Here come the carlin peas

Mark and Liz were the first farmers we worked with directly back in 2013/14 and every year since they’ve grown wonderful, prize-winning peas for us.

Carlin peas are beautiful, delicious, packed full of micro and macro nutrients, and have a role to play in more diverse, resilient crop rotations.

But the truth is they’re an absolute nightmare to harvest… even in the ‘good’ years (this ain’t one).

This photo of the 2021 harvest will erase any romantic notions you might have about becoming a carlin pea farmer 😬 (though if you ARE still keen, do give us a call 😉).

It’s been a tough year for food growers, for many reasons - but perhaps none so immediate as the weather. Complaining that it’s too wet / too dry / too windy / too cold [delete/add as applicable] is a proud tradition in the farming community, and not without cause. The weather is beyond our control and it can make or break livelihoods.

This year has been particularly bad. A late spring segued into a cold wet summer. Very heavy localised storms (rain and hail) have flattened crops and there have been few clear days for harvesting.

The latest IPCC report is unequivocal: human activity is altering the climate, which in turn is causing chaotic changes in the weather; more (and more intense) wind, droughts, rain etc. Even the more resilient, diverse systems we promote and enable are no match for what could lie ahead.

We all need to press those we elect to take the action that’s urgently needed and send our government to COP26 this autumn with a clear mandate to lead through example.

Much as the farmers we work with are already doing: reducing inputs, protecting the soil, drawing down carbon, welcoming biodiversity, planting trees, reducing fossil fuel use, building communities...

Because this is a climate emergency.

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