Monday, March 05, 2007

Spring 'holiday': the Hungry Gap

Temporary close-down: We've posted a notice in the Swallow House about closing down at the end of March. I'm posting the same notice here. I don't mean that we're closing down permanently; merely that our main stocks are running low which means production dwindles considerably at this time of year. We shall be re-opening at the end of July, never fear. We shall still have some veg like lettuce for those of you who want to keep in touch, by phone or email, to see what there is.

The Hungry Gap: This period from Spring to mid-Summer is usually known as the Hungry Gap. It refects the inevitable fact root crops are either exhausted or unusable whilst leafy crops like oriental greens 'bolt' to seed as the days lenthen. So it's a period of renewal in which we all busy ourselves cultivating the soil, sowing seeds and nursing new crops ready to start being harvested when we reopen. This is a period, incidentally, when we effectively work without pay. We cease to have income from you, our customers, because we have nothing to give you. Something to bear in mind if you think our stuff is expensive!