The fourth and final newsletter reporting from an early summer project on an organic farm in Reepham, Norfolk, is an interview with the Salle Moor Market Garden team – Meg, Helen and Tommy.
Here are pt1, pt2, and pt3 should you need.
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Interview conducted over Zoom and telephone on Tuesday 3rd August 2021
SRP: Hi Meg, Helen and Tommy!
Hope you’re doing well! Things must be hectic right now, so I appreciate you all taking the time to talk. It’s been about six weeks since I was at Salle Moor Market Garden, so really excited to have a deeper conversation about our shared and individual experiences of the week!
First question is about the intention for the residency; when we originally made contact in February and began shaping an idea in April, what were the practicalities and motivations you had to take into account? Did you have any (un)conscious aims for the residency?
Tommy: For me, from the outset it was about hosting another person who could lend new eyes and perspective to our project. I was excited about how you might react to and engage with the farm and its mechanics over the week. I was looking for you to follow through on the feelings of exploration, observing and interacting with all the plants, and learning some growing tasks from our side. It promised to set the tone for how we want our project to be. Since having you here, we hosted someone for a week of work experience, and it’s really got the ball rolling.
Helen: I was so hooked on the fermentation aspect – it’s something I’ve had an interest in for a while, so thought it could be quite a dreamy collaboration. It tends to be difficult to get away from the day-to-day of farming to train on or practice other skills, so to do it on-site, where we could gain first-hand knowledge and share with others in an educational setting was key in my eyes.
Meg: When we had the preparatory meeting, I wanted to make sure we could accommodate your ideas and plans, but (if I’m being honest) wasn’t sure we were ready to have someone else on the farm. It was both exciting and daunting to push through some personal reservations and open up. It felt like a positive move, marking the beginning of something we want for our project. In retrospect you helped accelerate two things we’d been thinking about: our first public workshop, and first large outdoor meal.
SRP: One of the most beautiful and impressive aspects of your project is the interpersonal dynamic you have cultivated: there’s a clear shared direction and set of principles that lead your decision making. I deeply respect the organic understanding of ethics and methodology, and conflict resolution skills you demonstrated. How was it having an outsider parachute into the farm and begin making lots of demands of your attention, time and energy? Be honest!
Meg: Not going to lie, it didn’t feel like it was at the best time. It was right after the plant sale, we we’re totally knackered, and all the veggies were kicking off after some poor weather. I know you prepared us by explaining your methodology of making do with what’s there, but I had some apprehension on fulfilling your expectations, and whether you actually meant it! I was interested to see how the dynamic between the three of us would cope with another person. Because we are quite intuitive and non-verbal, I knew we’d have to communicate in a different way. It worked so well in the end, because you were able to read when we needed a hand, and slow us down to enjoy something unserious when we were faffing.
Helen: I agree; we were all moving house, suffered rubbish weather and produce setbacks. We were pushed as it was and I wanted more time to do what you were proposing on top of our normal tasks. Although I would have liked more time set aside, the way it worked out was quite beautiful. With you being so resourceful and reflexive, you could work around us in our space and use what was available. It was distracting in the most lovely way: highlighting elements that we might normally overlook like volunteer plants or things happening in the hedgerow.
Tommy: Without sounding drab, we always have a long list of things to do, and it can be worrying to have people disrupt your work flow. As a trio, we love having guests drop in and look around. I remember in a conversation we had, you said about collaboration as a way to relinquish control. Having that reminder allowed me to open up to being vulnerable, and find space to enjoy other aspects of the time together that were more chaotic or unplanned.
SRP: You’ve described how busy you are while farming, how you don’t always have the opportunity to study or explore your produce, even less so the volunteer plants and wild border bushes. Conversely, I’m quite obsessive with details and seemingly peripheral information, and forget about the main plan. How did having me intermittently wave edible plants at you and intercept veggies for inspection affect your work flow?
Tommy: Really, you were turning our attention to overlooked species, where we would usually only focus on the veggies in our beds. When you invited us to sit down and discuss the philosophy of the project after getting up at 6am and packing the veg boxes, it felt like we were being encouraged to balance strenuous work with less physical tasks. Sometimes I am just blinkered by a thousand lettuces.
