While there is no work and we are on ‘lockdown’ in the UK (for us that means we should only leave the house a maximum of once a day for either essential shopping/medical reasons/exercise) I am keeping myself busy just like the rest of the British population.

Luckily I have a back garden here in the home I am renting. For years I have dreamed of having a small veggie patch again and now is the time to make that dream come true and create a small victory garden. I’m certainly fairly clueless, it’s been a long, long time since I’ve grown anything apart from a few herbs and I have a BIG JOB ahead of me!

It seems there are many people doing the same and we can all be clueless together and work for a common goal of growing food for our families from the tiniest of seeds and being more self-reliant. This possibly may even provide a guaranteed supply of food (if out of the cluelessness some of us find we are more green-fingered than we thought..) and save money on buying all our produce. Every penny literally does help right now for many of us and fresh, healthy vegetables and fruits are always good to have around.

Growing one’s own, surely is one of the most ancient of survival skills? 12,000 years ago our great ancestors, hunter-gatherers began to sow and harvest seeds they had previously been collecting for food, and started growing their own. It meant that communities began to form and settle, that growing grains such as wheat and barley, potatoes (8,000 BC in the Americas) and later on domesticating animals and other plants provided a guaranteed food source and people didn’t have to move all the time. Hunter-gatherers became farmers.

Thousands of years of small communities relying on homegrown food, makes me wonder if that seemingly innate gravitation towards growing our own, providing food safety, harvesting and storing is all part of our ancient genetic memory especially during times of upheaval and uncertainty.

While I hope that it won’t be too long until I find work again to pay for my rent and living expenses, I have to say, despite the horrid and devastating crisis we are sharing globally, I am finding peace, and fulfilment in these more simpler of times. Focusing on creating, growing, baking, reading and sharing and also being grateful for every single healthy day, has brought home to me the things that are really important.

Stay calm, stay safe, stay home, C xxxxx

PS: I’ve started off Kale, Beetroot and Tomatoes in seed trays. I’ll also be growing potatoes, courgettes, peppers, onions, maybe some carrots and several herb varieties. That’s the plan! I was gifted some raspberry canes so they have gone in and I really would like to get a couple of blackcurrant bushes if possible.