To Plant Potatoes and Dream
February Field Notes
The outer coat of a seed must transform in order to germinate. The process, known as scarification, means a seed can come to life even if it has been lying in drought and darkness for years. Freezing temperatures can crack the coat, tiny organisms can break it open, or animal digestive tracts can weaken the surface until water seeps in and triggers germination. The seed then grows bigger and bigger until the coat splits apart, and oxygen in the air helps it burn the food that is packed inside. The root descends, the stem curls upward, and a new plant emerges from the dark.
Welcome to February! This month I’m writing new books, planning my garden and - as ever - obsessively monitoring the news.
Work, Plans & Projects
I’ve finally sent two of my picture books into the abyss in the hope of being signed to an agent! I’ve managed to come this far without one but as I (hopefully) move into fiction, I’d really like to level up, feel more professional and welcome in some valuable expertise. So far I have had one rejection which felt like puncturing a tyre except it was my heart.
I’ve been taking myself on solo culture dates, just for no-strings inspiration. In January I went to the Dora Carrington exhibition at Pallant House in Chichester, and last week I visited the Garden Museum for their
Lost Gardens of London exhibition. Next month I’m trying pottery!
Most days I’m working on my next book for Bloomsbury which is all about making natural skincare products. I’m really enjoying this one, and learning a lot about toxic ingredients and plant science.
This week I’ve finally written out an entire skeleton plot for my novel, a document that spans eight whole pages! Two of the most foundational books I’ve read around story structure are The Power of Storytelling by Will Storr and Into the Woods by John Yorke.
In non-work related stuff, this week I’ve been planning my garden for 2025, working out all the fruits and vegetables I might be able to grow in our medium-sized patch of land. Growing my own food has become a coping mechanism for all the horrors of the world, and every year I’m trying to improve so I can rely less and less on the oligarques des supermarchés. This year I actually used one of the resources at the back of my latest book, Ebb and Flow. It’s a handy little template I designed for keeping track of the growing year and all the tasks involved in producing a harvest.
In the spirit of seeds, growth and collaboration, I thought I’d finish with a story I discovered when researching my latest book Ebb and Flow:
One of the seeds I’ll be planting in the next few weeks will be the pumpkin, which is actually a type of berry known as a pepo. Scientists believe they originated in North America around 9,000 years ago, where they were an important food staple for indigenous American communities. Pumpkins and other squashes would be planted along riverbanks next to corn and bean crops, a planting technique called the Three Sisters Method that enabled the three crops to sustain each other. The corn served as a trellis upon which the beans could climb; the beans kept the corn stalks stable on windy days whilst also keeping nutrients in the soil; and the pumpkins sheltered the corn’s shallow roots and stopped weeds from taking over.
A welcome reminder of the natural harmony on which, beneath all the horror, the foundations of our world are built.
A Happy News Story
A female greater mouse-eared bat has been spotted in Sussex, with ecologists hoping it could mate with a male that's been alone for over 20 years, thought to be the last of its kind in the UK. Originally declared extinct in 1992, it was the first land mammal to disappear from Britain since the wolf about 250 years earlier. Now a warming climate and the spread of vineyards across south-east England may be helping the species, which in France enjoys foraging for food between grapevines.
Second Hand Spotlight
I’m trying to grow my plants as sustainably as possible this year, which means avoiding buying new things like pots and seed trays. So I went on Vinted and found one of those cute little devices you can use to make pots out of old scraps of paper! Not only recyclable and biodegradable, it also means you can transplant seedlings without having to disturb them too much.
And finally…
Currently reading Beautiful Animals by Lawrence Osborne
Recommend The Wolf Within short film about the wolves and landworkers sharing territory in mountainous Italy
Great episode of The Rest is Politics about how the US is showing all the early warning signs of fascism
Making this Riverford nourishing noodle bowl every week at the mo
