How beautiful should a carrot be?
So, what to do? You're now tasked with devising a solution for adequately watering your fields and vegetables to ensure robust growth once more. This could mean inventing an entirely new irrigation system, like the innovative approach taken by the Schwab family from the organic farm, 'Remlinger Rüben'.
“There is an urgent need for farmers to have easier access to efficient irrigation methods through technical developments and knowledge transfer.”
Necessity is the mother of invention
Selma Schwab and her family from the organic farm Remlinger Rüben near Würzburg, Germany, faced exactly this problem. They needed a completely new irrigation system, one that uses less water. However, they had to get creative first. Because, surprisingly, there is no standard system for the efficient irrigation of carrots. Of course, there are rain guns or sprinklers, but unfortunately, they still use too much water.
“Wasting water is not an option!”
… says Selma Schwab. Selma grew up on her father's organic farm and saw firsthand the impact of frequent droughts in Germany, including reduced groundwater levels. For her, “our goal should be to harvest as much high-quality food as possible from every liter of water used for irrigation.”
Better than good: using less water
If you can't find an existing machine to meet your needs, you have to invent one. For the Schwabs, this task was challenging because it's crucial for the water droplets to hit the carrot seeds accurately. Moreover, when water is scarce, it's essential to use it precisely where it benefits the carrots’ growth the most.
But Selma Schwab and her family succeeded. They developed an irrigation system where carrots and other vegetables are watered very sparingly using drip tapes. Along with the vegetable seeds, they lay the drip tape flat under the soil, bringing the water directly to the plants, drop by drop. Drip irrigation is particularly efficient compared to conventional sprinkler methods, as hardly any water evaporates or is carried away by the wind. It also functions with low water pressure, which means reduced energy consumption. Given the low water availability in their area, the water comes from storage basins that collect rainwater and well water. With drip irrigation, they found a way to adapt to changing climate conditions.
Say hello to the climate carrot
How beautiful should a carrot be? This is a question we should all be asking ourselves. Because it's not acceptable for a carrot, or indeed any vegetable, to be discarded simply because it looks imperfect. “We can’t just say: Climate change has no effect on our products, they are always perfect”, says Schwab. The reality is that inadequate rainfall or insufficient watering can severely hinder carrot growth, leading them to either grow minimally or shrivel up.
For this reason, the Schwab family has come up with even more ideas. A new term for a new consciousness: the climate carrot. The climate carrot represents raising awareness and rethinking. In farm shops as well as in large supermarket chains, and of course among us consumers. It tells us that the climate is changing, that this changes the conditions for cultivation, and that new problems arise time and again. But even more, the climate carrot stands for different expectations, not only concerning vegetables, but the search for new solutions that affect all of us.
