New (Yellow) Broom

One of the good things about living closer to my family is the 'swopping' between us.  We propagate veg, they have a variety of shrubs.  Broom flourishes in their light sandy soil and, when offered, we took some home.  We positioned it in the warmest and most sheltered spot on our damp clay close to the hedge next to the sage and the oregano and now, two years later it is flowering.  (Incidentally the lily of the valley from our friends in the same resort, that plant that I formerly confused with a snowdrop, has also come up.)

The short-lived broom has long been rooted in England, as readers will know - lending its Latin name to the Plantagenet dynasty - and it has personal memories for me.  I associate yellow broom with the tea-rooms of that name on the sunny borders of Cheshire and Shropshire where our parents would take a weekend drive and stop for refreshments.  A little reminder of my Cheshire lineage is now growing on heavy Lancashire soil and as I prepare to investigate further the family history of the Lancashire side I am equally an heir of the maternal branch, which seems, from up here, so far south and sometimes so distant.

 

Rhubarb by Moonlight

Off to the store we call 'the emporium' this morning in search of veg. on yellow sticker (i.e. reduced to clear) I discovered one of their specials - forced Yorkshire rhubarb gathered by candlelight.  A twenty five percent reduction was not enough to tempt me, particularly as I had already pulled some of our own rhubarb by daylight.  Our rhubarb grows organically under the eaves of the shed, where slugs snack on it and thus requires a good wash and some removal of chewed bits.  

I noticed sadly that the store had also reduced to clear some rhubarb plants that were close to expiring, never mind the expiry date.  Promoted along with the early bedding plants these rhubarb crowns are also a seasonal feature.  If you care for rhubarb properly it lasts for years.  These had completely died back and were on offer for 60p each.  I had already bought a couple in a slightly healthier state last year.  One survived.  We have no room to rescue any more.

I also saw that kind customers have started to put provisions into the food bank collection point by the entrance.  (Not all products from the emporium, other stores do exist and have their own economy lines - I recognised the packaging). 

As the bin lorry proceeds up our street as an audible reminder of how much rubbish we generate it is my hope that in the coming seasons my county learns to better value food - how to consume it, recycle it and reward those who have produced it.

 

The Hungry Gap

About a month ago, a friend from Longridge announced that his overwintered broad beans were up and thriving.  So I persuaded my husband to take a trip out to the agricultural college where we purchased some beans at 'pensioners discount'.  At the time I remember thinking that this was not our usual variety, but it was the only one available.  So I went ahead.   The packet promised that it was a fast-maturing bean.  It would need to be 'up here' as spring is so often cold and wet.  

This week my husband discovered that something was eating our newly germinated beans.  We think that the culprit is the grey squirrel who has previously tried to charm us into providing food.  The beans seemed to have been broken off at the tips and shoots were lying on the soil.  Other beans seem to have disappeared completely.  I would estimate that we have lost about a quarter of what we sowed.  

Our raised beans are now netted and our surplus in pots have been rescued and put in the shed.  

The lessons are obvious.  Firstly, I should not have rushed to emulate M's success, after all, he is a Yorkshireman (local joke).  I should have stuck to the variety I know and germinated them in the shed.  

The predatory squirrel is obviously in the middle of the 'hungry gap', that time of year when allotment gardeners wait for new crops and live on what they sowed in the previous season.  In our case this was curly kale and Jerusalem artichokes which provided soups and simple curries.  Now we are on a fixed income and live close to a branch of the county's famed independent store.  Our hungry gap years have gone but thriftiness they engendered persists. 

PS After posting this, I would like to assure readers that I did not intend to trivialise the sufferings of this hungry world.  You can see one of the African charities we support on my page.  I remain very grateful indeed for all the blessings of this life.