Oxford Get-Together

10 August 20098 October 2009

Oxford 2009 Updates

A lot of things changed since I sent out and posted the recent announcement and schedule for Oxford 2009, so I thought I should bring everyone up to date.

Everyone is Welcome

Lots of people ask about this.

The event is open to anyone who wants to come. It’s not an invitation only affair. You are welcome to bring guests. I only ask you let me know in advance who’s coming, and be aware we may run out of spaces and have to turn people away near the end.

For the moment, it looks like we have space for everyone.

Around 30 people have at least expressed some interest, but several have not confirmed, and we have space for 40 people.

Half Hour Earlier

Until now the plan has been to start the presentations at 10am, but I think enough people are giving presentations it’s best if we start a half hour earlier. This will give us more flexibility to take a few breaks in the middle. Please try to arrive between 9:00-9:30, but I understand a number of you have to travel a long distance and it may not be possible to make it on time.

No Visit to Elder Stubbs Allotments

I mentioned this first as a confirmed part of the event, then later announcements said it was a possibility, but now we are no longer planning to do this.

There was some confusion on my part about where the event would take place. Julieanne, who is helping me organize things, mentioned Restore where we have the room booked is related to the allotments. She then told me we would have access to the gardens. I incorrectly assumed the gardens and allotments were the same, when in fact the allotments are some distance away. While arranging a visit to the allotments would be possible, it would take more time than we have. It’s looking like a busy day.

We’ll still have access to the Restore gardens.

Email Announcements

Last year it seemed like the whole world was starting their own garden blog, and what was being organized was primarily a blogging event. It’s true most of us have blogs, but it’s clear lots of other people involved or attending do not have or are particularly interested in reading blogs.

For this reason, while I will still post announcements on my blog, but the primary way of communicating will be email so we don’t leave anyone out. If there is any reason you don’t want to get emails from me, let me know, and I’ll count on you to follow my blog instead.

Sunday Breeding Workshop

For anyone who is interested, a second day has now been planned. The purpose of this day will be to spend time with Tom Wagner for an intensive potato and tomato breeding workshop. Ben of Real Seeds will attend this as a participant, but he is also an accomplished plant breeder himself and will likely have insight to offer. There will be extra costs for this, which will depend on how many people attend, probably about 20-30 pounds each. Please let me know if you’re interested.

We don’t have a room booked for this yet. If there is anyone in the area who could help with this (maybe offer us living room or kitchen space in your home?), please let me know. If closer to the time we still haven’t found anything, we’ll probably go to a pub or restaurant.

At a guess, I’m expecting a maximum of 6 people to attend this workshop, so it will be small and cosy.

Looking for AV Equipment

While we have some options in this regard, it includes carrying electronics from Amsterdam and having to sort out a UK power adapter.

We are currently looking for something like a projector or large screen TV. Ideally we are also a device with a remote control that would play media files directly on a TV, without having to boot Windows first and select everything with a mouse.

If you can help with any of this, please let me know.

Speakers and Scheduling

There has been some confusion and concern about this, so let me try to clarify things. I understand some of you making presentations don’t have public speaking experience and/or are nervous about the amount of time allocated to you.

There needs to be a little planning in advance, or we will all arrive Saturday morning and not have any idea what’s going on. Everyone should consider the planning to be more of an ordered list of who is going to speak first, rather than a strict time line. The entire day will not be booked, so we will just move things around on the schedule as we need to when the time comes.

It’s not the intention to put any of the speakers under time pressure, and everyone is welcome to talk for as short or long as they want, provided it’s within reason. We’re a friendly bunch, so don’ t worry about upsetting anyone.

It was probably a mistake on my part to publish a schedule with times on it, I will try to figure out a way to change the schedule to reflect this.

If you do plan to talk for 30 minutes or more, please make sure I know this, as we will take a little more care scheduling this in.

The day is looking full, so I’m not actively looking for more speakers, but will try to fit in anyone else who might still be interested.

