Early February - Blustery & Grey

Early February - Blustery & Grey
Newly dug over square beds 07/02/11

Monday 28 March 2011

Fresh as a daisy

The cliche - most heard down the pub when the topic of grow your own crops up - is "you can't beat the freshness of homegrown vegetables... they taste so much better than produce you buy in the supermarket".

Many people, suckered in by the supermarket promises that items have been quality-checked, vacuum-packed and air-freighted off in refridgerated boxes within minutes of being picked, will naturally be a little sceptical of the claims of plot holders and kitchen gardeners.

It can be difficult to demonstrate the benefits of growing your own green beans over buying in Kenyan farmed offerings - taste can be subjective and, at least over the first couple of days sitting in the bottom drawer of your fridge, the Kenyan beans will probably look 'better'.

It is a lot easier though to demonstrate the benefits of homegrown using daffodils. We have been amazed at how long our allotment grown daffodils have lasted indoors, despite being cut in full bloom. Their colour has remained strong and the blooms large and healthy for the whole week. Compare this to air-freighted daffs flown in from Holland and further field - that arrive completely closed and only last a couple of days in bloom before quickly going brown and dying - and the difference is shocking.

You then have to conclude that if the quality, nutrient levels and longevity of daffodils grown on the plot is so much better than those shop-bought, then the same must be true of fruits and vegetables.

No sign of the alliums blooming yet, so as things stand, our over-wintering bulbs experiment has a clear winner. I can see us planting up more daffodils next September as the colour they bring to both the bare Spring plot and the home is extraordinary.

1 comment:

Jono / Real Men Sow said...

Funny you should mention this, as half a dozen of our allotment daffs have just gone on the turn. I picked them over a week ago, and they've kept all the time simply in a pint glass of water. Incredible really.