Planning for the hungry gap

So.  Hungry gap and self reliance.  How is it going now, ten years into my blog, and eight years into my allotment?

Recall the hungry gap is when the winter stores have run out but the new season harvests haven't begun.  I first wrote about it in 2018 and have touched on it a few times since.  Is the hungry gap a thing any more?  It was for generations past, certainly.  For us?  Well, I have more storage options than just a root cellar and some pickle crocks;  here's what I still have in my stores, of which most but not all is from 2025-2026:  

• One large squash
• Several large bags of frozen tomatoes, leeks, squash puree, broccoli greens, and a few small bags of various berries
• Many jars of dehydrated cabbage, parsnip, swede, zuc, carrot, tomatoes, and quite a few small jars of dried figs
• Several jars of beets pickled in vinegar
• Several litres of kimchi and sauerkraut (mainly shredded kohlrabi/turnip/beet combination)  
• A few jars each of apples and plums
• A couple gallons of fruit wine 
• A basket of unshelled almonds 

Now eating fresh:

• Purple sprouting broccoli and greens (close to finishing)
• Lettuce
• Herbs:  rosemary, sage, parsley, mint, chives
• Chard 

Taken together we still have a good variety of veg to eat until summer production begins, but if we were relying on fresh only, our meals would be very limited.  Having grown so much last year meant I could put away a significant portion into my storage, intended for just this time:  the hungry gap. 

Preserving, July 2023

It's begun!  I dusted off the dehydrator and have kicked off this year's preservation bonanza with zucchini and kohl rabi.  I really love having jars of dried vegetables for adding to stews and such:  it's so handy.  I'll probably focus on dehydration as my main preservation method this year.

However, I've also started harvesting my little pickling cucumbers;  it's been several years since I've successfully grown more than just a couple, and I've got my fingers crossed they'll continue.  Some of the cucs are kind of bitter;  an internet search suggests either growing conditions or pollination to be the culprit, and picking off male flowers is meant to be a solution to the second.  However, I'm not 100% sure I'll get any cucumbers at all if I do this (not all varieties can produce without pollination);  I've started a small batch of brined pickles instead.  Soaking them in salt usually works to draw out the bitterness, which is exactly what brined pickles are.  Wish me luck.

I've got lots and lots of blackcurrants ready now, but am somewhat at a loss of how to preserve them.  We are mainly a low carb family so I rarely make sweet things like jam;  that said, I do make a small batch every few years, so maybe it's due again--we don't have any jam in the cupboard at present.  Last year I made raspberry wine from that enormous glut so I suppose it could be an option for the blackcurrants too (though I must admit the rasp wine didn't turn out particularly nice).

And I made my first cut of chamomile to dry for tea.  It's very fragrant--though not particularly nice tasting--but it does really work to help me sleep when I drink it.  I use the leaves, stems and flowers and simply air dry them on a tray in my kitchen.  I was surprised to see it growing this spring, not having sown any;  I was under the impression it was an annual although perhaps it self seeded (last year's plants were very puny and I only got one small jar off them).  Long may it continue.

At the allotment, July 2023

A tangle of new garlic, June 2023

The husband was in charge of digging up the garlic harvest at the allotment last month;  I spread it on a wicker panel on the patio to cure for a few weeks, then into a couple of large plastic trays in the garage to finish off (it kept getting rained on).  Last year I tied my garlic into bundles by their long stems and hung them from the garage rafters, but I might go back to my old way of storing them:  trimmed of their stems, in a kitchen cupboard.  The last of the hanging bulbs went moldy before we used them--if I look at them more often I can hopefully discover any problems earlier.

The daughter (aged 3) helped me pick all the broad beans, and even helped me shell them.  Although the bed was very weedy they were still productive;  most of the seeds sprouted into several stems, each bearing several pods.  Some pods were massive with up to 8 beans;  most were a more modest 4-6.  The son is helping me gradually sheet mulch over this bed.

