Ben Raskin From The Soil Association: ‘Don’t Be Afraid To Go Against Conventional Wisdom’
Contributions From BEN RASKIN
With 20 years of commercial growing experience under his belt, Ben Raskin is now the Head of Horticulture & Agroforestry at the Soil Association. He is also the author of several gardening books, including Zero Waste Gardening and The Woodchip Handbook. Ben is a full member of the Garden Media Guild.
Ben Raskin is the Head of Horticulture & Agroforestry at the Soil Association, with an additional 20 years of experience working in commercial growing.
He is particularly passionate about connecting commercial growers to the everyday gardener and is an advocate for organic gardening and planting for wildlife.
I spoke to Ben about his career, initiatives at the Soil Association and his love of nature.
Imagery in this article has been provided with permission by Ben and Ivan Raskin.
What First Led You To A Career In Horticulture?
“In my early 20s, I lived in Italy for a couple of years and made some friends with people who owned a vineyard and I ended up helping out,” shares Ben.
“I loved it. I loved being outdoors and I loved the physical work, which was a surprise to me! I found it all very satisfying.
“My dad had always grown his own vegetables and I was the only one of the children that used to enjoy being out in the garden with him. My Grandma was also a very keen gardener. She wasn’t a particularly happy person, but she was always happy when she was outside in the garden.
“All of those things contributed to where I was meant to be.”
What Does Horticulture Mean To You?
“I think it has informed everything for me, in the sense that once I started to be connected with the outdoor world, I then saw everything through that lens,” he explains.
“I’ve always been very environmentally minded, but I don’t think I fully understood what that meant until I started growing.
“Once you understand soil, how it works, what that means and how we are interconnected, it changes you, which has helped to form my view of the world.”
Can You Explain More About Your Role At The Soil Association?
“The Soil Association is a charity that was founded in 1946 to promote the link between soil, plant, human and planet health. We do also certify soil – so [many] people may recognise us from that.
“I work in the soil and land use team, so I have quite a varied role. Part of it is to provide technical and market support for our growers. There’s also a campaigning side, which I get involved in.
“I also get involved in policy work and write and provide reports for government and other institutional bodies. We do a fair amount of funded projects, so a lot of our works are for private trusts that want to support farmers and promote sustainable and organic growing.
“One of the things I love about my job is providing a link between growers and horticulturists who don’t have commercial experience.
“A lot of my work is on the commercial end, whereas most of my books are at the gardening end, which is by chance rather than design!
“I was mainly a commercial grower for 20 years before I ended up in this role, but I have also been involved in gardening too.”
How Important Are Trees To Our Outdoor Spaces?
“This could be a whole interview in itself!” Ben jokes.
“Firstly, they provide a sense of wellbeing. As humans, we love being around trees, and there is evidence that both people and animals are happier when there are trees around.
“Many people don’t know that [being around] trees releases chemicals [in our brains] that make us feel happy1Immerse Yourself in a Forest for Better Health. (n.d.). NYS Dept. Of Environmental Conservation. Retrieved July 27, 2023, from https://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/90720.html. Forest bathing and just being around trees makes us happier.
“They also provide shade and shelter and temperature modulation – there is a huge range of biodiversity benefits.
“From a home grower’s point of view, they are also a host for pollinators and wildlife and help with water infiltration.”
Do You Have Any Standout Career Moments?
“I’m always looking forward and tend not to look back very much.
“Obviously, I’m proud of the stuff I’ve done, particularly with some of the books.
“I’m probably most proud of the Future Grower’s Apprenticeship Scheme that we ran at the Soil Association. It ran for about 12 years and we trained around 100 people, a lot of whom are still growing and are now head growers and have their own apprentices – so that is pretty special.”
What’s Next For You?
“I’ve got a new book that I’m working on which is very exciting,” he shares.
“It’s a horticultural agroforestry book which is about integrating trees into growing systems.
“I’m co-writing it with Andy Diddon and, although we are both more commercial growers, we want the principles to be accessible to home growers, so I’m hoping that we will be able to write it in such a way that it is also useful to gardeners.”
What Advice Do You Have For New Gardeners?
“Don’t be upset when things don’t grow or if you kill things. There’s always a tendency to blame yourself as a gardener, but there might be other factors.
“I remember early on in my growing career my onions weren’t growing, but I went to a conference where everyone was complaining about how bad a year it was for onions!
“Don’t be afraid to try things too, and definitely don’t believe everything you read in gardening books. Climate change is making a lot of these things out of date, so things that were true 50 years ago won’t be now, particularly in regard to sowing and harvesting dates.
“Don’t be afraid to go against conventional wisdom.”
