How does your garden grow?

I heard a terrifying report on the radio this week. It was about food in France (but I'm sure that it could apply to most countries). There was a long list of facts and I only retained a few, so here are some of them. A high percentage of herbes de provence come from Eastern Europe. Every year, following tests, a significant percentage of virgin olive oil is found to be 50% sunflower oil. Although French bakers are required by law to make their own bread, there is no obligation concerning other products they sell, so some buy factory-made (additive-stuffed) croissants and heat them up. Some potatoes are treated with up to 27 chemicals. There were other facts about fruit and vegetables being full of chemicals which is the thing that worries me most. We all try to eat more fruit and veg and what if that means we are just pumping more chemicals in our bodies? Buy local and buy organic seems to be the answer, but then there is the cost implication.

When we put our spuds into our vegetable garden a couple of weeks ago, we moaned about the work - was it really worth it, were we saving money? But now I'm glad. Having said that the weather is being really strange at the moment, following hot sun we have snow today. So we are praying that our spuds will make it.

We've decided to wait until the Autumn to plant more fruit trees. We've found a really good nursery who stocks many local varieties so we'll buy more apple trees, pears, plums and maybe a walnut. We'll get advice because our climate is so different from all around. That's typical of this area, a whole load of micro-climates. We cannot rely on the meteo report as our village doesn't fit it at all.