A regular producer, we have been picking 6-8 artichokes most days.  Rather than picking a big batch all at once, I'm finding the small but steady approach more manageable.  They are kind of time consuming to process: I cook them whole for several hours in the slow cooker, then once cooled I'll peel the outer petals and choke to reveal the heart.  For such a huge plant--they're all about 2 m tall--the resulting harvest is pretty puny:  those 6-8 hearts typically weigh in at around 1.5 oz.  Not each mind you, but total.  Is it worth the space and effort?  For now, I suppose so;  they're a perennial and therefore free.

Another perennial producer is the raspberries;  last year they overwhelmed us.  This year they are fewer though bigger (pretty small last year).  Actually it feels like a good amount this year:  not too many, not too few.  I made a batch of wine with them last year which has turned out very sour;  however I also made a batch of too-sweet redcurrant wine.  Half and half in a glass with ice they are a perfect match.

The chickens and ducks (4 and 2 each) are also in residence, probably for the rest of the summer, though none is very happy with the arrangement.  However, we're getting 1-2 eggs a day, both chicken and duck.  I try to give them something green and fresh every day when I visit, which is all too easy to procure in our still weedy allotment;  I wish I could let them free range a bit, but we still have no fencing.  It's on the list.

Christmas break 2021

For Christmas dinner this year we are going to celebrate with some homegrown food, and since we are only catering for ourselves (unlike Thanksgiving), alongside our festive local turkey we have planned:

Broad beans (frozen earlier in the year), fresh leeks and Brussels sprouts from the allotment and chard from the garden;

Stollen bread made with fresh almond paste; Christmas pudding made with dried apples and figs and our own hen's eggs;

Gravy made with duck stock and garlic;

Homebrewed wine

I will be back in January with food totals for December and grand food totals for 2021.  Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving 2021

First snow of the season, 28/11/21

The son, age 11, took the above photo of a surprise snow shower at the weekend;  it's the view from our sliding glass door.  At last it has become cold enough to kill the nasturtiums--they are slumped across the path at the right foreground.

We had an alteration of our normal Thanksgiving plans as our American friend had to work late on the day itself;  instead of holding the usual potluck, we had one dinner at theirs on Sunday which they catered, and a feast at ours on the day itself which we catered--and to make up for the missing friend, we invited some neighbors to join us and his family.  So we cooked for 10 people in total, four adults and six children aged between one and 13 (I say we, but the husband actually did nearly all the cooking).

And what was homegrown this year?  Sadly not a lot!  Though I was pleased that all the veg was grown locally, either by ourselves or at a local small farm.  We grew and served:

The best gravy I've ever made with garlic, duck stock and a bit of cider vinegar

Pumpkin pie with our own eggs (which I had saved specially earlier in the month, as our hens have all stopped laying now).

Homebrewed elderberry/blackberry wine and elderflower wine

---

It doesn't sound like a homegrown feast!  But it was a locally grown feast:  we had lots of vegetables including potatoes from the farm stand (and also the pumpkin for the pie), a big piece of ham from the local butcher, a strawberry rhubarb pie (berries we'd picked ourselves in the summer and rhubarb from a neighbor).  The only main ingredient we couldn't get from a local producer was the turkey itself.  At Christmas our butcher orders them from a nearby farm but before then, turkeys can only be got frozen from the supermarket.

Harvesting, preserving, eating July 2021

Mainly chard (and weeds), but also some carrots in the left foreground, July 2021

I've been using my wall calendar to tally up daily totals of garden food and this month, July 2021, has seen every day filled up--for those days with other appointments my writing has become very small to fit everything.  We've done a daily trek to the allotment for berries, first strawberries and now rasps; first broad beans and now peas.  I think the raspberries and peas are finally both slowing down a little.

Cherries, raspberries, redcurrants (and strawberries below) July 2021

So many berries this month!  We have eaten some fresh and made plenty of jam, but many have gone in the freezer as we simply can't keep up.  I even started a jug of redcurrant wine;  I anticipate it will be brewing all over winter.  It's the first time I've attempted it.

