Many want to take cultivation to the next step - but it requires knowledge.
There is a huge interest, says Janine Österman, cultivation coordinator in Lund.
I think the concept of emergency farming as such attracts new groups to cultivation.
She takes us to the Knowledge Park in Lund, where recreational gardeners grow their own food in long rows. Here, Evelyn Agbotain struggles to get good soil to plant her first potato.
For me, it's completely natural to cultivate. My mom grows almost everything she eats and she's almost never sick.
Many turn to Janine Österman with questions about how cultivation can be useful in crisis situations.
— There are many who think about what they can do to improve their own situation in the event of a crisis. Cultivation is very clear, it gives back quite quickly.
Circular and resource-efficient
Her best tip is to think circularly and be resource-efficient.
The most wasteful thing is to invest heavily and then not be able to take care of the harvest. It's a common beginner's mistake. Better to do a little and do it properly with the plants you have.
The need for irrigation can be reduced by mulching and achieving a soil structure that retains moisture better by adding a lot of organic material.
It's also about choosing varieties that can handle a drier climate better.
You can also look for varieties that are disease-resistant, because you can't afford to get a fungal disease and lose your crop, says Janine Österman.
Mix early and late
If you want to get a lot of edible produce, it's also about having a mix of early and late crops, and preferably, if there's space, combining perennial vegetables with fruit, berries, and seedlings.
If you want a varied diet, it requires quite a lot of knowledge and preparation. It's not something you get the first year, it takes a few years before you've worked up your soil.
Österman also wants to emphasize cooperation - recreational gardeners have a lot to gain from exchanging both knowledge and plants with each other. If there's a crisis, you may also need to scale up and cultivate more organized together.
Evelyn Agbotain is not focused on preparedness when she cultivates.
I pray to God that it won't be necessary. But still, I think it's fun to cultivate. It feels good for the brain and body.
The recreational gardeners' national organization and Coompanion Roslagen & Norrort think that the state and municipalities should do more to help recreational gardeners.
In a new report, they highlight the need for land and other resources for cultivation to be included in the planning of new housing areas.
The municipalities are proposed to integrate cultivation into urban planning, for example through land availability, water supply, storage facilities, and communal greenhouses.
Knowledge about cultivation, storage, and processing should, according to the organizations, be part of the elementary school curriculum. At the same time, they want support for popular education and cultivation organizations to be increased to spread knowledge about cultivation, storage, and processing.
The organizations want to see a VAT reduction on seeds, seedlings, and plants that provide edible yields.
Cultivation is proposed to be given the status of health care and, in addition, the possibility of "green service" as an alternative to military service is proposed.
Source: The report "How Sweden's 5 million recreational gardeners can contribute to increased food security" from the Recreational Gardeners' National Organization and Coompanion Roslagen & Norrort
