Did you know that nitrogen is essential for healthy plant growth *and* that nitrogen is a key piece of the proteins in our diet? In this talk, Jenny Hall discusses nitrogen from multiple angles. Firstly, she shows how nitrogen-fixing plants (like clover and other legumes) are part of the natural nitrogen cycle: she explains how you can bring nitrogen to your farm or garden using leguminous green manures, and minimize nitrogen leaching. And in the second half of her talk, Jenny speaks about dietary nitrogen on a plant-based diet, since nitrogen is a primary building block of the amino acids & proteins we all eat. She discusses which crops are rich sources of plant-based protein, and how vegan protein sources can be grown locally in cooler temperate climates to meet our dietary needs, using the UK climate as a case study.
Growing plant-based protein and green manures
Length: 24 min.
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Jenny Hall
Jenny Hall has been a stockfree-organic grower since 1997, beginning with Organic Growers of Durham, and spending time with many longstanding growers such as Iain Tolhurst and Alan Schofield. In 2003, she took on a 5-acre market garden Fir Tree Community Growers in St Helens, Merseyside, UK. Since 2009, this has also doubled as a care farm for people with disabilities and those at risk of social isolation. Jenny works full time for the UK government organisation “Natural England”, and so the market garden is very much a hobby these days with a 7-strong volunteer group managing the market garden and all produce sold to Organic Direct based in Liverpool. With Iain Tolhurst she is also the co-author of the seminal textbook Growing Green: Organic Techniques for a Sustainable Future, originally published in 2005 and currently getting its 20 year revamp.
Discover Jenny’s project Fir Tree Community Growers, plus the book about stockfree farming Growing Green which she co-authored with Iain Tolhurst
