Jackie Gear - Organic Gardening: The Whole Story

Alan and Jackie Gear have been congratulated by supporters of the organic gardening movement, including the Prince of Wales, for their 25 years at the helm of the Henry Doubleday Research Association. Over the years, the couples dedication and efforts have transformed the association and helped to gain the organic movement the mainstream respect that it enjoys today.

BBC Gardeners World magazine, January, 1999

A compelling insight into the organic movement, from the global issues to the microbes in your compost heap, from the couple who were near the heart, then at the helm, of the UKs largest organic organization for 30 years.

Joy Larkcom author of Grow Your Own Vegetables. The Independent referred to Joy as the most influential British writer on vegetables today.

Jackie and Alan Gear have been the driving force behind campaigns to get us growing without chemicals in our gardens. It is thanks to the couples unflagging dedication that organic gardening has blossomed in this country.

Mail on Sunday, 26 October, 2003

For 30 years Jackie and Alan have been the driving force behind HDRA, the largest organic organization in Europe. They educated, informed and inspired a growing army of organic gardeners. They are an extraordinary couple who gave up everything to spread the word of organic gardening.

Monty Don, Presenter of Gardening Heroes August 2005

In 2006 the Royal Horticultural Society conferred Honorary Fellowships on them citing, Since 1975 Alan and Jackie have helped organic gardening develop from being a fringe activity into what is now the major influence on 21st-century gardens and gardening.

Somehow theyve managed to persist; its determination, keeping repeating the message, doing good science, good research; its just been amazing; one of the great stories of horticulture in the last couple of decades.

Rosie Atkins, Director of the Chelsea Physic Garden, speaking on Gardening Heroes

Alan and Jackie made growing your own organic fruit and vegetables popular, and reconnected us with both our soil and our food.

Raymond Blanc OBE, February 2009

Alan and Jackie Gear both gave up science careers in their early years to take up full-time organic gardening. Appointed directors of the Henry Doubleday Research Association in the 1980s they subsequently became household names as presenters of the first television series devoted to their subject, All Muck and Magic? They have continued to spread the word about organic gardening through countless TV and radio programmes such as the BBCs Gardeners World, The Food Programme and Farming Today. Between them they have written numerous books, and articles for most of the quality national newspapers as well as the gardening press.

Alan and Jackie resigned from the HDRA in 2003 and set up their own consultancy, working on a range of organic gardening, farming and food projects. Clients to date include chef Raymond Blanc, the national fruit centre at Brogdale in Kent and The Jerusalem Trust. The couple were each awarded an MBE for services to organic horticulture in 2003.

Organic Gardening: The Whole Story

Foreword by

HRH The Prince of Wales

Alan & Jackie Gear

This book is dedicated to Graham Parker and his wife Sue, and to Betty Albon and her husband David.

List Of Plates

plates 1 and 2 Jackie and Alan arriving at Braintree railway station in the early days of working for HDRA. Alan and Jackie Gear

plate 3 Lawrence D Hills, HDRA founder and director from 1958 to 1986. Alan and Jackie Gear

plate 4 Jackie receives instruction from Lawrence D Hills on the Bocking trialground, 1975. HDRA

plate 5 Alan and Jackie Gear at Ryton, not long after the gardens opened, 1987. Reproduced with the kind permission of ITV West

plate 6 The Prince of Wales chats to Alan Gear during his first visit to Ryton Gardens, July 1989. Reproduced with the kind permission of The Rugby Advertiser

plate 7 Jackie Gear with organic wine producer, Dr Huw Tripp, and Joanna Simon, Sunday Times Wine correspondent, at the first National Organic Wine Fair, July 1988. Reproduced with the kind permission of The Rugby Advertiser

plate 8 Joy Larkcom at Ryton in the late-1980s. HDRA

plate 9 Keen organic gardener, Thelma Barlow, the popular actress from ITVs Coronation Street, 1998. David Lawson

plate 10 Channel 4s All Muck and Magic? Britains first organic gardening television series. Pauline Pears, Alan and Jackie Gear, Sue Stickland and Bob Sherman. Reproduced with the kind permission of ITV West

plate 11 The ever-popular composting display at Ryton, 1990. HDRA

plate 12 The Cooks Garden at Ryton, 1998. David Lawson

plate 13 Dr Bill Blyth, HDRA Chairman from 1992 to 2004. Kit Brooke-Harris

plate 14 Commercial vegetable variety trial at Ryton. HDRA

plate 15 Community intensive vegetable growing in Cuba, 1997. Phil Harris

plate 16 The National Trusts Plot to Plate vegetable growing display at the Chelsea Flower Show, 2002. Mike Calnan, courtesy of The National Trust

plate 17 Potato variety display at Ryton Gardens national Potato Day event, 2002. David Lawson

plate 18 Actress Susan Hampshire at the 2002 Chelsea Flower Show with HDRA gardener Rebecca Costello on the Alitex stand. Reproduced with the kind permission of Alitex Ltd., specialists in Greenhouses and Conservatories

plate 19 Children at Howarth Primary School demonstrate their vegetable-growing credentials. Reproduced with the kind permission of Howarth Primary School

plate 20 Garden Organic Vice President and keen organic enthusiast, celebrity chef Raymond Blanc. Reproduced with the kind permission of Raymond Blanc

plate 21 Geoff Hamilton one of the countrys most popular TV gardeners of all time. Reproduced with the kind permission of Barnsdale Gardens

plate 22 Birds-eye view of the Vegetable Kingdom, HDRA headquarters and part of the gardens at Ryton, 2008. Andy Sadler

Acknowledgements

Alan and I have written books before, but none has been as multi-disciplinary as this one, covering, as it does, aspects of history, science, philosophy and practical horticulture, so we are especially grateful to the many people who have helped us. First, we are indebted to our agent, Jane Graham Maw, for her tenacity, and to Michael Mann, our publisher, for his faith in us, his sheer exuberance and, last but not least, his own knowledge of organic gardening. Wed also like to thank his colleagues at Watkins, including Penny Stopa and Diana Loxley, our eagle-eyed editor.

We couldnt have amassed all the information in this story without spending many years in the organic movement, where we, and HDRA (Henry Doubleday Research Association), were given truly outstanding support. The organizations founder, Lawrence Hills, that organic gardening giant, was our mentor and an infinitely interesting and informative companion. Where we have included narrative involving Lawrence it is usually based on the many conversations he had with us. However, dialogue that relates to the period prior to our joining the organization has been adapted from written reports in HDRAs members bulletins.

We were also fortunate to work with Pauline Pears, one of todays organic gardening giants, who joined the organization early on at Braintree, and we thank her for casting a friendly eye over chapter five. Sue Stickland, Bob Sherman and Margi Lennartsson joined us at Ryton all experts in their fields, whom we depended on consistently over our working lives there. Likewise, HDRAs Council, which underpinned our work as directors, was blessed with some outstanding figures. Dr Bill Blyth, its long-time Chairman, was one such a source of great intelligence, stability and commonsense. His calming presence meant the world to us, and he helped to make organic gardening what it is today. Lord Kitchener, too, served the organization steadfastly and with great dignity as its President. He and Bill provided the continuity at HDRA that was necessary for the smooth evolution of the organic philosophy in this country. Similarly, Graham Dodd, the organizations one-time Honorary Treasurer, saw the organization safely through many financial ups and downs over the years.