Also on the menu is plenty of leafy greens: we're daily alternating between cabbage and chard this month.  The globe artichokes at the allotment have suddenly taken off and I've been trying to keep on top of them too;  I brine the hearts after cooking and they go great in a salad.  Other allotment winners:  garlic and rhubarb.  We even got a little bit of tasty lettuce before the pigeons found it.  And those peas have just kept coming and coming:  we've been eating them daily and thankfully no one's sick of them yet.

And I've scored some free food from other allotmenters again this summer, though perhaps not as much as in the past;  maybe they think I've been there long enough to be growing enough myself!  But a couple of cucumbers were made into dill pickle relish (with our own garlic and dill), gooseberries became jam, and redcurrants joined my own in the wine jug.

Elderflower wine, 2021

Just harvested, June 2021

The elders are flowering, including those in my garden.  I have several small ones, all seeded by birds and frankly unwelcome;  I call them weed trees.  However, I also lack the time and motivation to cut them all down (again) and so I will make use of the flowers instead.  And I will probably make use of the berries later too, whether as chicken feed or home brew.  And then maybe in winter I or the husband will get around to chopping them down (again).

To make elderflower wine I picked about 32 flowerheads and gently rubbed the flowers off the stems into a container;  my recipe calls for 500 mL of flowers to 4 L water, and I'd decided to make 8 L--despite not quite having 1 L of flowers.  I also have run out of wine making yeast, so just used regular bread yeast.  I'm sure it'll be fine.  

The brew (including flowers, water, sugar, yeast, lemon juice and a mug of strong tea) is fermenting nicely in my stock pot, there to remain for two weeks before straining into demijohns to continue for another few months before we start drinking--it's best cracked into straight away, and makes a light, refreshing drink.

On a side note, we checked 2020's elderberry/blackberry wine just two weeks ago, to see if it was ready for bottling, but it's still showing signs of fermentation.  Hope to start drinking that by autumn.

And for your viewing pleasure, a gratuitous photo of Cookie and the Peep, who are both now the same height;  Peep is just about 3 weeks old.  We're hoping she's a girl, and will continue referring to her as such (right up to the time we eat him).

Cookie and Peep, June 2021

Food security and the garden, 2021

Food security is an important topic for me.  I have mentioned before that I have tried to build up a supply of food storage over many years;  much of this is storebought food in jars and tins.  However, I added to it over 2020 with more preserved garden food than ever before.  I hope to continue in 2021, by planting extras specifically for preserving (this was the plan for 2020, but life got in the way).

I have three cupboard shelves in my kitchen dedicated to dried and bottled garden foods; there's a couple of big jars of sauerkraut in the fridge; plus some garlic, squash and pumpkin in the dry store.  There are bags of berries in the freezer as well as applesauce and pumpkin puree.  There are bottles of cider and hedgerow wine, and two new demijohns of it bubbling away still.  If it was all we had to eat it would last us maybe a few weeks, but added to meals it should last us till May or June--the end of the hungry gap.

This year in particular I want plenty of extra runner beans and French beans both frozen and dried.  Dried peas.  Stacks of onions, garlic, squashes and pumpkins.  Dried and bottled fruits: cherries, plums, figs, apples.  Frozen berries.  Plum cider, apple cider.  Lots of root veg:  I had almost no root veg in 2020 and I definitely need to change this.  Pickled zucchini, dried zucchini: lots of it.  Dried everything, really.  Cabbages for sauerkraut, for freezing, for drying (this is one thing I managed last year).  Tomatoes for salsa, either green or red.

I have space at the allotment to make this happen, provided the slugs don't overwhelm me.  I'll be filling up the beds at home too;  this is the year to start producing some real calories and get them into my pantry. 

Food Totals February 2020

Vegetables:

4 oz Brussels sprouts
9 oz red cabbage

Total: 13 oz

Note:  I weigh my vegetables after preparation:  peeling, trimming, etc.  Does not include some fresh herbs which were too small a quantity to weigh, i.e. less than 0.5 oz.

