Here are three stories from all around the world that focus on vegetables!

1. Mega-Artichokes to Power Homes?

(LONDON) – Reuters: Spanish farmers are growing three-meter high artichokes for burning in special power stations to produce electricity, the Independent newspaper reported on Thursday.

The genetically-modified monster vegetables, which boast seven meter roots, will be generating power for 60,000 people when operations in the northern towns of Villabilla de Burgos and Alcala de Gurrea begin in two years.

The newspaper said twin power stations will burn 105,000 tonnes of the dried and pulped Cynara Cardunculs each year. Farmers were persuaded to sow the prickly plant by EU subsidies and price guarantees from the electricity generator.

Burning plants for energy is not a new idea, but the biomass sector has seen a revival in recent years as environmental concerns rise. While there are already a number of biomass schemes in Europe they often struggle to compete commercially with other green energy schemes.

An Irish scheme to burn cannabis as a fuel foundered last year because of it was considered too expensive compared with wind power projects.

2. Scientists Champion Drought-Tolerant Crops in India
By John Chalmers

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – An agricultural research group said on Tuesday it has pioneered two drought-tolerant chickpea crop varieties that have reversed the fortunes of poor farmers in one of five Indian states suffering from an acute water shortage.

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), based in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, said alternative crops and the application of community-managed watersheds are solutions for the 800 million people living in low rainfall areas around the globe.

“In the semi-arid tropics, drought occurs two out of every five years. And even when there is rainfall, it is erratic, varying from year to year, and within seasons,” the group said in a statement released at a news conference in New Delhi.

“Further, only 30-60 percent of this rainfall is used effectively for crop production; the remaining 40-70 percent of rainwater is lost as runoff, evaporation and deep drainage.”

ICRISAT said that in Andhra Pradesh, one of several Indian states currently reeling under severe drought conditions, it had introduced short-duration chickpea varieties which mature in 85-100 days and therefore escape end-of-season drought. For farmers near Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, 1999 was particularly harsh: there were no rains at all after October 21. But those who grew the Swetha and Kranthi chickpea varieties harvested as much as 1.7 tonnes per hectare.

ICRISAT said Andhra Pradesh’s ‘silent chickpea revolution’ — production of the pulse has grown sevenfold in the state over the past 10 years — has been a boon to farmers previously struggling to make a living from cotton crops.

The chickpea requires less investment, labor and fertilizer than cotton crops, which have long been dogged by pests. In recent years dozens of indebted cotton farmers in central and southern India have committed suicide.

ICRISAT said that in conjunction with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research it had also released five varieties of groundnut in India, three of which are tolerant to end-of-season drought and two are tolerant to mid-season drought.

The institute also promotes the conservation of rainfall through community-managed watersheds, which it says increase crop productivity and reduce soil loss.

“It’s a good approach to properly harvest the little rainfall we have,” said ICRISAT Director General William Dar, who said that of the 800 million people living in semi-arid tropics, 300 million are the ‘poorest of the poor’ and food-insecure.

Barry Shapiro, director of the group’s natural resource management program, said that expansion of deserts is affecting 40 percent of Asia’s land surface.

Advocating a long-term approach, he said scientists need to use remote sensing to identify areas of degradation, geographical information systems to locate ideal watershed areas and terrain modeling to capture rainwater efficiently.

3. ‘Super-broccoli’ to help fight cancer

BRITISH scientists have developed a “super-broccoli” that could help to combat colon cancer, it was disclosed yesterday. 

It looks and tastes the same as ordinary broccoli but holds 100 times more of the chemical sulphoraphane, which helps to kill cancer-causing substances in food. The chemical is in Brussels sprouts and cauliflower but strongest in broccoli. 

Scientists at the government-funded John Innes Centre in Norwich bred the broccoli, which could be in the shops in 2002, by crossing an ordinary variety with a wild Sicilian relative. Tests on people could start next year, New Scientist magazine said. Dr Richard Mithen, a plant biologist at the John Innes Centre, said it was acknowledged that a third of cancers were probably caused by bad diet. Colon cancer kills about 25,000 people a year in Britain.

There are many photographs and analyses of this most famous of all flower shows, each year seems to get more media coverage and promotion. This year there seems to be a glut of internet reviews, complete with pictures, video and pages of text, written by experts and laymen alike. You don’t even need to be there any more to have seen all the exhibits, enjoyed the scenery and even bought that special plant that caught our eye!! But what is this really all about? Why the big deal about Chelsea? Maybe because it is put on by the Royal Horticultural Society, that venerable institution that all serious gardeners are required to aspire to belong to someday. The RHS is revered around the world for its research, seedbanks, training facilities, demonstration gardens and library, and Chelsea is definitely the jewel in the crown of its horticultural year.

The exhibits are by much sought-after invitation only, so right there you know you are seeing a privileged selection of the best nursery and tradesmen showcasing their products and expertise. And tens of thousands of pounds are spent on each exhibit area, so this is not a cheap spectacle, not to mention the months and months of planning and meticulous preparation. This year showed an expanded selection of international exhibits which was a nice and very welcome change.

