We’re in the middle of what many newspapers are calling a heatwave, but I disagree. It’s called summer and we tend to experience this every year, except last year!
Seasonality is what marks out a temperate climate such as ours and with it we get wonderful sunny days, no small amount of seasonal rain plus a bit of the cold stuff thrown in. Our cropping is planned to take advantage of the seasons and in this part of the world we are probably the vegetable growing centre of the country.
We have numerous brassica crops, salad vegetables, not to mention the wonderful strawberries that many growers operate as pick-your-own enterprises.
This year’s sunshine is a most welcome tonic for crops which, although a little late, look reasonably decent, at least locally. The oilseed rape plainly has huge amounts of vigour and is just turning while the wheat crops need a few weeks more. They look good with plenty of promise and, with the added bonus of sunshine, we’re all hoping that the crops don’t flatter to deceive. Root crops again all look fairly promising and, British Sugar aside, we’re hoping for some decent sugars this year.
So while the heat might be an inconvenience for some, it’s surely time to celebrate and make the most of the great outdoors and be thankful that we in South Holland are so close to really good food, grown with care by professionals.