Last summer I had the pleasure of looking after my friend’s gardens, allotments and animals whilst they went away on holiday. As a result I got more than I bargained for.
I have always like the thought of being somewhat self-sufficient – well certainly when it comes to the food that I eat. I certainly got the taste (pardon the pun). One friend entrusted me to look after her cat Tori and not so cute pet snake Snowflake and her ‘girls’ Kowalski, Skipper and Private aka her chickens. If you haven’t guess yet, yes they are named after three of the penguins from Madagascar!! They produced the most wonderful fresh eggs everyday.
Then I looked after my friend’s garden complete with what I would call a ‘mini allotment’ adorned with raised beds and green house bursting with lettuce, tomatoes, courgettes, strawberries, cucumber, raspberries and blackberries. There was even an apple tree which I will indeed raid in the autumn.
Last but not least I took care of
another friend’s allotment – it was huge and watering massive amounts of produce with just a watering can was no mean feet! Not only did I get lots of exercise and fresh air not to mention time for contemplation, the produce that I harvested was absolutely amazing. Fresh peas eaten straight from the pods – so sweet and full of flavour, courgettes, lettuce, beans, parsley, beetroot, swiss card, potatoes, spring onions just to name a fair few.
I can honestly say my daughter and I eat very well over that four week period both abundant and nutritionally rich produce. Not relying on the supermarkets for fruit and veg that have been sprayed with only knows what and flown thousands of miles just to grace our plates was great.
Although I didn’t physically plant the seeds myself, there is something to be said about growing and ‘picking your own’. I found it satisfying knowing where my food was coming from. Above all knowing what love, care and attention that was given to those plants that had provided me and my daughter with such quality produce. I felt truly blessed and full of gratitude.