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Grown home
The coat hanger harvest
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A Salix viminalis coat hanger was harvested at grown home on May 21st. A small crowd watched as the grafted hanger was sawn from the two-year-old plant and peeled to reveal the dazzling white sapwood. It was an exciting moment and an important milestone in the ongoing research that is grown home, providing the tangible proof that a functional product can be grown. The coat hanger was the first of the 36 products growing on site to be harvested the majority of the remainder will be ready to harvest over the next three years. Grown home is part of Kew's summer festival.
Grown home is all about sustainable product manufacture and provides
an easily understood model for the ideal product lifecycle. Planted, nurtured,
harvested, used and finally composted all in one location these wooden
products have used no fossil fuels in their production and have had only
a beneficial effect on the environment in which they are ‘manufactured’,
particularly so when grown in an urban environment.
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Five years have been spent on this research so far, but there is still
much to be learnt. Constant adaptation and refinement of the techniques
in order to simplify the processes is essential so that it becomes possible
for anyone to grow their own products. It is only when individuals are
able to grow their own products in their home environment that true sustainability
can be achieved. The visitor response to grown home has been very enthusiastic,
(evidenced by the lack of grass on site) and when I am at Kew they want
to talk to me about the idea and are keen to experiment themselves so,
in conjunction with a willow grower I have designed some simple kits,
the first two; the coat hanger and wine rack will be available from the
grower www.windrushwillow.com
this autumn. My next goal is to put the information gleaned so far into
a publication thus disseminating the idea to as broad an audience as possible.
It is surprising, when you consider how long a history the cultivation
of plants has, that so little work has been done in the field of grown
products and that no name has been given to this activity, I have therefore
christened it ‘Prodotticulture’ a term that I hope will become
part of the language. I am very grateful to Kew particularly Peter Crane,
Tony Kirkham and Simon Cole and his team for their support of this work
so far. Next year we should be able to harvest at least 5 products and
in ten years time - who knows what may be possible?
Lois Walpole
For more detailed information about Lois Walpole and grown home visit www.loiswalpole.com or to contact Lois email lois@loiswalpole.com