Fruit:

No fruit harvested this month

Eggs:

Total: 344 eggs from 14 hens and 2 ducks
Total feed bought: 1 bag layers pellets (20 kg), 1 bag mixed corn (20 kg)

Preserves:

No preserves made this month

Homebrew:

1 L cider vinegar begun fermenting (from the last of the wild harvested apples)
1 L cider vinegar still fermenting

Food Totals January 2020

Vegetables:

5 oz Brussels sprouts

Total: 5 oz

Note:  I weigh my vegetables after preparation:  peeling, trimming, etc.  Does not include some fresh herbs which were too small a quantity to weigh, i.e. less than 0.5 oz.

Fruit:

No fruit harvested this month

Eggs:

Total: 127 eggs from 14 hens and 2 ducks (juvenile hens began laying this month)
Total feed bought: 1 bag layers pellets (20 kg), 1 bag mixed corn (20 kg)

Preserves:

No preserves made this month

Homebrew:

4 L cider vinegar bottled up
1 L cider vinegar begun fermenting (from wild harvested apples)

Food Totals, November 2019

Vegetables:

111.5 oz potatoes
144.5 oz pumpkins
5.5 oz celery
17.5 oz chard

Total: 278.5 oz, or 17 lb 6.5 oz

Note:  I weigh all my vegetables after preparation:  peeling, trimming, etc.  Does not include some fresh herbs which were too small a quantity to weigh, i.e. less than 0.5 oz.

Fruit:

No fruit harvested this month

Eggs:

Total: 7 eggs from 11 hens and 2 ducks (one rescue hen died this month)
Total feed bought: 2 bags layers pellets (40 kg), 1 bag mixed corn (20 kg)

Preserves:

4 medium jars mixed berry jam from own frozen berries (blackcurrant, redcurrant, raspberry)
10 medium jars dried apple chips (from wild harvested apples)

Homebrew:

6 L cider vinegar bottled up (from wild harvested apples)
4 L cider vinegar still fermenting

Food totals, October 2019

Vegetables:

33 oz cherry tomatoes
29.5 oz chard
20.5 oz runner beans
89 oz potatoes (incomplete)
7.5 oz zuccini
4.5 oz celery
15.5. oz cabbage
10 oz achocha

Total: 209.5 oz, or 13 lb 1.5 oz
Note:  I weigh all my vegetables after preparation:  peeling, trimming, etc.  Does not include some fresh herbs which were too small a quantity to weigh, i.e. less than 0.5 oz.

Fruit:

175 almonds
17 yellow raspberries

Eggs:

Total: 74 eggs from 12 hens and 2 ducks
Total feed bought: 2 bags layers pellets (40 kg), 2 bags mixed corn (40 kg)

Preserves:

10 medium jars dehydrated apples (wild harvested)
2 medium jars dehydrated carrots (bought carrots)
2 medium jars dehydrated parsnips (bought parsnips)

Homebrew:

10 L apple cider vinegar begun (from wild harvested apples)
1 L apple cider vinegar still fermenting

Food Totals September 2019

The view from the kitchen sink, September 2019

Vegetables:

156 oz potatoes
15.5 oz cabbage
78.5 oz runner beans
93.5 oz cherry tomatoes
33 oz spring onions
8 oz Aztec broccoli
74 oz tomatoes
5.5 oz French beans
13.5 oz chard
2 oz celery
0.5 oz chili pepper
14.5 oz zuccini

Total: 494.5 oz or 30 lb 14.5 oz

Note:  I weigh all my vegetables after preparation:  peeling, trimming, etc.  Does not include some fresh herbs which were too small a quantity to weigh, i.e. less than 0.5 oz.

