It’s such an odd time of year this – The Hungry Gap. If I was trying to be 100 per cent self-sufficient, I’d really be struggling to get a meal on the table right now. Everything on the plot is bursting to life, but with the exception of my delectable asparagus and some coarsening rhubarb, chard and rocket, there’s nothing ready to eat. It’s a rather counterintuitive situation that I’ve only really grasped since becoming The Urban Farmer. Come on, you peas and broad beans! You can gently coerce nature, but you just can’t be in the driver’s seat.

Last year’s brassicas finally bit the dust this week, to make room for some further root sowings. I left these long-since inedible, towering plants until the very last minute, to encourage bee activity in their spray of yellow blooms. British bees have had a tough time of it lately, and we should all be doing our bit to facilitate their essential role in pollination by providing them with flowers they love. Several bee species are heading for extinction, and if the trend carries on, according to Help Save Bees, in ten years we could face a catastrophe: if we lose our bees, we lose all our flora and fauna and a third of our diet (and certainly well over half of mine).

This is a real emergency, and here’s one easy way you can get involved – with a free lavender or rosemary plant. Bill Jordan, head of that stalwart British cereal brand Jordan’s, has partnered with the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew to launch The Big Buzz.

Bill is a wholefood pioneer who was well ahead of his time in 1985 when he helped set up Conservation Grade “nature-friendly” farming, which encourages farmers to dedicate a portion of their productive land to wildlife habitats. Now he’s set up several bee discovery centres to raise awareness across the UK, including one at Kew. Jordan’s is offering the free plants in exchange for tokens from special cereal boxes or bars, and there’s also a discounted Kew Gardens ticket available from the Jordan’s website.

New Urban Farmer

Urban Farmer is back with tips and recipes from her North London "lottie". This week: shared rhubarb via Twitter

• Why we forgot how to grow food

Food for spring

Winter might be over but it sure isn't salad time yet. Bring on the lamb, spring greens and zesty fruit

• Orange salad with basil

• Rack of lamb with lentils and mint

• Sprouting broccoli with anchovy dressing

Related Links

• Urban Farmer: asparagus

www.celiabrooksbrown.com follow me on twitter www.twitter.com/celiabb or check out this post: http://eatlikeagirl.com/2009/05/04/twitter-me-this-my-lovelies/

TIP OF THE WEEK: Keep on the lookout for blackfly on your broad beans, but if they are at the flowering stage, it’s best not to spray them or you’ll affect the bees and other pollinating insects. Scrape off the blackfly and pinch out the tops of the plants.

Seasonal Recipe: Rhubarb Wine

Why not have a go at some rhubarb moonshine? It’s one welcome way of using up the late season glut, and everso credit-crunch friendly. This recipe was kindly passed on to me by Joan Pechey, an avid winemaker, via her W.I. recipe book from 1954 – hence the imperial measurements.

5 lb rhubarb stalks, cut in 1” lengths

3 ½ lb demerara or white sugar

Wine yeast

1 gallon water, boiled

2 lemons

Place the rhubarb in sealed bags and freeze for 2 days, then thaw in a large bowl or wine bucket. Crush or use a food processor to extract the juice. Pour over the cold water and leave for three days. Stir about 3 times a day. Strain off, squeezing the pulp as dry as possible. To every gallon of juice, add 3 ½ lbs sugar, the juice of 2 lemons and the grated rind of 1. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Sprinkle the yeast onto the surface. Leave for 3 days, then pour into demijohns. Place on air-lock and leave in a warm place for 3-6 months or until fermentation is complete. Bottle and drink 18 months hence.

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