The surprising science of mud - Adventures @ Loveland

A few years ago, pre-covid I went to the launch of 'Losing Eden' by Lucy Jones. She talked about the science behind mud, how it can build our resilience to stress and prime our immune system and how we are losing so much in our overly clinical and sanitised homes. It makes sense, we often talk about 'getting grounded' and yet so much of our lives are spent indoors, in artificial light and artificial worlds.

That said, anyone who knows me will know I am not a fan of the cold so whilst I endorse getting outside in our glorious Cornish light, I like to be equipped with appropriate clothing. This time, my waterproofs are covered in last week's mud and I arrive looking like some sort of pond creature, complete with bobble hat. Glam.

Digging in the winter sun is immensely satisfying and today we are clearing out the old crop (weedy looking beetroot and other rogue herbs and weeds) and preparing the soil for the next crop. Broad Beans.

Broad beans have got to be one of my favourite vegetables; having detested them as a child for their thick bulging skins I was converted by growing my own and eating them fresh. I then later discovered they are incredibly delicious as a type of fritter by a dear friend in Wiltshire over a heady summertime lunch.

Back to the plot. We work in a coordinated fashion to prepare the land, which includes raking and removal of the old crop and weeds, rotating the soil with a broadfork (a supersize rake popular in small scale organic farming I'm informed) and adding a layer of compost before making neat rows to place our broad bean 'seeds'. It's a rewarding job as you embrace and honour the cycle of harvest to planting the seed.

There is of course tea and cake for the 'workers' that tastes more nourishing for our perspiration and having been heated over a stove and poured, steaming, into blue rimmed enamel cups.

We retire with a small haul of weedy looking beetroot. Beetroot is rich in Nitrates which improves blood flow, blood pressure and has become popular in performance sports. They are particularly lovely roasted in a little olive oil or shredded into a slaw but mine are destined to end their days as a soup...

Beetroot soup

• 1 large onion, finely chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

• 1kg fresh beetroot, peeled and diced (you can substitute some of the beetroot with other veg)

• 1.5l vegetable stock

• Feta cheese to sprinkle

Method

1. Finely chop and fry the onion until soft and add the diced beetroot to the pan for a further 5 minutes.

2. Add the minced garlic and mix in the vegetable stock.

3. Cook for 15-20 minutes until soft and liquidize.

4. Serve steaming with some delicious sourdough bread and sprinkle with feta cheese.