In the chill of a December morning, I am in the back garden harvesting parsnips and herbs for our festive meals. The beds around me are filled with beetroot, kale, cabbages, leeks and other vegetables to see us through the winter months. Through the gate into the orchard, I can gather perennial kale from under the apple trees, and in the polytunnel there’s an abundance of winter salads, herbs, Asian leaves, brassicas and spring onions to gather.
Stored in our stone cottage there are squashes on shelves, sacks of potatoes under the stairs, jars of dehydrated tomatoes, bunches of dried herbs and bundles of garlic. In the freezer I’ve