Are you doing your bit?

Val looks at ways we can reduce our carbon footprint

- Val Bourne

I DO worry about how much the climate has warmed up in the past 20 years. Last November I was still picking dahlias – something I could never have imagined 20 years ago. I also worry about my carbon footprint, so I’m dedicating more space to growing my own because that’s one of the greenest things you can do. There are no air miles involved when it goes from plot to plate.

When you grow your own you eat seasonally, and I will be feasting on kale, cabbages, parsnips and leeks straight from the garden right up until March. My stored potatoes, winter squashes and borlotti beans are also winter warmers, and there are broad beans and sweetcorn in the freezer, plus bags of tomato passata. It’s the food I enjoy in cold weather and there’s no plastic packaging or fossil fuel involved. We are also eating our stored apples, although last year’s crop was meagre due to the freezing April of 2021.