A Garden of Grains

Made in Scotland A Garden of Grains

By Wendy Barrie Scottish Thistle Award Regional Ambassador (2018/19) for Central, Tayside & Fife Director of Scottish Food Guide

What do Shetland, Grimsay, North Uist, Fair Isle, Luing and Dalarna have in common with Ardross Farm? They are the origins of the grains planted by a Swedish farmer in a Scottish walled garden near Elie.

Bosse Dahlgren has farmed regeneratively all his working life in Sweden until he settled in Fife in 2013 at which point he had to make do with our diminutive kitchen garden but was undeterred. Having always run a mixed farm with heritage breeds and grains he wanted to see which interesting grains could work in the Scottish climate – after all it seemed pretty Nordic – so he set about growing a small patch of an old variety of spring wheat from his mother’s homeland of Dalarna, in the heartland of Sweden.

His first batch of Dalarna spring wheat worked well in its new home, the 1½ square metre bed yielding sufficient grain for two delicious loaves and seed saving for the following year. A chance conversation with the Pollocks at Ardross brought about the loan of a table-top mill to make flour. Meanwhile over in the Hebrides there was an interest in producing local milk and an invitation extended for Bosse to visit and offer advice whereupon he met farmers still growing old grains - but for feed not focaccia - that sparked his interest. He returned to the mainland with a wee bag of seeds.

The following year we visited Mary Braithwaite on Luing who had achieved a gold award in the Scottish Bread Championship at the Royal Highland Show. She too is interested in heritage grains and had been given a mixed bag from a farmer, straight from the land, that she kindly donated to Bosse. Now there was no stopping him from his mission! Day after day he sat sorting out grains – a task akin to a

10,000 piece deconstructed jigsaw with little heaps of white oat, black oat, wheat, bere and rye taking over every available surface in the house. With far too much for our raised beds, Bosse continued with his Dalarna wheat, now eight years acclimatised, and pondered over his next move.

There have been Pollocks farming in the East Neuk since 1870 and in 1968 they settled at Ardross. A forerunner in farm diversification and keen to distance themselves from the increasing pressure of supplying supermarkets and rising fuel costs, Rob and Fiona Pollock opened their farm shop in 2005 and since then have been recognised with nationwide awards, the most recent being 2021 Winner of the Best Farm Shop & Deli in Scotland in the Great British Food Awards. It has been a family affair with their three daughters from day one: rearing and selling pasture fed beef and lamb, growing a fantastic array of vegetables, and producing bakes, ready meals and fabulous steak pies from their onsite kitchen. Folk come from far and wide to buy flavoursome food with provenance from these Fifers, now also with a local home delivery service alongside call and collect.

Over the years I have brought many visitors and chefs to meet the family including Paolo Di Croce, Secretary General of Slow Food International and a group from Les Dames d’Escoffier USA. Food tourism at its best, exemplifying not only our produce but also our Scottish warmth and hospitality, something money can’t buy. In 2019 Rob passed away suddenly after a short illness, a heart-breaking loss for the family. Their family bonds gave them the strength they needed: Nikki predominantly on the farm shop side, Claire now the full-time farmer, Fiona in charge of the kitchen and school teacher Tara a welcome support whenever she can – and everyone mucking in as needs arise. With so many plates to spin it was no surprise their walled garden was lacking a wee bit tlc so when Bosse and I were recounting his grains project over a coffee one day, they kindly offered us the space to follow his dream and discover together what would grow well in Fife. It was a perfect fit so Bosse starting digging!

Much of Scotland’s grain is used for whisky or feed production with little processed for the kitchen other than by a few specialist growers and millers so Bosse was intent on acclimatising his grains to see what could grow successfully with good flavours. Through his many Swedish contacts he had visited producers and attended events where a range of pure grains were made into breads for comparative tastings, spanning from mild subtle favours to robustly spiced dough…all from the humble grain.

Buying a loaf is so ubiquitous, a humdrum daily event, and although many folk have become home bakers since lockdown there is still largely a lack of appreciation regarding the effort that goes into growing its main constituent. Soil quality and type, temperature and rainfall, sheltered and exposed landscapes, all affect which grain can be grown where. Thereafter it still needs cut, threshed, cleaned and milled, all without destroying its natural flavours and nutritional value. There are huge variations within Scotland alone and what works in one region gives no guarantee it will work elsewhere as our ancestors knew only too well.

As Bosse dug and composted the walled garden throughout spring it had a certain ‘secret garden’ feel to it as pigeons, robins, partridge and tits all took an interest and Claire’s beehives buzzed in a crescendo as the days grew warmer. About this time, Barkland Croft on Fair Isle posted a photo of their last harvest and the old stooks caught my eye so I contacted her to see what was growing. Shetland oat. How exciting. Could they spare a wee envelope? Sure enough the postie delivered a sachet from Fair Isle and another grain was added to Bosse’s collection. He now had Hebridean black and white oats, Hebridean bere, Shetland black and white oats, Hebridean rye and Dalarna spring wheat.

Come early summer, green shoots appeared and hoeing became essential to rinse weeds. There was no knowing how fertile the seeds would be. Some had been in a box for several years however as spring turned to summer they all grew high and healthy, waving in the fresh sea breezes, taller than modern varieties but sturdy and strong complete with nesting partridges hidden in their midst. By harvest time there was much interest in what was happening ‘over the wall’ so a few open evenings were arranged on Thursdays to coincide with late night shopping. We had a lovely turnout of interested Ardross customers, keen to learn more about our food heritage and where the seeds had originated.

By August it was time for scything – definitely Bosse’s favourite part – and the swish of the blade became a daily occurrence. I was taught the art of binding bushels and the sight of the walled garden filled with golden stooks brought a deep sense of satisfaction and joy to us all. Bosse’s threshing raised some smiles, with his homemade gadget and threshing by hand – but it worked. A bonus delight was the quality and colours of the straw – a veritable rainbow ripe for a craft enthusiast.

By this point both Nikki and I were hoping for some flour to bake with but seed saving was the main objective for year one although we were ‘allowed’ a little wheat and rye to experiment with. Their dainty mill worked a treat and the results were really delicious. There is also sufficient bere although we have yet to process it. The oats need to multiply further, besides which we need to find someone to help us de-husk such small quantities so that’s work in progress.

Bosse is now digging down a seasoning of local seaweed before the process starts again and we are all looking forward to following his progress in 2022. There is much interest and great potential in Scottish grains and perhaps at some point the outer isles may also bring back the grains - along with the dairy - as the more high quality food we grow, the better it is for our local food systems, our health and our planet. For too long we have ignored our indigenous riches in favour of imported grains, developing kilos rather than flavours and grains have an important role to play in our Good Food Nation.

Wendy is married to Swedish environmentalist, Bosse Dahlgren, heritage farmer & genebank specialist. Together they have written a book to be published later this year.