The last decade has seen strides made in sales of peat-free growing media in amateur horticulture, though voluntary targets set by the government failed to mobilise the industry to phase out sales by 2020. In commercial organic horticulture, a voluntary target has been set to end the use of peat in growing media by 2024, ahead of Defra’s 2028 target for professional horticulture. However, the challenge remains to find affordable alternatives with the physical and…

The shift away from area-based agricultural subsidies has been a welcome transition to those who recognise the flaws in a system which has essentially rewarded farmers and landowners for owning large amounts of land. As we embark on new farming subsidy policies in Wales, Scotland, Ireland and England, which will instead incentivise farmers to adopt more sustainable farming practices, the question remains of where small farms - including market gardens, crofts, and urban and peri-urban…

Palestinian farmer, Doha Asous, will speak about the challenges of farming under occupation. She will explain why, in the face of aggression and land grabs by illegal settlers, it’s even more important to tend her land and devote her time to a farming livelihood. Doha farms using the traditional techniques of her ancestors. For over a decade, she has hosted international volunteers who come to support her and other farmers to bring their olive harvest…

Other species are an essential workforce in the ongoing regulation of the Earth's global climate and regional weather systems. Plants, microbes, fungi, insects, and animals all have a role to play in local and global temperature regulation, cloud formation, rainfall, wind patterns, and the prevention of flooding, drought, and wildfires. Humans have overlooked this workforce in our historical land management, which has intensified climate change and its local effects. It's time to recognize that we…

A presentation of the process of preparing a sample and a practical view of what can be seen in a microbially rich compost. We'll be sharing our experience of 40 plus compost piles and how it relates to your soil. During the session we will demonstrate how to prepare a microscopy slide for viewing and will run through many fields of view in search of fungi, bacteria, protozoa and nematodes. We will bring samples of…

From silver back pumpkin in Hertfordshire to some of the world’s hottest chilli varieties in Dorset, this session will explore growing and marketing crops not usually found in the British context. Head grower at Woodoaks Farm, Rickey has ambitious plans to grow exotic fruit, amaranth, silver back pumpkin, mushrooms and micro greens. His Caribbean heritage and journey through different growing systems has given him interesting insight on what works. We will also hear from Woodoaks…

During this session we will dive into the littoral zone to cover algae 101. We will learn about wild algae forests, the evolutionary history of micro-algae, about the algae blooms caused by nitrogen/phosphorus loading of waterways, about algae as a fertiliser, algae carbon speculation and algae-industrialization for biofuels. We will share information on the global supply chains and seaweed workers, and the concerns about how these production methods will fare in a changing climate.  We…