Fruit:

21 oz figs
17 yellow raspberries
182 plums

Eggs:

Total: 106 eggs from 12 hens and 2 ducks
Total feed bought: 1 bag layers pellets (20 kg), 2 bags mixed corn (40 kg), 3 bags growers pellets (15 kg)

Preserves:

1/2 medium jar dehydrated cherry tomatoes
3/4 medium jar dehydrated figs
2 medium jars dehydrated plums

Homebrew:

1 L apple cider vinegar begun (from wild harvested apples)

Food Totals August 2019

Three runner bean plants up a cane (it blew down a week ago) Aug 2019

Vegetables:

19.5 oz French beans
8 oz spring onion
128 oz potatoes
70.5 oz zuccini
14.5 oz beets
24.5 oz cherry tomatoes
4 oz regular tomatoes
22 oz runner beans
40 oz chard

Total: 331 oz, or 20 lb 11 oz

Note:  I weigh all my vegetables after preparation:  peeling, trimming, etc.  Does not include some fresh herbs which were too small a quantity to weigh, i.e. less than 0.5 oz.

Fruit:

26 oz figs
43 yellow raspberries

Eggs:

Total: 147 eggs from 12 hens and 2 ducks
Total feed bought: 1 bag layers pellets (20 kg), 2 bags mixed corn (40 kg), 1 bag growers pellets (5 kg)

Preserves:

1 medium jar dehydrated beets (from gift beetroot)
1/2 medium jar dehydrated cherry tomatoes
1/4 medium jar dehydrated figs

Homebrew:

Elderberry/blackberry wine bottled up (4 L)
Cider bottled up (16 L)

Surviving the hungry gap

As you know, I started the Vegetable Challenge pretty early this year, at the beginning of April and the hungry gap.  The hungry gap is when the winter veg and stores are running out but the new season crops aren't yet producing:  a problematic time to be focusing on self reliance.  We have food restrictions here in this house, and trying to achieve the Vegetable Challenge on top of that is, well, challenging.

We eat low carb, which mainly means we get our carbohydrates from vegetable/fruit sources.  It's helpful to get a good portion of our calories from them too, as they are cheaper than meat/dairy/etc.  During the last few summers/autumns it has been fairly straightforward to produce plenty of calories from the garden (though to be fair, overall it's not been the majority of our calories).  On the other hand, trying to do so during the hungry gap this spring has been difficult.

All of the recent fresh veg have been good, and very welcome, but mainly they aren't very filling.  If we had to survive off our own produce alone right now, we'd be pretty hungry.  Daily we've had enough eggs and greens for breakfast and a salad, some celery to flavor a stew, plus small harvests of purple sprouting broccoli and leeks to add interest once or twice a week.  My stores are down to the last jar of salsa and a small jar each of plum jam and apple jelly.  We still have plenty of cider though, so even if we were starving, at least we'd be happy.

I hope we are soon to ease out of the hungry gap with the start of the broad beans and peas;  I'm so looking forward to something a bit more substantial than all these leafy greens.

Food Totals April 2019

Chard (leaves and stems) salad, Apr 2019

Vegetables:

124.5 oz chard
7 oz Savoy cabbage
16 oz salad greens (baby chard, miners lettuce, mizuna, spring onion)
61.5 oz celery
34.5 oz purple sprouting broccoli
17 oz kohlrabi (stem and leaves)
7 oz leeks
0.5 oz radish

Total: 265 oz, or 16 lb 9 oz

Note:  I weigh all my vegetables after preparation:  peeling, trimming, etc.  Does not include some fresh herbs which were too small a quantity to weigh, i.e. less than 0.5 oz.

Fruit:

No fruit harvested this month

Eggs:

Total: 204 eggs from 12 hens
Total feed bought: 2 bag layers pellets (40 kg), 1 bag mixed seed (12 kg)

Preserves:

2 medium jars dehydrated celery (stems and leaves)
1 small jar dried thyme

Homebrew:

Elderberry/blackberry wine still fermenting
Cider still fermenting

Food Totals February 2019

Only a few more sprouts left, Feb 2019

Vegetables:

2 oz Brussels sprouts
3.5 oz celery
2 oz mizuna
2.5 oz salad greens (miners lettuce, arugula, baby chard)

Total: 10 oz

Note:  I weigh all my vegetables after preparation:  peeling, trimming, etc.  Does not include some fresh herbs which were too small a quantity to weigh, i.e. less than 0.5 oz.