So far, the following speakers are scheduled (let me know if I’ve forgotten you):

Emma Cooper (Fluffius Muppetus Blog/Alternative Kitchen Garden Podcast)

VP (Veg Plotting Blog)

Julieanne Porter (International Network for the Availability of
Scientific Publications/World Development Movement)

Vicki Cooke (Heritage Seed Library)

Dr. Simon J. Platten ( http://www.kent.ac.uk/anthropology/department/research/environmental/homegardens.html )

Tom Wagner (Potato and Tomato Breeder)

Small Updates

Violating all good blogging practices, I will try to keep the original announcement post up to date.

While major updates and announcements will be made by email, please check back often at the original post for smaller updates.

Above all don’t be afraid to get in touch if you have questions, comments or notice I missed something here!

Participants

Please help me out here everyone. Have a look for your own name on this list, and make sure everything is right. Let me know if there are any corrections. A * means you are tentative. A number next to your name means there’s more than one of you coming. For links, see the bottom of this post.

Robert Brenchley (This and That)

Julieanne Porter (Oxford World Development Movement Group)

John Curtin (*) (Spadework)

Simon Kirby (*) (The Plot Thickens)

missfuggles (A Blog Called Fuggles)

Soilman (Soilman’s Allotment)

Ben (1 + 1*) (Real Seeds)

VP (Veg Plotting)

Emma (Alternative Kitchen Garden)

Jane Perrone (Horticulture, Guardian Gardening Blog)

Liz (Organic Allotment)

Matron (*) (Down on the Allotment)

Cat (2) (Manor Stables Vegetable Plot)

Emma Townshend (The Independent – Baklava Shed Coalition)

Pat ‘n Steph (2) (Bifurcated Carrots)

MissHathorn (2) (Mustardplaster)

Vicki Cooke (Heritage Seed Library)

Dr. Simon J. Platten (University of Kent)

Tom Wagner (Tater-Mater)

Allotment Blogger (*) (Allotment Blog)

Isabel (*) (Fennel and Fern)

22 July 200910 August 2009

Oxford 2009

This post is being updated regularly, check back often!

Oxford 2009 — Seed Saving and Plant Breeding

Date:                                 Saturday, October 24th, 2009
Time:                      9am to 5pm
Venue:                        Restore Cafe (Elder Stubbs Allotments), Oxford
Cost:                         £15 per person
Information/Reservations: oxford2009@patnsteph.net
Blog:                                 http://bifurcatedcarrots.eu
Mobile Telephone:            +31 6 40109417

Following the success of last year’s meeting at the Oxford Botanic Gardens, readers of the weblog Bifurcated Carrots and other interested people will meet for a social event. The day will include presentations, picnic lunch (indoors if necessary), seed exchange, informal conversation and walk around the Restore garden.

This year we have more space, probably enough for everyone, but please confirm your attendance in advance! We may have to turn people away if demand exceeds expectations. Make sure I have your current email address, as any last minute information will be sent this way.

Seed Swap

Everyone offering seeds can set their own terms and conditions, but mostly a seed swap is a time where gardeners simply offer their seeds to others without expectations or conditions. While perhaps some priority will be given for others offering their own seeds, there are always plenty of seeds for everyone regardless if you offer seeds to others.

Come expecting to get free seeds from others, but please bring any self saved or Open Pollinated seeds you’d like to share with others too.

This seed swap is only for OP/heirloom plant varieties or self made crosses, and not for purchased commercial seeds. If you have any questions about this, please ask!

Presentations Currently Scheduled

Please see http://bifurcatedcarrots.eu for latest schedule

Tom Wagner – Well known American plant breeder specializing in potatoes and tomatoes will discuss his work and introduce us to potato breeding. Most significantly Tom has developed potato varieties totally resistant to Late Blight, the most important and devastating potato disease in the world right now as well as being the disease behind the Irish Potato Famine.

Emma Cooper – Author, blogger and voice behind The Alternative Kitchen Garden podcast will introduce her new book.

VP – Author of Veg Plotting blog will discuss her Air-pot trial.

