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I MET A guy who told me a story about the power of food growing to create an understanding in children about nutritious food and sustainable living (or food “empathy” as we’re fond of calling it in GIY).
His children sowed sunflower seeds in planting cups in school, and then brought them home where they were planted down the end of the garden, against a south-facing wall.
In this high-tech age, he’s been astonished by the interest the children have shown in their sunflowers – there are daily trips to the end of the garden to measure progress, which with sunflowers is a satisfying thing indeed since they grow so rapidly (and up to 10ft tall eventually).
Then a miraculous thing happens – the plants produce enormous, beautiful sunflowers. The sunflower is one of the most animated, optimistic and downright cheery flowers you can have in your garden – the flower literally follows the sun across the horizon by day, only to turn back and face east by sunrise.
Sunflower seeds
A joy to behold, but also the starting point in the sunflower’s demise –the flower eventually bows down and looks rather sad as it starts to die. But there’s time for one more miracle in which the dying plant suddenly becomes useful from a food perspective – the seeds in the flower head can be harvested for food.
So from this strange plant, you get an unlikely abundance of seeds that can be nibbled on (wonderfully nutty) or sprinkled in to yoghurt or on top of porridge.
If this direct connection between the act of sowing a seed and the act of food-consumption wasn’t eye-opening enough for his kids, consider what happened next. It occurred to them that the seeds they were about to eat looked the very same as the seeds sown in soil months back. And so, a light bulb moment occurred, where the full food lifecycle from seed to plant, plant to flower, flower to food, food to seed – was laid out before them.
Food empathy is a deeper understanding of seasonality and the life cycle of “growth-decay- growth” which is so central to life on this planet.
The Basics – Onions
Generally speaking onions are ready when the tops of the plants fall over. An old trick was to bend the stems yourself, but this is now frowned upon. Many GIYers then loosen the soil around the bulb with a fork to accelerate bulb ripening and allow them some more space to swell – a suggestion I once received was to turn the onion very gently and very slightly in the soil, which presumably achieves the same thing.
A week or so after the stems have bent over, the leaves will wither and yellow. Lift the onions and shake off the soil. If the weather is dry, place them on a wire rack outside to dry. If rain is forecast, keep them on a rack in the greenhouse or tunnel. Leave for 10 days to dry out or until the skin is paper thin.
The presence of moisture in the onions is what causes them to rot in storage so make sure all the moisture is gone from them (particularly in the neck) before you store. Store in net bags or make a braid by twisting the onion tops around some wire. Store somewhere cool and dry. Remove any shoots that form over the winter.
Incidentally, summer onions can be used as required (fresh) straight out of the ground while you wait on the rest of the crop to ripen. In other words you don’t have to dry them out before using – the drying process is only to enable storage.
Recipe of the Week – Sugarsnap Peas with Shallots and Thyme
This week we’ve been enjoying the first of our sugarsnap peas. Sugarsnap peas are like a hybrid between mangetout and regular peas – you can eat the delicious pods before they form peas, but leave them alone (if you can) and they will go on to produce lovely peas.
Ingredients
Preheat the oven to 230 degrees C. Spread sugar snap peas in a single layer on a medium baking sheet, and brush with olive oil.
Sprinkle with shallots, thyme, and season with plenty of rock salt and freshly ground pepper. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes in the preheated oven, until tender but firm.
Michael Kelly is founder of GIY and GROW HQ.
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The pressure of exams is not nice. Peer pressure is awful in this country too. If you are poorest in a countryside school that doesn’t have deis status and your parents can’t afford the school “voluntary” contribution who could be literally embarrassed to death for the money by teachers nevermind fellow bullying students.
Thanks to the lack of education and awarness, our little country is in the stone age when it comes to the myriad of mental health issues. Much like we were for those with special needs back in the 80s. There seems to be an attitude of, unless you have a problem that is physically visable or can be diagnosed, then anything else is your own problem. Addiction is rife in this country, alcohol, drugs both prescription and non, gambling, sex and the list goes on. Depression, anxiety, as well as other more specific mental issues. The reality..Unless you are strong willed or have funds for private help, you have a good chance of ending up in a morgue. This is the sad truth. To those suffering in silence ending up there is NOT the best option. What you are going through will pass, this is certain.
@Jim: Jim you are pretty much talking out of your hat, if may say so.
@Nick Drake: Be a tad more specific Nick. Your comment lacks any sort of counter suggestion.
@Nick Drake: and while you are at it, can you tell me how long the public waiting list is for any individual seeking a mental health professional? Where is their first port of call? You do realise that mental health issues arent cured with a chat and a cup of tea…They require the correct professional, competent in the individuals needs…So lets say i am an alcoholic that also suffers with severe depression. I am working part time….where will i go Nick…the clock is ticking? You my friend are the one talking out of your hat. Where as I see the nett results of this scenario every day.
Very sad ,hard topic,as a father,i can see ,today’s teens,are under awful pressure,from peers,us parents,and society,as a whole,social media most of all
This country needs a kick in the ass when it comes to mental health. Just because you can’t see a physical injury doesn’t mean that the person isn’t suffering. Not been able to understand or talk about how you are feeling is crippling and to have text book people patronising you is so damaging. When you feel so down and alone in the blackness of your mind all you need is for someone to understand what is going on for you, “I know I’ve been there and still struggle every minute of every day ” there are more suicide’s than there are road deaths and yet all the media keep pushing it in your face! For all the families out there that have been affected by suicide don’t feel ashamed or blame yourself it wasn’t you’re fault at all!
@Linda Hughes: good points boy,but I think we’re getting there,albeit,snail slow,wouldn’t/couldn’t discuss this on an open forum like this a few years back
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