Helen: Like I said before, I wanted more time, while asking myself whether practically it was the right time at all. So I love that you were celebrating the other plants in the patch, the volunteers and self-seeders. It was fascinating to see how you behave amongst plants, silently and softly investigating. We got to try a lot of new flavours and textures when you brewed us tea or made us taste wild herbs! I don’t know if it was part of your plan, you were pretty effective at changing the tempo and interrupting vigour with tenderness.
Meg: It was cool to eat new stuff, mostly because you were bringing attention to novel flavours. We like to taste the food we grow on the go – we all agree that we could be putting more time into spending time with crops as they are harvested and before they head out in our CSA. Thinking in this way helped shine a light on the diversity of other plant life thriving in our soils. I had no idea the rose and elderflower vinegar would taste so amazing.
SRP: I like to think I’m quite sensitive and intuitive, so I was trying to observe your movements and create distractions at the right time. As you probably noticed, I’m a pretty chaotic cook, flinging ingredients everywhere and assembling multiple projects simultaneously, so I can see how in most situations that could be super disruptive. However, you were extremely accommodating! From some of our conversations I got the sense you had already considered improving the farm kitchen. How did using the temporary fermentation lab affect these building plans moving forwards and the way you feed yourselves at work?
Tommy: The kitchen space is in constant evolution, it’s come on leaps and bounds since we first thought of it, and I’m chuffed it got used so much over the residency. I wanted to get into a position where we were cooking fresh lunch on the farm every day with our veg, instead of cramming a sandwich in my mouth behind a keyboard. We’re pretty much there now, more of a closed loop, with less waste. To be honest I thought I would have spent more time fermenting; it’s been hard to carry over the enthusiasm as we’ve been flat out. I’m banking on a natural point towards the end of the summer when we can enjoy studying, processing and fermenting more of our own ingredients. To have a place on the farm for those activities and knowledge sharing, it’s integral to our vision.
Meg: In light of your residency, I’ve increasingly been thinking about this space to process the produce on site. Since you moved the extra table into the kitchen, it’s still there. It makes sense to have another surface to prepare food on, and put aside some veggies for ourselves. We are making a more concerted effort to nourish ourselves on-site, as always it’s about squeezing it into the workflow until it becomes part of the everyday.
Helen: We had only recently brought in a gas cooker after talking about it for a year, so the set-up now feels super effective. Having wanted to run workshops, then actually organised one with you, it really gave me a clearer visual idea of how it could work moving forward. I think one of the hurdles to overcome was having enough of the right equipment, and now we have so many chopping boards, so this is progress!
SRP: I love working with food outside, so the set-up was perfect for me. Sneaking between the beds and the chopping board, nipping off to collect herbs or flowers, I felt like I was at River Cottage in the 90s. Some of the fermentation concoctions we undertook, I think you’ll agree, were pretty strange! Naturally, we worked with what was on-hand, in the spirit of my own creative methodology. I’d like to probe you about your previous knowledge of lactofermentation, why it seemed the most fitting preservation technique, and whether it threw up any surprises for you?
Helen: I had previously done preserving, pickling and fermenting at home, but to go back to basics with our own vegetables was so energising. Knowing we didn’t have to spend money on any specialist kit meant lactofermenting was very accessible for us, too. I was blown away by the smells and flavours you can achieve with spending next to no money. These incredible flavours are actually under our noses and just need unlocking, we are excited to share that knowledge. –Cabbage lids! Almost forgot about those. That blew my mind a bit.
Meg: The fact you just need sea salt and can work with whatever’s kicking around! It’s the most transformative process using the least ingredients. I’m particularly inspired because you don’t need to use fuel or electricity – we don’t need to bring anything else on to the farm that might have been produced unethically, transported at a cost to the environment, or wrapped in plastic.
Tommy: I was shocked at the time it took to turn around. The lactofermentation process is easy in that, providing you have a sharp knife, you can prepare experiments instantaneously from the field. We would be breaking down these gluts of fresh cabbages, kohlrabis, or carrots and they were coming out of polytunnel straight into the tubs for maturation. The progression of taste is very interesting too, from being quite fresh and spiky, to rounded and funky, it really lends itself to showcasing the qualities of our vegetables.
