WHEN FOOD WAS SEASONAL

No fridge - just a safe on the slate slab in the dark, cool dairy. Bacon salted in wooden boxes and hams hanging from the hooks in the beams.

I am muttering about the days of no fridges nor freezers. The image below is of our first spring at The Nook. You can see the new path on the left and the cold frame - just completed. There appears to be one slightly raised bed and the grassed over mound of horse manure behind. The rest of the garden is grass.

Back to the subject D.

I grew up, mostly, on a Coniston Farm - it was nearer Torver but in Coniston Parish. Marrows came but once a year like tomatoes and things. Food was seasonal unless bottled, preserved or kept through the winter by various methods. Potatoes in sacks or like the carrots in clamps. You do not hear much about clamping on Gardener's World now but Percy Thrower knew all about it.

The apples were on wooden racks, none touching and regularly examined for rot. Kilner Jars stood in rows on shelves.

So what am I on about?

When such as marrows were once a year they were a treat and are remembered fondly - at least by me - none of the rest of the family like Marrow much. The strawberries and raspberries came fresh from the garden for such a short time - not frozen.

Food that was seasonal was special.

Here we have some of the stuff from the garden this year - I know it might not win prizes but it tastes good.

Some things still have a season in the garden if not in the supermarket. One classic example is asparagus.

Two years ago I planted and asparagus bed with 20 crowns.

Last year we had one meal.

This year we had about four but decided not to tax the bed too much because the spring was so dry.

Next year - get out the melted butter for six May and June weeks of succulent delight.

(Unless we have a mild wet winter in which case it will be a battle with the slugs again.)

Now go back and look at the empty garden at the top. Then look at this image 3 years on.

You can see the cold frame but the rest is a lush world of lilies, agapanthus and Japanese anemones. Trees are planted around the garden and, though you cannot see it on this picture, there are now 5 raised beds, a cultivated banking for the cucurbits (pumpkins and stuff) and a bed for black currants and raspberries.

All it takes is well rotted horse manure laced with a touch of backache - easy!?