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A sack of fivers

8th February

The finger is healing nicely, we had a day and a half of sunshine on Friday and Saturday, and most of my Tomato seeds have germinated, so what is there to complain about? Ok, it would be good if the mud on the track up to the shed would dry up, that the sun would shine every day for the next few weeks, and that I could happen upon a big sack of £5 notes, but life isn’t like that is it?

It’s more or less the same old stuff from the mud patch this week. I have a limited number of smallish January King cabbages to cut, for sale at the knockdown price of £0.90 each. There will be some Savoy cabbage too, and curly Kale again – you know, the stuff that feels like it must be doing you some good when you eat it. The spring cabbages in the polytunnel are coming along well, which is a surprise given the low temperatures and poor light levels, so hopefully they will fill the gap when other greens are thin on the ground in a month or so. The purple sprouting broccoli on the other hand is looking pretty sad, and is really not moving at all. The list is becoming quite short; chilli peppers and squash made their exit last week. However, with a little more fine weather there should be some Mizuna soon; I am already putting some in the herby salad bags. I have included baby Leeks this week for all you gastronomes, and don’t forget Jerusalem Artichokes for that romantic Valentine’s day supper.

A small batch of fruit trees is due to be delivered this week, and one of the first things that I will do to them is cut them down to about 18 inches! It is what you have to do if you want to formally train them, and as my plan is to espalier them against a wall they have a severe pruning to look forward to. What this means is that there will be little to see for a couple of years, but it is an important step in the long-term strategy to somewhat restore the garden to its former splendour (as as far as one can with limited resources). I have selected East Anglian varieties from the extensive list provided by the East of England Apples and Orchards Project – see www.applesandorchards.org.uk

So Jonny Dankworth has departed, and joins Humph in the great jazz club in the sky.....nice. In the previous week, JD Salinger, author of one of my favourite books also died. When I first read ‘Catcher in the rye’ in my teens I almost believed that Holden Caulfield was me; so closely could I identify with his angst. An interesting quotation from early in the book is, “What really knocks me out is a book, when you're all done reading it, you wished the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.” This is filled with irony given the reclusive life that Salinger lived, spurning all publicity and contact with fans right to the end of his life.

I’m not sure if it’s just at Langham or if it’s more general than that, but in previous years the Aconites and Snowdrops have been magnificent in the wooded areas around the Hall, but this year they have bloomed almost apologetically. I hope that normal service is resumed next year.

Please remember to return your boxes if you can; the latest batch have gone up to nearly £0.50 each, so I would like to reuse them a few times if possible.

Phil

Langham Hall, Langham
Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk, IP31 3EE
07772 457063
phil@langhamherbs.co.uk