Aid Aid

As I'm sure you know, there are over 20,000 species of edible plants, but humans choose to restrict themselves to a small fraction of them. Only 20 species provide 90 per cent of human food. There is an apocalyptic strand of thinking that the burgeoning world population will lead to food shortages and escalating price of staples. Aside from the increasing cost of stationery, we will all be forced to get our food from whatever is available. It makes sense to research the options early, spread yourself more thinly and have a few unusual sources of nourishment up your sleeve. You'll then be the one turning away the hungry hordes from your door when the famine hits, rather than rooting around in the bins on Botley Road. To do my bit in this quest, I am pushing the plot boundary with a new series illustrating alternative or exotic crops that grow prodigiously - or otherwise - in the difficult north.

First up is the achocha. This grows like a cucumber but is much more fond of cooler climates it would seem, running rampant over the willow tower we stingily bring inside to use as a Christmas tree. The support has now buckled under a combination of the weight of the vine and our omnipresent wind - such potential effects on Christmas decorations need to be considered in the solution to the coming world food crisis. Its bite-sized fruit are the size of a quail's egg, if that is not too bourgeois a comparison. Its hairy features give it something of a human personality but, if you can bring yourself to eat it, it tastes somewhere between a cucumber and green pepper for use in salads, sandwiches, pizza topping etc. Coming to a soup kitchen near you soon.