It would be easy to think that little or no food crops grow in Winter, but far from it – some crops positively thrive in cold weather and taste all the more sweeter after a cold snap.  Parsnips immediately spring to mind here and there are some really hardy varieties of cabbage that withstand winter, such as Cavolo Nero, which we’ve just planted in our polytunnel.  Healthy, well cared-for soil will protect those species still in the earth, including onions, carrots, leeks and beetroot.   The Winter season provides all the ingredients you need for a really warming stew or casserole, which can be done with little or no effort to create something affordable, tasty and nourishing.  So here’s an overview (with a few cooking suggestions) of what we’ll be sending out over the next few months:

• Leeks
• Kale (extremely hardy, available throughout the winter – have you tried making kale crisps?)
• Parsnips (curried parsnip soup is an LCMG Stroud favourite!)
• Onions
• Carrots
• Potatoes
• Beetroot:  if you’ve never tried it, we can recommend golden beetroot; slightly lighter and sweeter than its more dramatic, earthy dark red cousin, both are available in winter (we grow a lovely late-harvest variety and also have stored beetroot).
• Chard and perpetual spinach

Some areas of our field will be left to rest over the winter – we rotate our rows to ensure the soil nutrients are not over-used or become depleted, so there will be patches left under cover to keep the weeds down, ready for planting in Spring.

Whatever you make from your veg. box, enjoy – there’s so much that can be created from these simple, yet amazing ingredients to suit your own taste and preference.  We show our thanks to the earth by looking after it, in the most nurturing and effective ways we can and respecting the seasons and we think Winter is just as wonderful, as any other.   Any dishes you’d like to suggest? We’d love to hear from you – just get in touch at: info@lcmgstroud.co.uk