My Global Garden

Grow your own in local skips

8. March 2010

Gardeners are being encouraged to grow carrots in skips on building sites and tomatoes in hospital car parks under new plans to increase the amount of land available for grow-your-own vegetables. The Government is setting up a national “Landbank” that will link keen gardeners with public or private land available in their area where they might [...]

Spring in a box

7. March 2010

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Beautiful sunshine tempted me into the garden early this morning but a biting wind soon sent me back indoors. I suppose this puts me into the category of fair weather gardener? My enthusiasm to get gardening is not just down to the sunshine today. I have been inspired by a beautiful leaflet I just received from [...]

Grow Your Own Everything and Anything in 2010

1. March 2010

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Grow Your Own Everything and Anything in 2010

Growing-your-own- everything is increasing in popularity in London . According to Christopher Woodward, curator of Lambeth’s Garden Museum “In the uncertainty of a recession we want soil, roots and a sense of belonging”. I feel this is perhaps a very romantic view of why so many people are starting to grow their own veg. For [...]

RHS grow fruit and veg by phone

26. February 2010

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The RHS have just launched a free innovative RHS Grow Your Own iphone app at http://www.rhs.org.uk/iphone This is part of an excellent on-line campaign to encourage Grow Your Own in 2010.The aim is to build a UK map showing where people are growing their own produce and to find out what crops are most popular. 15,ooo individuals [...]

Ready, Steady Grow

21. February 2010

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The days are definitely getting longer which is such good news. It stayed light till at least 6pm tonight. This is the time of year when I dig out my seed trays and decide if I should plant now or wait till the spring finally arrives and buy small plants instead. Planting and nurturing seeds [...]

Climate Change inspires tropical orchards

20. February 2010

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Kent fruit farmers are re-thinking their future as a result of climate change. They believe that longer, warmer growing seasons will make growing traditional apples and pears less attractive and many are already diversifying into alternative fruits. Mr Jessel, who owns a 300-acre Bockingfold fruit farm in Goudhurst, East Sussex still grows 90 acres of apples [...]

Turbo Veg

7. February 2010

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Scientific boffins are rising to the challenge of Grow Your Own by producing a robust new generation of turbo veg . By grafting veg onto vigorous rootstocks, they have produced top quality, resilient produce that can be bought as young plants for the first time in Spring 2010. Try the turbo-charged beef steak tomato from [...]

Veg patch planning

25. January 2010

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Last summer I spent many enjoyable months helping out at The Village allotments in Eastbourne which was great fun . It was the perfect wayto find out more about the trials and tribulations of creating and looking after an allotment before I take on my own patch of land - hopefully this summer. One of the [...]

Climate change allotments bloom

18. January 2010

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Following on from my last blog , it does appear that the government are finallywaking up to the power of individuals growing their own food in their own gardens, roof-tops or any available space: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jan/04/grow-your-own-unused-land-2030 The BBC has also got behind the value of growing your own produce to combat carbon emmissions .Check out its on-line system [...]

The future of fruit

11. October 2009

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Its been a bumper Autumn harvest for apples and blackberries in the garden. All over the country there have been reports of huge crops of lovely ripe fruit . This is the result of lots of lovely sunshine and rain at the right times over the summer. The cold winter also had its part to [...]