editorial / yardstick / suit yourself / going underground / filth / proud? / talent sprouts
cook / make / urban harvest / interview
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editorial / yardstick / suit yourself / going underground / filth / proud? / talent sprouts cook / make / urban harvest / interview |
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< back He describes how it’s also made him “realise how much people waste. "I get wound up if I’m in the queue at a supermarket or something and I see someone using a carrier bag, and I think - you don’t need that, stick it in a rucksack. And, it’s made me appreciate what I eat, it’s made me think more about what goes inside me." Some people worry about the cost of growing their own food. It depends what you buy. If you’re short on space, is it really worth using that to grow potatoes in? Why not grow butternut squash, or chillies? They go for a couple of quid at the supermarket. A packet of mixed salad seeds, or rocket, costs the same as buying one bag of salad and you can grow ten times that. Another way is to just grow what you get the opportunity to. If you seed some chillies for a curry (the big wuss that you are), save the seeds, and plant them. Forgot about the potatoes in the cupboard? Then use the sprouting bits to grow new potatoes. This is the officially magic part of gardening. Andy says he’s grown the seeds from butternut squash flowers. He thinks the initial outlay can be a bit expensive, “But for the price of a hobby, it’s quite cheap really. And if you’re buying organic food, there’s no way you can get organic tomatoes for the same price as you’re growing them for.” Also, that infuriating thing of having to buy a whole box of organic tomatoes is solved, as you can just pick one if that’s all you need. |
One of the biggest outlays for beginners is the price of plant pots, especially big enough ones to grow vegetables in. To cut this cost substantially, get creative about what you plant things in. Dave grows his potatoes in an old Belfast sink on his back patio, and some use an old bath tub. This can cope with anything, as there’s plenty of space for roots. Other suggestions include plastic bottles, paint pots, barrels, car tyres, even bin bags. John Pendergast, grows absolutely everything in ASDA milk cartons. Read and interview with him on the interview page. The limit really is your imagination. One final warning though, once you’ve started looking for things to grow plants in, it will become an obsession. However, don’t let that stop you. Now get growing. www.selfsufficientish.com - Andy and Dave’s website |