‘THE PIONEER’ Interview with Mitch McCulloch
Mitch McCulloch, is an organic grower and forager who recently set up his own plot in Hampshire, an educational biodiverse garden to engage people on the opportunities regenerative growing presents. In this week’s ‘Pioneer’ interview Mitch shares his vision of showing how achievable it is to grow food, regenerate soil and provide vital habitat for thousands of species on a piece of land the size of your average garden! He also shares his story from East London Chef to East Coast regenerative grower, his top foraging tips and where his journey is taking him next.
1. Where did your journey as a forager and organic grower begin? What inspired you?
Being a former chef for 9 years I’ve always had a love and good understanding of food and it was actually during my early years as a chef that I started to become interested in searching for wild food. During our lunch break we would go hunting for exciting plants and fungi so we could experiment with new flavours in the kitchen. Being outdoors even for these short period of time in-between the chaos of service was a much needed escape. Foraging for food filled me with a feeling of satisfaction. My senses were heightened, taste buds titillated and these sensations created a sense of happiness and well-being. I was hooked for life!
My food growing journey began much later in life. If we fast forward to my most recent cooking venture which was running a catering business of my own. We had a reasonably successful 2 years of trading before the corona virus pandemic hit and temporarily forced us to close our doors. During the first lockdown I had a lot of time to consider what was important in life, protecting the planet and giving back to Mother Earth became my main priority. Given my culinary background I was aware of the farming practises that are driving the planet towards climate change and the broken food system that’s leaving billions of people either underfed, malnourished or sick because they can’t access adequate nutritious food all the time.
After having some serious thinking time during the lockdown, I knew that continuing with my catering business wasn’t going to make me happy or make a positive impact on the world and decided to dissolve the company in pursuit of a more wholesome and sustainable life. In July 2020 I switched East London for the East Coast and my growing journey began. I converted my new back yard into an organic kitchen garden based on permaculture principles and pre industrial farming techniques.
2. What has been the biggest gift and challenge so far, and what fresh opportunities does your new plot in Hampshire bring?
My biggest gift is the continued support and inspiration from the online growing community. It fills me with so much joy seeing the good things being done in the growing space from people all around the world. Being connected with people from across the globe has helped me understand that we’re not alone in this fight for a greener world.
The biggest challenge is the one I am currently tackling, to try and inspire and revolutionise the food and farming system. To pursue my mission I have relocated to Ringwood, Hampshire. I am currently setting up a 14m x 14m educational showcase garden on a previously industrially farmed site. Up until 6 months ago the land was farmed using intensive conventional methods of heavy ploughing, man made fertilising and the spraying of chemical cocktails of pesticides, fungicides and herbicides. My aim with this new space is to show how achievable it is to grow food, regenerate soil and provide vital habitat for thousands of species on a piece of land the size of your average garden. I’ll be working with a chartered geologist and soil scientist to document the progress of how quickly I can regenerate the soil food web.
As my new garden is being set up as an educational space I will be creating engaging videos and content for social media and YouTube to show others what we can achieve while also bringing my chef skills to the table to show people how to use the produce.
My new garden is located at Four Acre Farm, a new project which is currently converting 4 acres of previously conventionally farmed land into a 2 acre wild flower meadow, 1 acre mixed native fruit orchard and a 1 acre no dig, chemical free market garden that will supply the local community with fresh, beyond organic veggies. Over 5000 trees have already been planted at Four Acre farm in the last few months creating a new hedgerow boundary and orchard.
3. How have you seen no dig permaculture and regenerative farming practices improve soil quality and support biodiversity?
I believe growing using a no-dig approach is one of the kindest things we can do to our planet. The soil web is a complex living system that is an integral part of our ecosystem. It is arguably the world's most valuable yet neglected resource. By leaving the soil undisturbed we allow the beneficial organisms, microbes and fungi (that help plants to find nutrients and moisture), to work in peace. Not only that, by not digging over, we keep carbon in the soil rather than It being converted to co2 by oxidation through cultivation. To add, plant feeding is more about biology, such as the symbiotic relationship between the soil food web and plants, than it is about chemistry such as feeding with bottled nutrients or man-made fertilisers.
Creating a biodiverse growing space and allowing room for nature is the key to being a successful grower. I grow using regenerative permaculture methods, there’s certainly no man made chemicals or nasties in my garden. With a sharp reduction in the amount of suitable forage available to our pollinators, it’s never been more important to help out our fuzzy friends and plant insect-friendly flowers. Growing a diverse range of flowering plants can satisfy the appetites of our local insects. These flower blooms are also a beautiful addition and can help assist with pest control by attracting insects that predate on common garden pests such as aphids.
One of the questions I’m often asked is ‘how do I organically control pests in the garden?’ My answer is always 'work with nature'. I strongly believe that attracting predatory insects, birds, amphibians and mammals is by far the best form of pest control. By introducing habitats like ponds, log stacks and allowing vegetation to grow, you can create much needed shelter for slug eating wildlife to move in. It’s absolutely crucial for us growers to make room for our amphibious accomplices as their population declines due to a loss of breading habitat.
4. How can our approach to food be part of the solution in tackling the climate and ecological crises, and be accessible and affordable for people?
I strongly believe we need to change our focus to a more localised food system that supports small scale, ethical and environmentally conscious food producers. Big agriculture is not serving anyone except for an elite few, and is one of the biggest contributors to the destruction of our natural world. We need an immediate and radical overhaul of our food and farming practises if we are to turn this around. The current subsidised farming system and cheap imported supermarket food is a false economy and the food being supplied is covered in biocides and severely lacking in nutrients. Cheap food does not equal healthy nutrient dense food.
