This is…Zanna

Zanna is a fellow Zimbabwean, which means I’m always doubly delighted to see her. This week she came down to Clissold to help me out while Sophie is away. Studying sustainable development, her interest in working with us goes beyond the pure health benefits of getting away from her computer for the day…

Which sites do you go to?
Last year I was mostly at Springfield but this year I have been coming to Allens Gardens, which is only 10 minutes from where I live.

What do you particularly like about volunteering here?
I love being outside, spending time in a beautiful space near where I live, doing something productive and meeting local people. It makes me more rooted in the area, where before I had no connection to it, I was just a commuter. Also Ru (the head grower) is incredibly generous with his knowledge. I also love lunch time. All the different ages is a huge positive. Gardening at home is very solitary.

Is there anything you don’t like?
No  (we like that!)

Anything challenging?
Harvesting salsola! No, really, I like to do a different task each week, something I haven’t done before. And you get lots of support from people if you get stuck.

What do you do in the rest of your time?
I’m taking a part time masters in sustainable development, specialising in environmental management. I also work for an NGO that promotes social justice across Africa. Volunteering at Growing Communities I feel more aware of the food supply chain.

Volunteering since: February 2008

Salsola update

A couple of months has passed since I introduced you to the lovely salsola, so I thought I should give you an update on how my little crop is doing. It’s been a great experiment. A small bed, to be sure, but it’s been giving us about 500g of tender young leaves every week and causes great delight every time we tip them into the trough which we use to mix up the salad each week.

What I didn’t tell you last time, is that salsola is actually related to spinach. So if you get to eat a sprig, you’ll recognise the flavour! I pick the new growth each week. I found that it does particularly well under an environmesh cover, as changing it over to a netting (which we sometimes use just to keep the birds and other bigger animals off the bed) didn’t result in good weekly growth. So I’ve put the mesh back over it and it is much happier.

A tip if you are growing this fabulous crop at home: although as the plants have matured they have filled the bed out a bit, next time we grow it, we’ll sow the seeds closer together.

Super special salsola

Have you ever eaten samphire? It’s a plant well known to all good foragers out there, salty, succulent, delicious and, best of all, free.

Well, indulging in a little seed searching at the beginning of the year I came across salsola soda from The Real Seed Catalogue,* described as ‘a beautiful ‘candelabra’ shape and crisp, crunchy thin leaves.’ I just had to grow it. And making the case for its similarity to the wild samphire, and Ru’s own love for that, it was an easy step to persuading him that we should try our hand at cultivating it for our salad bags. So I’m trialling it at my Clissold site, admittedly in the smallest bed we have but still, we’re giving it a go.

Perhaps I’m writing this blog just a little late for those of you out there who might want to try it, as The Real Seed Catalogue is out of stock of the seeds until December but, just in case you are a member of our box scheme, that’s what those unusual leaves in your salad bags are. I sowed the seeds directly into the soil, as per the instructions on the packet, and sowed a tray at home too, just to keep an eye on their progress.

Having not planted them before, I gave the seeds our usual salad spacing to be safe, a trowel’s length between the plants and 20 cm between the rows, so that you can easily hoe out any weeds. The directly sown seeds grew much quicker than my home sown tray but it was good to know what they looked like as they poked up a spindly shoot and then developed their ‘leaves’. As the shoot grows it separates into many ‘pieces’ – the candelabra description is just perfect, take a look…

This week Ru and I discussed when would be best to harvest it. It was only later when I was weeding the bed, that I realised that they were ready to be picked. So I tried a technique of pinching out the inner tips to get a lovely little sprig. A small, exploratory harvest, to be sure, but one that gleaned great delight from Ru and the other apprentices when I arrived at Springfield, bearing my special leaves.

If you’re lucky enough to get some in your bag over the coming weeks, enjoy!

* The Real Seed Catalogue is an excellent source of vegetable seeds. Every keen gardener I have spoken to speaks of them with almost a reverent awe, as though they are their own secret supplier of all vegetables wonderful and unique. They are not strictly organic but many are heirloom varieties, grown for good taste and variety. The seeds come packaged with what feels like personal instructions to ensure that you get success with your sowings. And they encourage you to save your seeds, which is a far cry from most other seed companies who want you coming back for more, year after year. At the end of the day, you just know they are the real thing! Justifiable promotion ends…