Plugging the Hungry Gap
Less than a century ago, if your stored food had run out or rotted, you would go hungry and quite possibly die of starvation at this time of year. The aptly named 'hungry gap' is the period of austerity in late spring between stored food running out and new crops being ready for harvesting.
Years ago, this period would have lasted for several months - from early March to at least the end of May. Nowadays, we only really notice it during May, and even then there is plenty to eat. This is largely due to improvements in cultivars - many more vegetables can be grown through the winter or sown earlier in the spring than ever before. Many of us have greenhouses, and the invention of the freezer means that, if we have been provident, we will have stored some of last year's produce safely and we will not go hungry.
So, apart from last year's runner beans from the freezer, what are we eating this month? It is an eclectic mix. We still have some stored garlic, onions and shallots in good condition. Thanks to the mild winter the chard, sorrel and some spinach have made it through and are producing new leaves and our spring cabbages, sown last August, are filling out nicely and will provide us with many meals. Apart from these and the over-wintered spring and welsh onions, everything else on the allotment is finished - the kale, purple-sprouting broccoli and leeks have all gone to seed.
The salad in the greenhouse is also starting to bolt, but the early spring-sown leaves are almost ready to start picking and the chicory under the stairs is still going strong! We also have plenty of preserves - chutneys, pickled gherkins, jams and jellies left. We have used up all our dried beans and chillies, but a couple of chilli plants have been over-wintered indoors and are ready to start harvesting again.
Unless you have sown very early and managed to overcome the recent unseasonal weather there is not much new season veg to be had. Fresh at this time of year is the rhubarb and we are enjoying plenty of crumbles. If you have grown asparagus on your plot then you can indulge in this delicacy all month.
Our ancestors had a much tougher time. Very few of the winter-hardy crops that we grow now would have been available to them, and they had to become experts at preserving and storing their crops. Although we eat seasonally and try to be as self-sufficient as possible with our food, I am thankful that it's not our lives which depend on us getting it right.
Years ago, this period would have lasted for several months - from early March to at least the end of May. Nowadays, we only really notice it during May, and even then there is plenty to eat. This is largely due to improvements in cultivars - many more vegetables can be grown through the winter or sown earlier in the spring than ever before. Many of us have greenhouses, and the invention of the freezer means that, if we have been provident, we will have stored some of last year's produce safely and we will not go hungry.
So, apart from last year's runner beans from the freezer, what are we eating this month? It is an eclectic mix. We still have some stored garlic, onions and shallots in good condition. Thanks to the mild winter the chard, sorrel and some spinach have made it through and are producing new leaves and our spring cabbages, sown last August, are filling out nicely and will provide us with many meals. Apart from these and the over-wintered spring and welsh onions, everything else on the allotment is finished - the kale, purple-sprouting broccoli and leeks have all gone to seed.
The salad in the greenhouse is also starting to bolt, but the early spring-sown leaves are almost ready to start picking and the chicory under the stairs is still going strong! We also have plenty of preserves - chutneys, pickled gherkins, jams and jellies left. We have used up all our dried beans and chillies, but a couple of chilli plants have been over-wintered indoors and are ready to start harvesting again.
Unless you have sown very early and managed to overcome the recent unseasonal weather there is not much new season veg to be had. Fresh at this time of year is the rhubarb and we are enjoying plenty of crumbles. If you have grown asparagus on your plot then you can indulge in this delicacy all month.
Our ancestors had a much tougher time. Very few of the winter-hardy crops that we grow now would have been available to them, and they had to become experts at preserving and storing their crops. Although we eat seasonally and try to be as self-sufficient as possible with our food, I am thankful that it's not our lives which depend on us getting it right.
Submitted by Tigger
Comments
Post a Comment