第1586期:Home-grown food

We all need to eat, and when we go to buy food at the supermarket, we’re spoilt for choice in the range of items available that can be turned into a delicious meal. But we often purchase food that’s been mass-produced and that’s travelled many miles before it ends up on our plate. So for some, growing their own food is a better option – and it tastes good too!

我们都需要吃饭，当我们去超市买食物时，我们会被各种各样的可以变成美味佳肴的物品宠坏了。但我们经常购买大量生产的食物，而且这些食物经过了许多英里的路程才最终出现在我们的盘子里。所以对一些人来说，自己种食物是一个更好的选择——而且味道也很好！

From growing vegetables in little pots on your balcony to tending to a small plot of land, called allotments, there are many ways to produce home-grown food. Allotments are a typically British idea, and they give people with a small or no garden, a space to plant and nurture fruit and vegetables. It can be backbreaking work digging, weeding and watering the soil, but the result is fresh, organically grown produce, contributing to our ‘five-a-day’ diet.

从在阳台上的小花盆里种植蔬菜到照料一小块土地（称为分配地），有很多方法可以生产自产食物。分配是典型的英国理念，它们为拥有小花园或没有花园的人们提供种植和培育水果和蔬菜的空间。挖掘、除草和浇水可能是一项艰巨的工作，但结果是新鲜的有机种植农产品，有助于我们的“一天五餐”饮食。

The recent Covid-19 pandemic lockdown means demand for allotments has seen a renaissance. Miriam Dobson from the University of Sheffield told the BBC that people with allotments have been spending a lot of their time on their plots, growing plenty of fresh fruit and veg – which, at times, have been challenging to source in supermarkets. She says “Coronavirus has… highlighted to people the fragility inherent within our globalised food system. In a time of crisis, interest in self-sufficiency rises.”

最近的 Covid-19 大流行封锁意味着对分配的需求已经复苏。谢菲尔德大学的 Miriam Dobson 告诉 BBC，有分配的人一直在他们的地块上花费大量时间，种植大量新鲜水果和蔬菜——有时很难从超市采购。她说：“冠状病毒……向人们强调了我们全球化食品系统固有的脆弱性。在危机时期，人们对自给自足的兴趣上升。”

But for those with limited space, a solution to grow your own veg lies closer to home – using pots. Once you can lay your hands on some compost, you can plant seeds. Sheila Brand lives in a third-floor flat in Rotterdam. She has managed to grow tomatoes and aubergines and is already harvesting raspberries. She told the BBC watching the plants grow “is very exciting: 'Oh it's got a new leaf!' ”

但是对于那些空间有限的人来说，种植自己的蔬菜的解决方案就在离家更近的地方——使用花盆。一旦你可以把手放在堆肥上，你就可以播种了。希拉布兰德住在鹿特丹三楼的公寓里。她已经成功地种植了西红柿和茄子，并且已经在收获覆盆子。她告诉英国广播公司，看着植物生长“非常令人兴奋：‘哦，它长出了一片新叶子！’ ”

As well as the benefits of saving money and enjoying tasty food, gardener Mark Ridsdill-Smith says “growing your own from a balcony or window ledge not only improves your wellbeing and immediate environment, you can actually grow a lot of veg.” So, maybe it’s time for us all to get planting and develop our green fingers!

园丁 Mark Ridsdill-Smith 说，除了省钱和享用美味食物的好处外，“从阳台或窗台上种植自己的蔬菜不仅可以改善您的幸福感和周围的环境，实际上您还可以种植很多蔬菜。”所以，也许是时候让我们所有人种植和发展我们的绿色手指了！

词汇表

mass-produced 大批生产的
pot 花盆
tend 照料
plot 小块土地
allotment 份地，（可租来种菜、水果、花）小块土地
plant 种植，栽种
nurture 养育，培植
backbreaking 使人筋疲力尽的，非常辛苦的
digging 挖掘
weeding 除杂草
watering 浇水
organically grown 有机种植的
produce 农产品，食品
fruit and veg 水果和蔬菜
self-sufficiency 自给自足
compost 堆肥
seed 种子
harvest 收获，得到
green fingers 种植技能