19th June 2023
To share a joy with you! Our semi wild garden has various fruiting plants -some years they do well and some years not, but this year is definitely the year of the strawberry! They are plants are grew on from runners a couple of years ago and this year they are producing lovely big fruit with very little slug damage. It is a joy to pick them and eat them and turn them into jam.
7th June 2022
Consuming less but enjoying more!
Consuming less can be eating locally organically grown food rather than imported, intensively produced food. Take strawberries: eaten out of season we are consuming not just the fruit but the extra carbon footprint of importing them – often as airfreight. Additionally we may be consuming excess quantities of water – strawberries grown in Spain are reliant on artificial irrigation which is draining natural aquifers and jeopardising river and wetland habitats. Strawberries are also a labour intensive crop often invoking seasonal workers who are often underpaid and/ or abused. As strawberries become an everyday rather than seasonal treat, so supermarkets put pressure on suppliers to reduce costs. Strawberries often come packed in single use plastic boxes and even though the plastic may recyclable, the punnets themselves are invariably made from virgin plastic.
Sustainable strawberries are a treat to be waited for and savoured – hold out for ones with flavour and aroma! If you have the opportunity, grow and pick your own!
The Green Tau 