Harvest High

Have you ever picked something fresh from the garden?  The buzz you get from growing your own produce, be it fresh herbs for jazzing up dinner, or simply a mandarin for the lunch box, is something that many have revelled in.  This euphoria is known in green gardening circles as the ‘harvest high’.  It’s not the same thing that drives the competitor – the person growing the largest pumpkin, for example, but rather, it’s the simple joy you get from a simple seed growing into a useful asset, guided by your loving care.

If you have never experienced it, it’s like living through life without knowing bare foot running on grass or walking on sand.  It’s such a basic need that, for Millennia, people have grown their own not just out of need but also for satisfaction.  Its wellbeing in disguise as garden bounty.

It’s also a brilliant way of encouraging children to eat more vegetables and try new flavours.  Many people are sentimental about their memories of ripe tomatoes picked from the vine whilst still warmed by the sun or munching their way through peas as they pick a basketful for the evening’s meal.  Both are not hard vegetables to grow and will result in lasting memories.  They can be trained vertically up a sunny trellis and even grown trailing from a hanging basket, just pick the right varieties and ask us about seasonal timings and other requirements.

Even the beginner gardener can experience this joy from a pot of herbs.  Picked often, grown in sunshine and fed regularly (worm wee or liquid organic fertiliser are perfect), your meals can take on the freshness, flavour and wealth of nutrients that will keep your ‘harvest high’ going all through dinner time.

It’s not too late to plant all the goodies mentioned in this ‘don’t panic patch’ blog or read about 5 things to do for your edibles.

 

By: Meredith Kirton