Shot in the Dark

It's February to April when one's true skills as a grower are laid bare. Before the green shoots of spring are ready and after the stores of winter roots have dwindled (or, in the case of my pumpkins in the garage, frozen and rotted to a pulp), there are some things that just carry on regardless. Chicory, for instance. Not something that makes much of an appearance in your typical British diet but the Italians devote whole seed racks to different varieties. A little bitter in its natural form, in the dark it produces blanched bullets called chicons. Mine have been wintering in the coal shed and I thought they'd now be ready to perhaps add some to my sandwiches. Well, they're not what you'd call bullets. These were the leftovers from a sowing of mixed Italian salad leaves so perhaps not the right varieties and I guess it wasn't quite warm enough to bring them on. A case of counting my chicons, you could say. Well, microveg is all the rage at the minute. While we're on the subject of hardy souls, two of the early spring staples cavolo nero and purple sprouting broccoli have been wiped out – I am not sure if it was the cold or the deer that did the most damage. Leeks and curly kale were fine, I just didnt plant enough of them or early enough. Chard, perpetual spinach and lettuce 'Winter Density' look ready to come on but, again, went in too late for winter pickings. Lessons learnt. On a brighter note, with temperatures forecast to break 13 degress this week, I took a look at my tender artichoke crowns beneath their multi-layered duvet of wood chip, bracken and fir branches. Well I never, they're alive! Looking forward to buttered chokes on toast in May. But I could be just counting my chicons again.