was all about a Scottish farm that has diversified and is doing good business on its own brand of Ice Cream. They sell a lot in Scotland, the buzzword there is that it's Local, the shipments to London and South-East sell as Organic. Our products sell on the strength of our reputation and personal contact i.e. being able to talk to the actual producers.
Allan
It's sad but I suppose inevitable once the novelty has worn off. They never did sign up to be totally Organic.
Interesting side issue, On Your Farm this weekend was all about a Scottish farm that has diversified and is doing good business on its own brand of Ice Cream. They sell a lot in Scotland, the buzzword there is that it's Local, the shipments to London and South-East sell as Organic. Our products sell on the strength of our reputation and personal contact i.e. being able to talk to the actual producers.
Allan
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fen not fen
- KG Regular
- Posts: 126
- Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2005 7:54 am
- Location: north lincolnshire
I used it as a resource when starting my er, organic market garden, it was good for writing business plans etc, but to be honest I've barely glanced at it since. No time!
The problem with box schemes is you start doing them because they are great for cash flow, then you find you spend so much time doing the boxes that you're not growing anything! A balance we're trying to get right at the moment.
The problem with box schemes is you start doing them because they are great for cash flow, then you find you spend so much time doing the boxes that you're not growing anything! A balance we're trying to get right at the moment.
fen not fen
Apart from the inevitable administration and the time and money in delivering, the problems encountered in box schemes round here that I have heard of are that in the winter the local supplies are a trickle if any and bought in supplies have not got the same appeal.There was also the problem of the standard contonts not meeting the requirements of the customers. Our present main outlets are in Hereford City, a cafe that is largely organic and similar, a health food shop that we have been supplying for over 15 years and where we are very well known, the local fishmonger who takes our parsley and dill, and a few neighbours who will even take the leftovers that are not presentable enough for the shops. There is also a general store serving a garage on our route that takes a few items in the summer.We did supply a Farm Shop for a time but it meant extra miles and we could only deliver within shop hours which lost a lot of our worktime.Most of what we sell is from our polytunnels.
Two other points. We always put our own identity label on everything and most items are prepacked in polythene bags to stop wilting etc. Payment is sale or return to shops with 40% markup.
We don't claim Organic status but do not use any pesticides on what we sell.
Helen, thanks for info but I had already found that one. Most likely we will borrow from the local library at no cost.In my search I did find a list of contents, rather what was expected, she must have drawn on other resources for a lot of the text.
.
Apart from the inevitable administration and the time and money in delivering, the problems encountered in box schemes round here that I have heard of are that in the winter the local supplies are a trickle if any and bought in supplies have not got the same appeal.There was also the problem of the standard contonts not meeting the requirements of the customers. Our present main outlets are in Hereford City, a cafe that is largely organic and similar, a health food shop that we have been supplying for over 15 years and where we are very well known, the local fishmonger who takes our parsley and dill, and a few neighbours who will even take the leftovers that are not presentable enough for the shops. There is also a general store serving a garage on our route that takes a few items in the summer.We did supply a Farm Shop for a time but it meant extra miles and we could only deliver within shop hours which lost a lot of our worktime.Most of what we sell is from our polytunnels.
Two other points. We always put our own identity label on everything and most items are prepacked in polythene bags to stop wilting etc. Payment is sale or return to shops with 40% markup.
We don't claim Organic status but do not use any pesticides on what we sell.
Helen, thanks for info but I had already found that one. Most likely we will borrow from the local library at no cost.In my search I did find a list of contents, rather what was expected, she must have drawn on other resources for a lot of the text.
.
We got a copy from the library. The final sections are the most important
Putting it briefly, if you think you can make a living over the long term by small-scale horticulture think again. Mandy had many advantages, such as grants, free labour on site, the euphoria of the time but even she realised that it was a no-go. That's not to say that growing decent food is wrong, it can at time bring in pin-money but even ignoring the actual cost of growing the food, just the picking packeting and marketing at best brings in about half the minimum statuary wagefor the time taken.
Putting it briefly, if you think you can make a living over the long term by small-scale horticulture think again. Mandy had many advantages, such as grants, free labour on site, the euphoria of the time but even she realised that it was a no-go. That's not to say that growing decent food is wrong, it can at time bring in pin-money but even ignoring the actual cost of growing the food, just the picking packeting and marketing at best brings in about half the minimum statuary wagefor the time taken.