Alongside this I think we need to educate the population on the importance of eating whole foods and a diverse diet. Eating seasonally, teaching people how to cook and showing the value of fresh well grown produce is vital if we are going to see any change. This will not only benefit the environment but also people’s own health and wellbeing. Society is time poor and convenience food dominates our eating habits, trying to find healthy nutritious food on the go is an almost impossible task without spending a small fortune.
In my opinion there is no single solution to this global issue, the main things I think we need to address are the social inequalities and the distribution of wealth so good quality, organic whole foods are made available and affordable to everyone. A way in which this might be achievable is to encourage more people to get back on the land and start market gardens that grow using regenerative, permaculture methods. This again comes with its downfalls as access to land is something very few people have and the life of a market gardener is tough, time consuming and unpredictable.
On a larger scale, big agriculture needs a dramatic switch to an agroforestry style of growing where field crops such as wheats, lentils and beans are grown between alleyways of trees. This style of farming can replenish our badly degraded soil, increase yields, reduced the amount of chemicals being used and create vital habitat and homes for wildlife. Tree roots reach deep into the ground, sequestering carbon into the soil. They cycle nutrients and bind the soil together, preventing it from being eroded by the wind or the rain. This in turn creates a happy and health soil food web, going back when I mentioned previously that plant feeding is more about biology and this symbiotic relationship with the soil food web than it is chemistry. Agroforestry may just be a silver bullet solution to current climate crisis.
Ultimately we need a combined effort from governments, corporations, farmers and the population to remap our food chain. By educating, supporting and encouraging new small scale farmers we can begin to rebuild our broken system. Big supermarkets need to support local growers and this needs to be enforced by the authorities. A radical change in the requirements that need to be met for produce to be allowed onto supermarket shelves is needed, so perfectly edible crops that might be misshaped or wonky can be sold. The true climate impact of what we eat is not easy to calculate. So, as well as cutting down on red meat and dairy, we also need to ensure we are minimising waste and trying to choose fruit and vegetables that are in season.
5. What are your top foraging tips for beginners here in the UK?
Getting started with foraging couldn’t be any simpler, a good place to find your feet is in you back garden or your closest green space. Growing up in London I think urban areas are actually one of the best places to find wild food, as cities have often been planted with an abundance of edible trees and bushes.
Like with any new hobby small steps at the beginning are best. My advice would be to start out simple by identifying plant species you already know, things like dandelions, blackberries and nettles are a great place to start. Being mindful of where you harvest your wild edibles is crucial. Use your observation skills to determine if the area your harvesting from has been sprayed with herbicides or heavily fertilised with chemicals, avoid busy roads and edges of farmers fields. If a plant looks unhealthy or unnatural its best to harvest elsewhere. It’s also worth noting that if you’re foraging for wild water plants it’s essential to know the water source, chemicals and heavy metal pollutions cannot be removed by cooking.
Learning and understanding different habitats is a surefire way to increase your chances of finding some tasty treats. You won’t find Wood Sorrel washed up on the beech and you won’t find Pepper Dulse in a forest. The same can be said for companion plants, you’ll often find an abundance of Wild Garlic growing alongside Bluebells in ancient woodlands. Following the seasons is important when foraging for a number of reasons. Seasonality can be a good indicator when trying to identify and locate certain plants and fungi, however I have noticed some confusion amongst the mushroom world over the last few years and have found fungi fruiting at the most unusual times.
Keep a journal to take notes of you locations and finds, buy foraging guide books and enrol on courses are all ways to hone your skills as wild food gatherer.
The three most important things to consider when picking wild food. Firstly don’t over harvest, even when you find wild food in large numbers it’s important to respect nature and the local wildlife that depends on those plants and fungi. Only take what you will actually use and try not to collect more than 10% of the population. Avoid foraging for rare and protected wild edibles, many plants may be abundant in your area but are rare throughout the rest of the country. Lastly and most importantly when foraging you must be able to correctly identify your harvest. Never eat anything you haven’t correctly identified from multiple sources of positive identification. Happy foraging.
6. How are you using the power of storytelling to bring people closer to nature?
To further pursue my mission to inspire and educate I have been working on two projects outside of the garden. The first is the pomona.earth platform that tells stories of growers, farmers, scientists and visionaries in an engaging, exciting and cinematic way. Our stories are honest, authentic and well researched, but they’re also visually stunning, well paced and finished to an extremely high standard. I have teamed up with director and adventure film maker Matt Pycroft to bring the vision alive and together we will explore how we can build resilient communities and landscapes in the face of global challenges. By sharing the stories of inspirational people who are creating a more beautiful world, we hope to allow others to imagine something that they haven’t thought of before and help people recommit to their vision, and inspire them to take action.
Since the start of 2022 and to run along side my educational showcase garden I've been busy working on The Mitch Grows Show, a solution focused chat show which aims to find out how we can become more resilient whilst giving back to Mother Earth. The people I’ve been speaking with may hold the answers to some of the challenges that were all facing. Each and everyone of us can make a difference but together we can make a change. My mission with the show is to inspire others to make positive changes in their own lives, while at the same time try and help ease climate anxiety, by giving people hope that good things are being and can be done to save our beautiful planet.
For more on Mitch McCulloch, visit him on Instagram , YouTube and LinkedIn
Sign up here to to receive our monthly ‘Wonder Letter’ — with opportunities and news on how we can grow with nature, and join our community of pioneering leaders, brands, change-makers and communicators.