Soilman

Ever seen a properly frosted potato haulm? You have now.

This is the wreckage of last night’s sub-zero attack, which has blackened and destroyed every bit of potato leaf above ground – on our whole allotment site. Nobody’s escaped.

Now normally I wouldn’t be too worried. We’ve had late Spring frosts before, and the potatoes – albeit damaged – have always shrugged it off.

This year, though, I confess I AM worried – very worried. The potatoes had been fighting to put on any growth in the cold weather, and this is the worst frost damage I’ve ever seen. If they do manage to regrow, I’m assuming the plants – and therefore the tubers – will struggle to reach a decent size.

And another thing, now guaranteed: we’re going to be digging the first new potatoes MUCH later than usual.

This year is just weird. Definitely the coldest, bleakest growing season I’ve ever known.

I was fascinated by an item on Radio 4 early this morning about a Derbyshire NHS Trust that’s chosen to source all its food locally.

Not only has this cut the food miles of everything the patients eat, it’s saving the Trust £6m a year… and saving the livelihoods of local farmers. Some were on the edge of bankruptcy until they signed up to the scheme.

Of course it’s dangerous to extrapolate nationally from isolated cases – ideologues love doing it, and we all know where that leads.

But the Trust’s manager reckons a national scheme could save the NHS £400m annually. If it also saves jobs and puts healthier, greener food on sick people’s plates, you have to conclude it’s a bit of a no-brainer.

I’d also add two further comments: a question and a observation.

The observation: Here’s a potentially impressive cost-saving AND employment boost that will almost certainly go nowhere because NHS spending has been ‘ring-fenced’ by all political parties. When nobody’s looking for savings, nobody finds them. How can it make sense to avoid looking for economy in our single biggest area of national expenditure?

And the question: Why the bloody hell wasn’t this done years ago?