After doing a couple of posts on what foods taste better when you grow them yourself and how to start a vegetable garden that suits your lifestyle I’ve had quite a few emails asking me what I’m growing this year.
My Garden
Kate in Canada emailed in this week to ask what I’m growing this year. I thought I’d give you a little tour of my garden. The first thing to go every year is the stuff on the left. It’s always at different times, so the new stuff is only about three weeks old. Down below, I’ve got some purple sprouting broccoli and some kale in the wild herb garden.
Raised Beds And Carrots
We’ve got some rosemary, oregano, mint, thyme, and a few other bits in the front garden. There’s a strawberry patch which is coming on nicely as we speak, just near the greenhouse. I’ve got two raised beds: on the left you’ll see the tops of some carrots coming through, and down to the right there are some potatoes. These are my courgettes which are still in the greenhouse but about to go out. Here in the greenhouse you can see my eight tomato plants coming along nicely.
Upcycled Greenhouse And Courgette Zuchinnis
I have a few different varieties of tomatoes, most of which are cherry tomatoes. Down for the right, there are two eggplants which are getting ready to be put on. And there are a couple more courgettes there which I’ll put out into a bed. This base behind me is where I grow 90% of my food. I particularly love my upcycled greenhouse. The tomatoes, salad and the potatoes and the carrots are for the kids. If I had more space, I would grow lots more stuff including corn, asparagus, plenty of beans, pumpkins and things like that.
Make The Most Of Limited Space
My vegetable garden very much reflects the limited space and time I’ve got for gardening. Essentially I get it all going in the space of a couple of weekends in the spring. Then all it requires is 5 minutes of water every other day (the tomatoes and salad need every day once it gets hot), and I spend the occasional hour or two at the weekend weeding, staking and seeding when needed. For example I also sowed some basil last weekend.
Hydroponic Systems
Ok, we have things growing in soil. If you put a little more expense into it, you can consider using a hydroponic system to increase the density of the things you grow by avoiding the soil altogether. The downside is that the water requires high amounts of regulation because that’s the way nutrients are getting into your plant. We cover different hydroponic systems for you to consider.
What are you growing this year? And what else should I be adding to my list?
Outsourcing The Gardening
Instead of spending your time creating a garden from scratch, consider a community garden. It will save you time and money by providing you with fresh produce that you don’t have to grow yourself and by reducing the amount of money you spend on groceries. Community gardens also provide a great opportunity for socializing with fellow gardeners and learning new gardening techniques. They also help to reduce the amount of carbon emissions that you produce, since you are not using the energy to transport produce from a grocery store. Additionally, community gardens create green spaces that can be enjoyed by the entire community.
Lindsay Wilson
I founded Shrink That Footprint in November 2012, after a long period of research. For many years I have calculated, studied and worked with carbon footprints, and Shrink That Footprint is that interest come to life.
I have an Economics degree from UCL, have previously worked as an energy efficiency analyst at BNEF and continue to work as a strategy consultant at Maneas. I have consulted to numerous clients in energy and finance, as well as the World Economic Forum.
When I’m not crunching carbon footprints you’ll often find me helping my two year old son tend to the tomatoes, salad and peppers growing in our upcycled greenhouse.