Pádraig Floyd, chairman of the Seven Kings and Goodmayes Allotment Society

Grow your own food with simple tips from Seven Kings and Goodmayes Allotment Society

Wednesday, September 5, 2012
9:57 AM

The Seven Kings and Goodmayes Allotment Society held its sixth annual allotments festival on Sunday.

Here, chairman Pádraig Floyd, offers his tips for simple ways to grow your own food:

There’s nothing quite like home grown fruit and vegetables, and it’s fun to grow your own food. You don’t even have to have a garden – grow food in a window box on a balcony or even a pot on your kitchen windowsill.

Why not try one of these autumn classics:

Garlic – plant garlic to grow over the winter. Simply split a bulb of garlic into cloves and plant it two-and-a-half centimetres below the surface of the soil and 10cm to 15cm apart. Ready in June, it is good in pots, but great for putting in your borders.

Onions – buy the correct sets (small onions) that grow through winter and plant them like garlic.

Broad beans – sweet and colourful, these couldn’t be simpler. Plant them in pots or borders now as autumn-sown plants are stronger, so you get bigger beans and more of them.

Potatoes – if you’re feeling more ambitious, plant some potatoes in a large pot or plastic sack and keep them somewhere like a greenhouse or a conservatory. Keep them watered and you have new potatoes for Christmas Day.

If you want to get serious, you could always take on an allotment plot. Be warned – it takes hard work to get one in shape, but it will repay you with fresh produce and a healthy lifestyle in a friendly community.

If you’d like to find out more about getting an allotment email us at skgasmembership@live.co.uk and we’ll put you in touch with your nearest allotment.