SRP: Yes, I really believe it can enhance the essence of a plant, quite incredible when you think about it. I spoke with you during planning about how I could use my time and labour to explore the plot and process your tended and peripheral crops, in order to try and build a ‘picture’ of Salle Moor Market Garden. Do you feel we got anywhere near this? Can you elaborate on any successes or pitfalls you noticed in working this way?
Tommy: I thought overall the dynamic you brought for the week was so refreshing. We knew we’d benefit from having an extra pair of eyes, and personally I thought it was a very successful collaboration. One particular example was how you were exploring coriander seeds, a plant we haven’t had much luck growing except for leaves as it bolts quickly. Usually, I would put some of the leaves directly into a dish I’m cooking, yet here you were eating the green seeds, using the stems for broth flavour, steeping the flowers in vinegar. It was a complete deconstruction of the plant, it was lovely to witness. Through your inquisition, you found extra value and materials that we can harness for ourselves, our members, and the wider business. I felt it was a really effective exploration of the flavours of Salle Moor.
Helen: When you first mentioned this aim, I honestly interpreted it as an actual picture, a painting or something, and was quite confused. The actual picture you created over the week was more like an intimate portrait of the plants, people and plans for the future direction of the project. Being able to branch out of our everyday thinking and embrace your interpretation of what’s happening on the farm was so valuable for us. I wasn’t expecting to feel so reflective, and I’m grateful for that. It has been beneficial for us as a touch point for visioning how we’d like to grow.
Meg: Because of the flow of energy around the farm, which is pretty methodical and task-based, I was comfortable giving you free reign to explore and be independent. I spoke with my friend Andi about the way you moved around the farm, building this picture and having autonomy in your practice, and we agreed it was a joy to watch. You created some rich imagery and help me see some aspects of the project in a new light.
SRP: The week culminated in a wonderful Solstice Supper on the Saturday night. It took an incredible team effort to set-up, prep, cook, plate and serve three courses in a makeshift lean-to kitchen in a downpour. It would be lovely here just to have some reflections on the event :)))
Meg: Setting up the tables and firepit, and preparing food together over the days leading up to it was great. Putting on this lush spread meant that having people on the farm gave us a completely different level of appreciation for the space. At the meal, as it was predominantly friends and members, we didn’t feel nervous about opening up, but I can be quite shy so I appreciated how you took the lead. You brought wisdom and eloquence when explaining the project in front of everyone. That, along with your version of grace before the meal, made for such a deeply special moment; it totally elevated the evening and felt quite spiritual. Seeing how our perspectives conjoined and challenged our guests’ assumed knowledge of the project –they know the ins and outs of the everyday– was magical. I felt it was especially important to celebrate the project and acknowledge landworkers, insects and bacteria!
Helen: I just think we cooked some absolutely incredible food. The atmosphere of the evening was so calm, perfect for tasting and appreciating the flavours. I really loved the broad bean hummus and barbecued miso-coriander leeks.
Tommy: I’ve been thinking about how interesting it was to witness how the dishes developed over the week. From harvesting and handing you some fresh kohlrabi to eating a bright pink, punchy pickle, it was really something. I just feel the meal, with everything –the candles, serving platters, nice glasses, your introductions to the courses– was such a nice way to round off the collaboration. As someone who is prone to overthinking, I felt so present at supper. Saying grace was hard to acclimatise to, actually! I haven’t experienced it for a long time, and tend to have some strange feelings related to it.
SOLSTICE SUPPER MENU
Most ingredients were grown by the team at Salle Moor Market Garden.
First Course
Broad bean hummus
Pink kohlrabi pickles
Norwich shitake and hazelnut pate
Sea purslane & coriander seed chimichurri
Garden crudités
Siding Bakery sourdough
Second Course
Barbecued miso and green coriander seed baby leeks and courgettes
Pan-fried courgettes and carrots
Buttery, steamed rosemary garlic lacto new potatoes
Fennel pickled mushrooms
Salle Moor vegan kimchi
Charred lettuce hearts, marsh samphire and elderflower vinegar
Organic salad leaves
Third Course
Rachel Roddy’s marmalade cake with seville oranges, raspberries, vanilla ice cream and edible flowers