Julieanne Porter – Works for International Network for the Availability of
Scientific Publications (INASP www.inasp.info) and campaigns (volunteer) for World Development Movement (WDM) and will talk about her work and campaigning in international development.

There’s still space for more presentations, let me know if you’re interested.

Tentative Schedule

9:00 – 9:30 Coffee and tea. Please arrive at this time and spend time chatting with everyone.

9:30 – 9:45 Introduction and welcome

9:45 – 11:15 Short Presentaions (~10-30 minutes) Emma Cooper, VP, Julieanne Porter, Vicki Cooke

11:15 – 11:30 Break

11:30 – 12:30 Dr. Simon J. Platten

12:30 – 1:00 Seed Swap

1:00 – 1:45 Lunch

1:45 – ? Tom Wagner (15 minute break around 3pm)

Afterwords walk around the gardens or chat indoors. We have the room booked until 5pm.

What to Bring

Lunch, possibly to share with others, and something to sit on for an outdoor picnic (weather permitting).

Home saved seeds for seed swap

Feedback

Your comments are always welcome!

14 June 200929 July 2009

Oxford 2009 and Tom Wagner

I’m hoping to get some feedback from those planning to attend the Oxford meeting this year to help me make a few decisions. One of the people I’ve been trying to arrange to attend and talk to us is Tom Wagner, a public domain plant breeder from the US. Tom specializes in tomatoes and potatoes, and in particular has recently created a number of potato varieties totally resistant to late blight.

Late blight was the plant disease behind the Irish Potato Famine, and remains a serious problem today and is the reason hundreds of tons of very toxic chemicals are applied to potato crops every year. It’s very significant Tom’s work is in the public domain. His work holds tremendous potential as a major food crop for the developing world, and Tom’s host of his upcoming visit to Ireland put it this way in a recent comment on Tom’s discussion forum:

We are excited here in Ireland, that Tom might be coming to Brown Envelope Seeds, for the weekend of the 17/18th of October to do a workshop. We haven’t had any confirmation yet so i m hoping that Tom will see this and let us know. We commemorated the Irish potato famine in Skibbereen this year, where mass graves hold the remains 8,000-10,000 people who died in 1841. It would be apt that came and publicized his work as the use of GM techniques, to introduce blight resistance into potatoes, is being used as a marketing tool for GM crops here.

My questions for those of you planning to attend the Oxford get-together are basically as follows:

The most likely date for Tom to visit Oxford is Saturday 24 October, which is quite a bit later than our meeting last year. Is this a date that’s okay with most of you? Probably it means our picnic would be indoors rather than out.

There are some costs associated with Tom coming, and someone has to pay these. I’m still pretty sure the cost of the Oxford event won’t be more than £15, but it’s possible it could be cheaper if Tom didn’t come. It’s also possible if we didn’t spend the money on Tom, we could do something else instead. If we can’t raise enough with our meeting to cover Tom’s expenses, it’s possible I can find money from other sources to pay for it, but someone would have to pay this one way or another. Is it worth these extra costs in order to invite Tom to speak to us?

One way to cover the costs of Tom’s visit might be to hold an all day hands on potato breeding workshop with Tom the Sunday following our get-together. Anyone who wanted to attend this workshop would have to pay a little extra, the intention being to help raise money to pay for Tom’s visit to Oxford. Would anyone be interested in attending such a workshop? As an alternative to this workshop in Oxford, it may also be an option for anyone interested to travel to Ireland instead the weekend before.

Here are links of people who’ve expressed interest in the past:

Daughter of the Soil
Veg Plotting
Spadework
Fluffius Muppetus
Manor Stables Vegetable Plot
Hills and Plains Seedsavers
MustardPlaster
Joanna’s Food
The plot thickens
A Blog Called Fuggles
Ben – Real Seeds
This and That
Baklava Shed Coalition
Guardian Gardening Blog
Horticultural
Soilman’s Allotment Blog
Kitchen Garden in France
Tater-Mater
Observer Organic Allotment Blog
Oxford World Development Movement Group
Down on the Allotment
Organic Allotment
Urban Food Gardening
Kokopelli
Brown Envelope Seeds
Frøsamlerne
Fennel and Fern

3 June 200928 January 2019

UK Oxford Get-Together 2009

Spring must be in the air, several people have already asked me what the plans are for an Oxford get-together this year. Ben of The Real Seed Catalogue has repeatedly expressed interest in attending again, as have several others.

