Hello everyone, allow me to introduce myself. I am fascinated by the natural world and have loved pottering about in the garden since I was a small child. I started growing my own food when my daughter was little, but it wasn’t until I took early retirement that I was able to spend a lot more time (and money!) turning my little London garden – as I affectionately call it – into a designed, outdoor living space where I can relax, watch the insects and birds, entertain friends and family and most of all grow lots more healthy, tasty food.
I garden organically and for wildlife and most of my plants are grown from seeds and cuttings raised in a mini greenhouse or on the kitchen windowsill. That said, I love visiting parks and gardens for inspiration and if they have plants for sale I am bound to buy something!. I also read a lot about gardening and nature and am a member of Butterfly Conservation, Garden Organic and the London Wildlife Trust.
My garden design included reclaiming the hard standing for my car, thus adding an extra, much needed, six square metres for growing food. It now has three distinctive areas or ‘rooms’. Outside the kitchen is an L-shaped veranda over a patio housing the mini greenhouse, seating and plants in containers. Then there is a cottage garden-style area packed with plants to attract bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects. The last area is where I grow most of my edible plants. It has six raised beds, a composting area and a shed. One bed contains perennial fruits, one perennial herbs and the rest are used on an informal crop rotation system to grow annuals including beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, chillies, onions and garlic.
Before I had my raised beds I used to cram as many crops as possible in containers of every shape and size. When space ran out I’d grow upwards using hanging baskets and plant ladders - even growing a pumpkin on top of the compost bin. On the whole, container growing was successful but not without its difficulties. Now the majority of my crops are in the ground, I water less and practise the ‘no-dig’ method, which involves feeding the soil, not the plants. And despite the poor weather last year, resulting in crops being about six weeks late, yields were noticeably higher. So in my limited experience I’d say most crops perform better in the ground. But if you don’t have the choice then it’s perfectly possible to grow most fruit and vegetables in containers if you are prepared to put in the extra work required. I’ll say more about growing crops in containers in future blogs.
Finally, I’d like to say a little about my wider gardening activities. Earlier this year, I became a member of a Facebook group called Enfield Local Communities Together. I did a ‘takeover week’ on gardening and wrote short articles, compiled photo quizzes, set up polls and answered questions. It was very popular and boosted my confidence. Following on from that I have started to take on a voluntary role as a gardening consultant, sharing my knowledge and experience within the local community. For example I ran a plant stall in May raising £150 for charity, I help an elderly couple with their small garden and I work as a volunteer for Woodcroft Wildspace in Winchmore Hill, writing educational materials and helping with school visits. I am so excited to have been asked to write a gardening column and blog for Cibare. Gardening and food – what’s not to like?
I will be writing about the successes and lessons learnt about growing food in a small town garden. I hope it inspires those who have yet to grow their own to have a go. And for those who already have the ‘bug’, I hope my musings give you some food for thought (pun intended) and stimulate lots of discussion.
I garden organically and for wildlife and most of my plants are grown from seeds and cuttings raised in a mini greenhouse or on the kitchen windowsill. That said, I love visiting parks and gardens for inspiration and if they have plants for sale I am bound to buy something!. I also read a lot about gardening and nature and am a member of Butterfly Conservation, Garden Organic and the London Wildlife Trust.
My garden design included reclaiming the hard standing for my car, thus adding an extra, much needed, six square metres for growing food. It now has three distinctive areas or ‘rooms’. Outside the kitchen is an L-shaped veranda over a patio housing the mini greenhouse, seating and plants in containers. Then there is a cottage garden-style area packed with plants to attract bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects. The last area is where I grow most of my edible plants. It has six raised beds, a composting area and a shed. One bed contains perennial fruits, one perennial herbs and the rest are used on an informal crop rotation system to grow annuals including beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, chillies, onions and garlic.
Before I had my raised beds I used to cram as many crops as possible in containers of every shape and size. When space ran out I’d grow upwards using hanging baskets and plant ladders - even growing a pumpkin on top of the compost bin. On the whole, container growing was successful but not without its difficulties. Now the majority of my crops are in the ground, I water less and practise the ‘no-dig’ method, which involves feeding the soil, not the plants. And despite the poor weather last year, resulting in crops being about six weeks late, yields were noticeably higher. So in my limited experience I’d say most crops perform better in the ground. But if you don’t have the choice then it’s perfectly possible to grow most fruit and vegetables in containers if you are prepared to put in the extra work required. I’ll say more about growing crops in containers in future blogs.
Finally, I’d like to say a little about my wider gardening activities. Earlier this year, I became a member of a Facebook group called Enfield Local Communities Together. I did a ‘takeover week’ on gardening and wrote short articles, compiled photo quizzes, set up polls and answered questions. It was very popular and boosted my confidence. Following on from that I have started to take on a voluntary role as a gardening consultant, sharing my knowledge and experience within the local community. For example I ran a plant stall in May raising £150 for charity, I help an elderly couple with their small garden and I work as a volunteer for Woodcroft Wildspace in Winchmore Hill, writing educational materials and helping with school visits. I am so excited to have been asked to write a gardening column and blog for Cibare. Gardening and food – what’s not to like?
I will be writing about the successes and lessons learnt about growing food in a small town garden. I hope it inspires those who have yet to grow their own to have a go. And for those who already have the ‘bug’, I hope my musings give you some food for thought (pun intended) and stimulate lots of discussion.