Leyhill prison’s award-winning garden at Chelsea yesterday. The design shows nature’s ability to heal scars on the landscape caused by industry

So why haven’t I been suitably impressed with all the pictures that I’ve seen so far of the show? I must acknowledge that there is no way that any media coverage can substitute for the real thing – a walk around the show – but it seems to me that all the exhibits are trying just a little too hard to be perfect, and every gardener knows that a real garden is far from perfect. These little glimpses into different worlds, loosely based on a theme which varies from year to year seem like still life paintings somehow, and not like someplace that I would ever feel like I would want for my own garden! Maybe my tastes and styles are just too simplistic to appreciate them, but any garden that requires so much explanation and reasoning isn’t my style. Far too much symbolism to figure out, who wants to work that hard? Especially after a long day working at a job, the last thing I want from my garden when I get home is more work (of the mental kind). Something basic and soothing to the soul where I can simply and mindlessly putter around and relax is my idea of a garden, and none of the fancy displays at Chelsea made me feel like I could do that. But it is always a great place to go for ideas and inspiration – just pick and choose the elements that do appeal to you and incorporate them into your own garden or plans.

Here are some examples from Chelsea this year:

The Gardens Illustrated entry called Evolutions is, along with many other of the more conspicuous gardens, brimming with post-millennial symbolism and novel interpretation	‘Evolution’ garden at the Chelsea Flower Show
The Garden of the Night	A man models a defribulator in the Lifesavers garden

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Some of the best Chelsea coverage this year is by The Times newspaper of London – check their online special for reviews and photographs at:

http://www.the-times.co.uk/onlinespecials/britain/chelsea/

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There are other major flower and garden festivals held regularly all around the world, and they all have their own loyal following. Although it seems like it’s been around almost as long as Chelsea, the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show first took place as late as 1990! 

Another new one that draws a national and loyal audience is the BBC Gardener’s World Live Show in Birmingham, only 6 years old.

The biggest local event in Vancouver is probably the VanDusen show, held in late May/early June. This outdoor extravaganza is based loosely on the same principles as Chelsea, but much less formal – anyone can buy themselves a booth and set up a display, no invitation needed. Many smaller companies band together and share the tiny cubicle-like spaces, usually creating more chaos than creative space management!

I decided at the last minute to attend the Gala Preview Night, and it was a great party, hosted this year by my good friend David Tarrant. Lots of delicious food and drink, every ‘gardening celebrity’ that this town can muster (plus a few from out of town as well), music, speeches, charity auctions and more. But what about the exhibits, the real reason for the show? The preview night is always a good night to have a snoop around since you can beat the crowds and everything is still at its finest and freshest. This year’s theme is ‘Evolution’ and there were a few vague attempts to portray the idea, but as was to be expected with such a loose and undefined theme, there was lots of room for interpretation and pretty much anything went! All this would have been just fine if anyone had actually shown any creativity and imagination. While Chelsea is renowned for innovation and creativity, these exhibits were, for the most part, rather boring and pedestrian. As I looked around, it seemed like everyone was using the same few plants placed around in very mundane ways. I’ve noticed this in the last few years also – one year it was the lovely Corydalis ‘Blue Panda’, I swear every booth had some of these beautiful blue flowering plants displayed! Last year it was Geranium ‘Pink Spice’, a sweet, dark foliaged hardy geranium with abundant small pink flowers. A couple of years ago, at the Victoria Flower & Garden Festival, it was the pretty pink version of the familiar white baby’s breath. While all of these are great plants, does everyone there need to show it at the same time, and in the same way? I suppose this is how ‘plant fashions’ are determined: someone decides arbitrarily that one particular plant is ‘it’ this year and everyone follows along blindly like sheep! One notable exception was a couple of nurseries that had a lovely display of native and unusual perennials, using dried grasses to make trellis-type screens was particularly inspired. I’ll patronise that creative and unusual display every time! You didn’t have to think very hard or interpret anything, it was just done beautifully, simply and with flair – excellent.

There is definitely a lot to be learned from attending one of these shows, and you’ll always get something out of a day walking around, observing. Take a notebook, wear comfortable shoes, dress in layers and hope for good weather. Enjoy the show!

The slug, bane of gardener and farmer alike, should be afraid. Very afraid. 

Scientists have developed a robot that not only seeks and destroys the pests but is powered by fuel made from their slimy remains.

The “slugbot” prowls on a four-wheel-drive system, relies on light sensors to identify its prey and grabs it with an extendable arm. From sighting to capture takes a mere three seconds. A prototype of the killing machine, developed by engineers at the University of the West of England, in Bristol, will take to the fields in a matter of weeks.

For the moment the robot is powered by battery, but future versions will drop the slugs into a fermentation station that will break them down into methane gas to be used as fuel. Ten average-size slugs should provide an hour’s power for the robots, which will be programmed to make regular visits to the station

Dr Ian Kelly, one of four scientists working on the project, said that the slug was chosen as prey because it could not run away and an outcry over its mass slaughter was thought to be unlikely. The snail, another enemy of the gardener, got a lucky break because it has a shell that hinders decomposition.

The robot, which is 2ft high, is designed to operate at night, when slugs do most of their damage. The pests emit a different infra-red wavelength from earthworms, soil and snails. What began as a research project to create the world’s first self-sustaining robot also promises to become a commercial success.

The Soil Association welcomed the robot yesterday as an invention that could rid farmers of slugs without the need for pellets. At present, £10 million is spent each year on the chemical control of slugs.

The “slugbots”, developed over two years at a cost of £150,000, are expected eventually to work in teams and sell for about £1,000 each.