Fruit:

No fruit harvested this month

Eggs:

Total: 102 eggs from 12 hens
Total feed bought: 1 bag layers pellets (20 kg)

Preserves:

750 mL thyme vinegar (bought vinegar, own thyme)

Homebrew:

Elderberry/blackberry wine still fermenting
Cider still fermenting
4 L cider vinegar bottled up

January 2019 Food Totals

Vegetables:

10.5 oz celery
1.5 oz salad greens
6 oz Brussels sprouts
4 oz tomatoes!

Total: 22 oz, or 1 lb 6 oz

Note:  I weigh all my vegetables after preparation:  peeling, trimming, etc.  Does not include some fresh herbs which were too small a quantity to weigh, i.e. less than 0.5 oz.

Fruit: 

No fruit harvested this month

Eggs:

Total: 43 eggs from 6 hens
Total feed bought: no feed bought this month

Preserves:

1 large jar fermented carrots (bought carrots, own dill seed and garlic)

Homebrew:

Elderberry/blackberry wine still fermenting

Cider still fermenting

Cider vinegar still fermenting

Christmas dinner 2018

Christmas dinner 2018 not only featured my own grown vegetables, homebrew and eggs, but fruit and nuts too!

For breakfast I served a loaf of stollen bread: the husband and I spent half an hour cracking the almonds I'd harvested off my tree (back in October) on the Saturday before Christmas, then I soaked them overnight and ground them into paste the next day, adding a little icing sugar and egg white. This was rolled into a log and the stollen dough folded around it before baking. It was wonderfully almondy.

We bought quite a lot of veg from the shop as it was cheap cheap cheap (I actually bought loads and froze, dried, and brined the extra), but we didn't neglect our own veg either. We had fresh garden Brussels sprouts, and the last big green squash, as well as our own garlic in the gravy. They were lovely and I even ended up freezing half the squash puree afterwards, as there were too many leftovers to fit in the fridge!

Alongside our dinner I served a bottle of blackberry and elderberry fizzy wine which was started in September 2018. I'd picked the berries wild at the local country park and started the main (non fizzy) batch but had a little leftover after filling the demi-john; I put this into a wine bottle, capped it tightly, and let it sit in the cupboard to ferment and go fizzy. It wasn't volcanic, but it was pleasantly refreshing and as the husband didn't much care for it, I drank most of it to myself. We also cracked open a bottle of 2017's cider to be extra merry.

For dessert, later on in the afternoon, I served my Christmas pudding. I made it very soon after Thanksgiving, and it had been maturing in the fridge since. In it was the last of our own eggs (we had to buy eggs for Christmas breakfast as none were laid for weeks) and the blackcurrant harvest, saved in the freezer since summer. Although I'd never tried making Christmas pudding with frozen berries before (it also contained the usual dried raisins and currants, both bought), the result was delicious.

December 2018 Food Totals

Vegetables:

21.5 oz chard
2 oz salad greens
13 oz celery
4 oz chili pepper
3.5 oz tomatoes!
1 oz bean sprouts
6 oz Brussels sprouts



Total: 51 oz, or 3 lb 3 oz

Note:  I weigh all my vegetables after preparation:  peeling, trimming, etc.  Does not include some fresh herbs which were too small a quantity to weigh, i.e. less than 0.5 oz.

Fruit: 

No fruit harvested this month

Eggs:

Total: 9 eggs from 5 hens
Total feed bought: 2 bags mixed poultry corn (40 kg)

Preserves:

4 medium jars dehydrated carrots (bought carrots)
1 large jar fermented carrots (own garlic and dill seed, bought carrots)
4 large jars sauerkraut (bought cabbage)

Homebrew:  

Bottled up 4 L cider vinegar

Elderberry/blackberry wine still fermenting

Cider still fermenting

Cider vinegar still fermenting