5 Aug 2010

Eating - and growing - seasonally

~ downpour imminent … look at that sky! ~

Yesterday's on-off downpours over North London (yes!! hooray!) had the added bonus of me being able to sit, guilt-free, in front of the computer for a while.  I was distracted by the Garden Organic newsletter - they now have a Facebook page in which the One Pot Pledge is mentioned so I had to check that out.  From there, I found a page in support of a UK company called Freshly Forked (take a look, it's quite a good page to bookmark) who highlighted a website called Eat Seasonably, which brings me to the purpose of today's keyboard tappings.  Am I the only person not to know about this?  Let's just say, for the sake of argument, that I have found it before one or two other veg growers - in which case let me introduce you to a jolly good website if, like me, a little advice or timely reminder is always welcome.  Have a look under the 'what to grow now' tab: there's pages of advice, offers, events, etc.  I sent myself an e-postcard to spread the word, which I was hoping to show you, but it hasn't arrived yet… 

For buyers, rather than growers, of fruit and veg there's a fun interactive calendar (find it here) which shows what's in season in which month (see below, plus you can download it as a poster).  You choose by month or by veg;  I'm thinking this could be fun in teaching kids what's in season (they could try guessing before pressing the button) and also perhaps tempt them to try new seasonal veg? (Okay, so I'm an optimist…)

Personally, I found it quite intriguing to see what I should have ready in the Veg Patch, or the possibilities for next year. 


Although, that said, I've been hauling in a good harvest of beans (runner and french), lettuces, radish, potatoes, garlic and beetroot all this past week.  Although I probably could save quite a lot of it (freezer, drying, soup making, etc), I really enjoy giving it away to the people who have been so encouraging over the past months.  It's such a simple gesture and yet it seems to build bridges.

4 comments:

  1. I really wish the supermarkets would act responsibly on this matter instead of constantly trying to make money. Even when fruit and veg are in season they will not cut the price. There is nothing in the world like freshly picked anything!

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  2. Matron, I quite agree! But I rub my hands with glee when I compare what I've paid for my veg compared to shop bought. And there will always be people who prefer to shop for pristine veg rather than enjoy getting their hands dirty in growing their own!

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  3. Yes, the downpours over London are proving quite frustrating. I want several days of glorious sunshine to help my tomatoes and chillies ripen out on the windowsill and yet we seem to be getting a lot of cloud lately. Today is a welcome break from the rain though!

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  4. Caro your blog is so informative and you write so well. I wish I had found you before, oh well as they say better late then never !!

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