Wild Dorset
THE HUNGRY GAP Adam & Ellen Simon, Tamarisk Farm
I
t’s May, and in recent years the weather in May has been, well, practically summery. There is always the chance though that it could potentially be the best sun we get until September. However, in terms of growing food, we are still in the notorious “hungry gap” and, if we were careless or unlucky, we’d be at the end of our stores as well. 38 | Bridport Times | May 2018
So what is the hungry gap, and is it still relevant to us today? It is the gap in crops between winter and summer, the time when all the over-wintering vegetables, such as leeks, kale and chard, are gone, either eaten or ‘bolting’ - that is, taking their first step towards setting seed, with their stems growing tall and their leaves becoming small, tough and bitter. At the same time, the majority