 I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty fed up of hearing those dreaded words ‘credit crunch’ time and again. Everything can be blamed on it, from falling house prices to, it seems, the weather. One thing that can be said is that we’re all feeling the pinch. Those little luxuries we took for granted are now out of reach for many of us, while careful juggling of the household finances is needed more than ever before.
Of course, growing food helps, which is why we’ve brought you three complete seed-to-plate grow guides for the ‘holy trinity’ of winter leaf crops: hardy lettuce, endive and cabbage. Each of these reliable stalwarts won’t fail to satisfy and will do a lot to help keep you in nutritious, delicious and free produce during the colder months.
Apparently another response to leaner times is an increase in foraging. It may seem a far-fetched solution but who hasn’t picked and munched on wild blackberries on a late summer walk or collected sweet chestnuts to take home and roast? Nature’s larder is ripe for harvesting and wild food makes a logical (and tasty!) addition to home-grown grub. Fergus Drennan, a true wild food hero, explains the ins and outs of foraging to get you on the way to experiencing the bounty of this time of year.
This issue sees our final call for entries to our Your Plot competition. The winner stands to take advantage of an incredible £1,000 spending spree courtesy of Two Wests & Elliott – more than enough to balance the books! We want this year’s competition to be bigger and better than last year and every entry counts. The Grow it! team is thoroughly enjoying seeing what you’re up to, so please send in your pictures and tell us about your plot. It doesn’t take much time to enter and you could end the year much better off!
Benedict Vanheems,
Editor
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