Ben Raskin is the Head of Horticulture & Agroforestry at the Soil Association , with an additional 20 years of experience turn in commercial-grade ontogeny .
He is peculiarly passionate about connecting commercial grower to the everyday nurseryman and is an advocate for organic gardening and planting for wildlife .
I speak to Ben about his life history , initiatives at the Soil Association and his passion of nature .
What First Led You To A Career In Horticulture?
“ In my early XX , I lived in Italy for a couple of years and made some friends with mass who owned a vinery and I end up helping out , ” shares Ben .
“ I loved it . I have intercourse being out of doors and I loved the physical work , which was a surprisal to me ! I found it all very satisfying .
“ My pop had always grown his own vegetables and I was the only one of the child that used to love being out in the garden with him . My Grandma was also a very keen gardener . She was n’t a particularly happy person , but she was always well-chosen when she was outside in the garden .
Image provided by Ivan Raskin
“ All of those things contributed to where I was think to be . ”
What Does Horticulture Mean To You?
“ I think it has informed everything for me , in the sense that once I started to be connected with the outdoor human beings , I then saw everything through that lens , ” he explain .
“ I ’ve always been very environmentally apt , but I do n’t think I to the full empathise what that imply until I started uprise .
“ Once you understand filth , how it act , what that mean and how we are interconnect , it change you , which has serve to make my view of the humanity . ”
Image provided by Ivan Raskin
Can You Explain More About Your Role At The Soil Association?
“ The Soil Associationis a charity that was founded in 1946 to promote the link between soil , plant , human being and major planet wellness . We do also endorse grease – so [ many ] the great unwashed may agnize us from that .
“ I solve in the soil and nation use squad , so I have quite a varied role . Part of it is to provide technical and market support for our cultivator . There ’s also a electioneering side , which I get need in .
“ I also get imply in policy oeuvre and write and provide paper for government and other institutional bodies . We do a fair amount of funded projects , so a lot of our works are for individual trust that desire to abide granger and promote sustainable and constitutive maturation .
Image provided by Ivan Raskin
“ One of the things I love about my job is providing a link between cultivator and horticulturists who do n’t have commercial-grade experience .
“ A batch of my work is on the commercial-grade end , whereas most of my books are at the horticulture end , which is by chance rather than innovation !
“ I was mainly a commercial-grade grower for 20 years before I terminate up in this role , but I have also been involved in gardening too . ”
How Important Are Trees To Our Outdoor Spaces?
“ This could be a whole interview in itself ! ” Ben jokes .
“ first of all , they provide a sense of wellbeing . As humans , we love being around trees , and there is grounds that both people and animals are glad when there are trees around .
“ Many hoi polloi do n’t know that [ being around ] tree diagram release chemicals [ in our brains ] that make us sense happy1Immerse Yourself in a Forest for Better Health . ( n.d . ) . NYS Dept . Of Environmental Conservation . retrieve July 27 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/90720.html . wood bathing and just being around trees have us happier .
“ They also cater shade and shelter and temperature modulation – there is a vast range of biodiversity benefits .
“ From a home agriculturist ’s distributor point of view , they are also a host for pollinators and wildlife and assistance with water system infiltration . ”
Do You Have Any Standout Career Moments?
“ I ’m always attend frontwards and lean not to wait back very much .
“ Obviously , I ’m proud of the material I ’ve done , especially with some of the books .
“ I ’m probably most proud of theFuture Grower ’s Apprenticeship Schemethat we range at the Soil Association . It ran for about 12 years and we trained around 100 mass , a lot of whom are still growing and are now head growers and have their own apprentices – so that is pretty special . ”
What’s Next For You?
“ I ’ve engender a new book that I ’m mold on which is very exciting , ” he share .
“ It ’s a horticultural agroforestry book which is about integrating trees into growing systems .
“ I ’m co - writing it with Andy Diddon and , although we are both more commercial-grade raiser , we want the principle to be approachable to house growers , so I ’m hoping that we will be able to write it in such a way that it is also useful to gardeners . ”
What Advice Do You Have For New Gardeners?
“ Do n’t be upset when thing do n’t farm or if you kill things . There ’s always a tendency to blame yourself as a nurseryman , but there might be other factors .
“ I commend betimes on in my growing career my onion were n’t growing , but I went to a group discussion where everyone was kvetch about how bad a yr it was for onions !
“ Do n’t be afraid to strain thing too , and definitely do n’t believe everything you take in gardening Christian Bible . Climate variety is making a wad of these thing out of date , so things that were true 50 years ago wo n’t be now , particularly in regard to sow and harvest home dates .
“ Do n’t be afraid to go against conventional sapience . ”
