In cultivation of vegetable

Vegetable

The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....

s in a British-type climate, the hungry gap is the gardeners' name for the period in spring

Spring (season)

Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...

 when there is little or no fresh produce available from a vegetable garden or allotment

Allotment (gardening)

An allotment garden, often called simply an allotment, is a plot of land made available for individual, non-professional gardening. Such plots are formed by subdividing a piece of land into a few or up to several hundreds of land parcels that are assigned to individuals or families...

. It usually starts when overwintered brassica

Brassica

Brassica is a genus of plants in the mustard family . The members of the genus may be collectively known either as cabbages, or as mustards...

 vegetables such as brussels sprout

Brussels sprout

The Brussels sprout is a cultivar of wild cabbage grown for its edible buds. The leafy green vegetables are typically 2.5–4 cm in diameter and look like miniature cabbages. The sprout is Brassica oleracea, in the "gemmifera" group of the family Brassicaceae...

s and winter cauliflower

Cauliflower

Cauliflower is one of several vegetables in the species Brassica oleracea, in the family Brassicaceae. It is an annual plant that reproduces by seed...

s and January King cabbage

Cabbage

Cabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...

s "bolt" (i.e. run up to flower) as the days get warmer and longer, but sooner if a very hard frost kills these crops; and ends when the new season's first broad beans are ready.

Means to bridge the gap or part of it include:

• Using stored food: but stored potato
  Potato
  The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
  
  es sprout in store if kept too long in warm weather, and salted-away meat is used up or goes bad in store. See Lent#Origin.
• Autumn-sown broad beans: this is a gamble with the weather, as they are killed in the ground when the ground freezes too deep.
• Heated greenhouse
  Greenhouse
  A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
  
  , or hotbed
  Hotbed
  Hotbed can mean:* Hotbed , a pile of decaying organic matter warmer than its surrounding due to the heat given off by the metabolism of the microorganisms in the decomposing pile...
  
  s, to start summer vegetable seedling
  Seedling
  thumb|Monocot and dicot seedlingsA seedling is a young plant sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle , the hypocotyl , and the cotyledons...
  
  s sooner.

Other meanings

One variety of kale

Kale

Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium. Kale, as with broccoli and other brassicas, contains sulforaphane , a chemical with potent anti-cancer properties. Boiling decreases the level of sulforaphane; however, steaming,...

 is called "Hungry Gap" because it crops during this period: see Kale#Cultivars. It was introduced to UK agriculture in 1941.

External links

• http://www.thestar.co.uk/power/FROM-THE-KITCHEN-GARDEN-The.4266050.jp
• http://asthedeer.com/2009/02/04/the-hungry-gap/