In the James Hutton Institutes ‘land capability for agriculture’ survey, a vast majority of the soil in Shetland was deemed to be of very poor quality for growing. Yet, with all this stacked against us, we still fight on. We keep trudging through long days, spades in hand, for you see there is nothing more satisfying than growing your own food here.
Imagine grabbing a tomato straight off the plant and popping it into your mouth.
That burst of sweet, followed by a sharp tartness which melts away to a mellow savoury note is the encapsulation of those few glorious summer days we have, stored away in a small red fruit.
Then think about the time you have bitten into a supermarket tomato in winter, merely a bland and watery shadow of the summer experience.
The sheer satisfaction of beating the odds and getting to harvest incredible, flavourful produce is what gets us by, but it takes a lot of work and determination to do so.
You will see Shetland gardeners’ and allotment holders constantly out fighting the elements to get things done. Always outside digging, improving soil quality with bought fertilisers or using more organic methods such as manure, seaweed, and compost heaps.
When the battle for soil quality is almost won, we move on to the next fight - shelter.
Long ago stone planticrubs were used to provide shelter to the hardy Shetland native Kail and black tatties, the wind being so unrelenting that even these, the hardiest of plants, needed protection.
Nowadays its more common to see some folks planting shelter hedges, a desperate attempt to take the bite away from the wind before it slams into the tender plants in the vegetable plot. Others will be lucky enough to have greenhouses or polycrubs to house the more sensitive plants.
Polycrubs have made Shetland’s growers bold. With these, we dare to grow citrus at 60 degrees north.
Shetlanders have defied the climate assigned to us and will harvest things such as cherries, grapes, cucumbers, tomatoes, sweetcorn, pumpkins, and Szechuan pepper. With shelter you will be surprised at the array of plants that can be grown, however the ferocity of weeds will surprise you even more.
Creeping thistle, couch grass, dandelions and the dreaded docken are amongst the greatest foes of the Shetland gardener. Deep rooted and vigorous they plague the newly tilled earth and quickly take over valuable growing space.
However, all is not lost when the weeds take over, as many are edible.
Dandelion blossoms make fantastic wine, the green leaves are wonderful in salads and the roots can be dug up and roasted to make a coffee substitute.
The ever-abundant wild camomile, or as its commonly known - pineapple weed, is a tropical delight. It can be made into a relaxing tea, used to add a pina colada-esque perfume to custards or try it in this pineapple weed skolebrød recipe.
While Hogweed should be avoided during the height of summer, around this time until end of September you will find the dried seed heads have a wonderful, caramelised cardamom scent which can be used to spice up your favourite shortbread recipe.
While we battle with mother nature most of the time, she does occasionally send some delights our way albeit hidden in these rather annoying disguises. Shetland gardens and allotments can offer a real abundance of produce and flavour but only for those who have the patience and determination to work them.
