Rooted - news from the garden

(photo by Vanessa Lewis)

"Swapping my lawn for leeks and lettuces has a lot to do with wanting to know as much as possible about what I am eating. It is, I suppose, my way of making a deeper connection with my food, a desire to know the whole story rather than just what it says on the label. More than anything, the move is about a desire for simplicity.(...)

I plant seeds because I get a buzz from watching green shoots poke through the soil, from looking after them as something precious and vital, protecting them from the piggeons and foxes and clumsy feet that roam the modern city garden, from feeding them and watching them bloom. Cooking with vegetables you have grown gives not only an extraordinary sense of completeness and a simplifying of the food chain, but also the chance to experience a profound respect for an ingredient - something we are unlikely to feel for an item picked up in a "two for the price of one" promotion in a supermarket. It helps us to understand our food and to appreciate its value, I might even suggest to develop a certain reverence.(...)"

(Nigel Slater, in Tender)

Na nossa mini horta crescem agora morangueiros, rebentos de cenouras, beterrabas, ervilhas tortas, rúcula, salsa, coentros, hortelã, menta e manjericão. Os tomateiros foram mudados para o exterior, à espera de terem tamanho suficiente para passarem para um vaso. As alfaces estão a crescer e os rabanetes também (por enquanto só a rama). A novidade este ano é que experimentei associar algumas culturas, para evitar pragas. Mais do que uma necessidade, uma terapia e um estilo de vida. E, com sorte e muito carinho, talvez tenhamos saladas frescas este Verão :)

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In our mini garden there are strawberries growing, as well as carrot shoots, beets, snow peas, rocket, parsley, coriander, mints and basil. Tomatoes were placed outside, waiting to be grown enough to be transplanted into a pot. Lettuce are growing well and radishes too (only the foliage, so far). The news this year is that I decided to associate some cultures, to prevent bugs. More than a necessity, it's a therapy, a lifestyle. And, with luck and much love, we might have some fresh salads this Summer :)