We've all of a sudden found ourselves to be budding gardeners, eager to nurture our green fingers whilst becoming more self-sufficient and environmentally friendly along the way. Have you experienced this yet? Is it an age thing? Is it an eco warrior thing? We keep seeing meme's online about welcoming millenials to their "granny era" where you suddenly become an avid gardener, so maybe it is a thing!
As you'll see though from our other blog posts, we've faced various digestion issues over the last couple of years, and it was this that actually kickstarted the idea of growing our own produce, we just love that it's also sustainably focused at the same time.
So firstly, do you read the back of labels on food that you buy? If not, go and grab something randomly from your cupboard or fridge now and have a gander at the ingredients. THIS is what started to open our eyes to the terrifying reality of what's in our food. Does it terrify you too or are you more relaxed about it?
When we started realised just how many chemical ingredients appear in our foods mostly due to the ultra-processing element that's involved in making the product, or making it to last, it's no wonder that more and more people are struggling with digestion problems as time goes on.
So! We'd had enough and decided to give the whole growing your own produce a bit of a go. We are still newbies mind and are constantly learning every day but either way... we are loving it so thought we'd share our journey with you.
Starting with the basics
1. Space
Ok so granted we are particularly fortunate to have an oddly long garden however, I can assure you, the more you get into it, there will NEVER be enough space (lols) so you just need to work with what you've got.
Now if space is your nemesis, I can assure you there's so many space saving ideas out there, from Herb planters designed to hang on fences/balconies (see pic) to stackable plant pots, just keep your eyes peeled to find what will work for you.
I decided that this hanging planter (which I found on TikTok for £11) would be perfect for herbs, as well as handily covered a bit of a gap in the fence panel...cheaper than buying a new fence panel at least!
2. Get some basic tools
You really don't need to go mad with tools, just focus on your basics. I find that generally I mostly just use a trowel, fork, watering can, selection of pots, compost and gloves (when I remember to put them on), and you don't need to spend a fortune on them either.
3. Choose some easy options
For your first go at growing your own produce, choose some nice easier options to start, i.e. buy some plants from your nearest shop that already have shoots such as a Strawberry or Raspberry plants. Growing from seeds takes a little more TLC and dedication so why not test your resiliance out on something that's a little less demanding to start with and see if it peaks your interest enough to go further. The strawberry shown growing in the picture at the top, is a strawberry plant bought for £7 from the local garden centre which had roughly 10cm of shoots/leaves at the time. Now...well you can see where we're at after just 6 weeks!
Alternatively, you could purchase some dwarf fruit trees like the 3 we purchased in the picture below; An Apple, Pear & Plum tree. All 3 for £30 via a garden shop online.
As you can see, it certainly doesn't need to be TOO costly or even take up too much space to get started.
Just have a good little research to see what works for you and be brave, go for it and enjoy it!
We'll follow up with more posts on both our progress as well as tricks and tips that we've learnt along the way in the hope it inspires your inner gardener too.
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