Tom Wagner, well known US potato breeder is planning a trip to Europe in October and said he would try to attend a meeting if it were held during his trip, but he otherwise has a very busy schedule and indicated this was uncertain.

Anyone else is welcome to attend depending on available spaces.

This will probably work in a similar way as last year. I will make a few posts like this with some ideas, and see what feedback I get. After a date is fixed, and I know how many places are available, I will ask everyone who intends to come let me know. If necessary I will keep a waiting list, but I expect to find a place for most everyone who wants to come. About a month before the date, I will ask everyone to confirm their attendance and give free places to people on the wait list. I expect we need at least 10-15 people to make it worth while to do this, but I think at least that many will come. My goal would be to keep costs about the same as last year, roughly 15 pounds per person.

Is anyone interested?

My preference would be to do it late August to early September, as this is a good time for most people to take a break from gardening and I sense we did it a little late in the gardening season last year. There is also a gardening get-together in France on September 20th, the same day we had the Oxford get-together last year, and while it’s not clear yet who wants to attend both meetings, it seems like a good idea to avoid a scheduling conflict. If Tom Wagner doesn’t end up being available, perhaps we should plan on then? Otherwise do it in October?

If anyone has other suggestions, we could try to do it in another UK city.

Does anyone have any suggestions for other speakers? Is anyone interested in giving a talk?

Everyone is welcome to attend!

Comments are open, and all feedback is welcome!

Here are links to people who attended last year, expressed interest this year or I hope might be interested:

23 September 200828 January 2019

Oxford Get-Together

I’m finally back home and have a few minutes to make a post about our Oxford get-together.

The day started off with some coffee and small talk. Since the weather was so nice we moved outside to give the presentations in the botanic garden itself. It was really a wonderful setting for the presentations.

Ben from Real Seeds kicked things off with a real eye opening presentation about the history and importance of seed saving. In the picture you can see him making a timeline.

The recurring theme from Ben is that he wants everyone to save their own seeds. If you need some seeds to start with, he’s quite happy you buy these from him if you want, but he would really prefer you saved your own seeds so it wasn’t necessary to buy any more. At the moment business is good, and they don’t really want to expand or sell more seeds. You can do much more to further the goals of the Real Seed Catalogue by saving your own seed than you can from buying more seeds from them.

Real Seeds has seed saving information on their website, released under a Creative Commons License. You are welcome to copy and redistribute this information almost any way you want, as long as you don’t charge money for it.

After Ben’s presentation, I talked a bit about my garlic.

The last presentation was Simon (above), who discussed allotment culture and the importance of having a good shed. His presentation included a mini-quiz game with prizes and a poem. In all, very enjoyable!

After the presentations we had lunch. Cat brought a wonderful home made apple pie (with apples from her neighbor), and many others brought samples of things from their gardens. Ben brought some exploding cucumbers, which we dissected and learned how they worked.

After lunch was the seed exchange. I had garlic to offer, and many others had self saved seeds. Kate brought seeds from Wilson in Singapore, as well as from her own garden. Thank you Wilson! Ben had exploding cucumber seeds on offer.

We then spent a couple of hours walking around the gardens. Among other things we saw a number of plants some of us have in our own gardens. There was an impressive display of Andean tubers, including mashua and yacón. There were a number of quinoa and amaranth varieties. There were some heirloom tomatoes in the greenhouse.

Thanks goes out to everyone who took the time to come and make this a complete success!

A special thanks goes out to Ben who travelled from Wales to speak to us, and to Emma who helped with the setup and organization.

You can see posts others made by following the links below:

Daughter of the Soil
Veg Plotting
Spadework
Fluffius Muppetus
Soilman
Manor Stables Vegetable Plot
Hills and Plains Seedsavers
MustardPlaster