Fridge or Cupboard, Greenhouse or In The House, Mum in a Million & Happy Daze

Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
18^th March 2023

Fridge or Cupboard

I had an interesting conversation last week, not about growing fruit and veg, but storing it. To refrigerate or not refrigerate.

It reminded me of when I had just started (back at) college two years ago and I walked into the classroom to catch the tail end of a conversation about storing fruit and veg.

“Lynne’s a gardener, she’ll know. How do you store fruit and veg?”

I immediately assumed they meant any surplus grown in the garden and replied, “Traditionally it was either wrapped in newspaper and stored in crates or in damp sand.”

I will never forget the blank faces of the ‘yoof’ that stared back at me as though I was some sort of ‘dinosaur’ living in a cave.  It still makes me laugh.

It transpired they were referring to the fruit and veg in your weekly shop from the supermarket and simply wondered should it be stored in the fridge or cupboard.  No wonder they looked ‘wide eyed’.

When relaying the ‘incident’ to my brother he immediately responded with the fact that he stores his groceries in the same conditions they are displayed at the supermarket.  If it is refrigerated in the shop, then he puts it in the fridge, just on a shelf in the supermarket then it gets put in a cupboard at home.  His theory is that the supermarkets will have spent enough money on researching storage conditions, so that he doesn’t have to.

But last week I did read some (unexpected) ‘rough rules’.  It was recommended that we should, “keep soft veg, like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and aubergines out of the fridge, but store root vegetables such as carrots and parsnips inside, preferably ‘in a container filled with cold water’.”

That’s all very well, but of course, my ‘dinosaur mind’, immediately got stuck on the fact that, to a botanist, a fruit is something that develops from the fertilized ovary of a flower. This means that tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, corn kernels, and bean and pea pods are technically all fruits, not veg – soft or otherwise.

It was also advised that opened tomato ketchup and peanut butter are fine in the cupboard whilst nuts and flour last longer if they’re kept chilled. And a ‘top tip’ was, “If your fridge starts to pong, just stick a peeled potato on the middle shelf as the starchy flesh sucks bad odours out of the air.”

Another interesting ‘dinosaur’ observation – my nan would simply have recommended cleaning the fridge.

Greenhouse or In The House

Mr Fothergill’s are currently encouraging people to grow veg indoors.  Their recent survey revealed that 66 % want to grow more plants and vegetables to keep themselves fed but many feel they are deterred by a lack of time (39%), not having any outdoor space (37%) and not knowing enough about how to do it (35%).

Herbs and sprouting seeds are easily and often grown on windowsills indoors but with a bit of thought and planning it is possible to grow quite a variety of salad crops and some veggies indoors – especially if you have a sunny conservatory or porch.

Growing tomatoes in the house is feasible in a light sunny position, but choose varieties like, Balconi Red and Yellow, Sweet ‘n’ Neat, Micro Tom or Tom Thumb, which as most of the names suggest are small plants and with some TLC will all grow happily in just a 6” pot.  Hearttbreaker Vita F1 is also a great choice. A prolific producer of lovely little heart shaped tomatoes, it is far from a heart-breaker.  All of these dwarf varieties will reach somewhere around a foot in height.

Ideal conditions are a sunny windowsill with daytime temperatures around 18C and around 15C at night.  Tomatoes will perform much better with perlite included in the compost to retain moisture and will need feeding regularly.  Watering is best done from below in a flat saucer or tray.

Salad leaves will be quite happy indoors with you too and TV gardener, David Domoney shares lots of top tips to grow your confidence by growing on windowsills and sunny spots in the house at www.mr-fothergills.co.uk/windowsill

Mr Fothergills is also currently offering some ‘classic’ vegetable seeds for just 99p per packet. Choose from Broccoli, Chantenay carrots, Golden courgette and Telegraph cucumber, Red Cherry tomato, spinach or parsnips.  There are also several Seed Starter Kits, including Heavenly Herbs, Pots About Veg and Super Salads to choose from.

That’s quite an incentive to ‘get growing’, indoors or out.

Mum in a Million

Rosa ‘Mum in a Million’ is a popular rose, not just at this time of year, or for its name, but for the profusion of large, well-scented flowers that appear continuously through July and August.

Reaching a height of around 3 ft, it is suitable for a mixed border, a rose bed and even growing in a container.

The blooms are great for cutting too, with the fragrant flowers lasting well in a vase indoors.

Happy Daze

Since 2013, the United Nations has celebrated the International Day of Happiness as a way to recognise the importance of happiness in the lives of people around the world.  Having been a dedicated seeker of happiness for a number of years, hereunder are my three tips.

Write a list of the things that make you happy.

Read it whenever you need to.

Keep adding to the list.

Of course, happiness is a very personal place and looks very different to us all.  It’s also a ideal topic for some great quotes.  For example, Mahatma Gandhi said, “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”

I normally tend to be very reluctant to give any advice, as it is only recycled experience after all – but I can never resist sharing good quotes – this relevant one from a friend, “Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn’t.”