Reaping what you sow

Derek at the Whitecross Street Party

Highbury New Park is leading the way for SHP Islington with the gardening projects. I have been involved with several projects and they are using my knowledge of growing fruit and vegetables to harvest their own vegetables for the residents to use themselves. One idea being mooted is that any surplus that we have left over from the projects could be used for getting a small stall at Chapel Market or the Sunday Upper Street Market. Any money we raise from produce will be going back into the garden collective.

We have developed a gardener’s collective which is now up and running. We will be collecting information on what grows best where and utilising the spaces, to be as productive and self sufficient as possible. We are planning training days where people can learn how to sow seeds, pot seedlings, re-pot, when to water, when to feed and ultimately when to harvest which will all be part of a structured programme. We need more volunteers to get on board to make this project work. Anybody who wants to get involved, whether complete novice or expert gardener, is more than welcome to join us.

I think if we can grow our own food successfully we are making a small difference. Obviously, the more people who get involved in growing their own, either at organised projects or at home, the better.  Every little bit makes a difference in the grand scheme of things. Now is the ideal time to get involved with growing your own food. Here are some reasons why…

Dependency: In my mind it’s the way forward because everybody has become dependent on the convenience of supermarket shopping. We have become dependent on non-seasonal produce. Strawberries for Christmas dinner for example!  It is overpriced when it is so easy to grow your own in even the smallest of spaces on the patio or window box.

Environmental Responsibility: It is ecologically unfriendly to fly a tomato around the world when you can grow it yourself with relative ease!

Quality: Have you ever wondered why supermarket fruit and vegetables are all the same size and are a bit too “perfect”? Supermarket produce, unless labelled “organic” has been treated with God knows how many chemicals! If you grow your own, you know where it has come from. That is, straight out of the back garden and on to your plate! It tastes so much better! It hasn’t been in a polythene bag for thousands of miles! Do you know that the amount of poly tunnels in Spain is actually visible from space?

Heritage: We are losing some of our traditional plants. Every year commercial growers are trying to find new and better plants and modifying them genetically so we are losing the original varieties. In the 1940s there were over 650 different types of apple grown in this country alone. Now we only grow what the supermarkets dictate to us.

Positive use of time: Gardening gets you away from looking at the same four walls. It brings people together socially and it’s a great stress buster. Gardening should be prescribed by doctors because it can be so therapeutic!

So no excuses, get your fingers green today!

Derek Johnston