Growing your own food is one of the easiest ways of reducing a carbon footprint. There are not many better feelings than snapping off some leeks, pulling a handful of new potatoes or harvesting green beans from the garden. With money still tight for most people, home gardening is a great way to eat affordable and healthy food, as well as connect with nature and have the joy of watching them grow. Leeks are a very easy vegetable to grow and also one of the mildest tasting vegetables in the onion family. Leeks are known for their long stems and are great when used in soups, stews and casseroles, while lettuce is another easy vegetable to grow, and is very popular with gardeners old and new because within 6 weeks of planting, they can be harvested.

Not since The Good Life was on television has the United Kingdom been planting, sowing and harvesting in such numbers. Many people are very worried about food miles while others want to eat more wholesome organic produce, whatever the reason more and more are choosing to grow their own.  It is not surprising then, that sales of vegetable seeds have now overtaken sales of flowers. An important job of being in the garden more is making sure the home is secure; make sure all doors and windows are secure in case any opportunist thieves are in the area. Also if you bring anything valuable out into the garden with you while working, contact your household insurance company to check theft from the garden is covered on the policy.

The good news is that anyone can grow vegetables. It does not matter how big or small the plot size; it can be a window sill or a massive garden. Many are doing organic gardening as a hobby that helps them relax. The organic garden has increased in popularity over the last few years, and even though organic food is very easy to get at all supermarkets, gardeners would rather do it themselves. Organic gardening is very satisfying and is done with the use of no chemical fertilizers no pesticides and no artificial supplements during the growing process. Making the compost is so much more fulfilling than grabbing a bag of chemical fertilizer. It is simply using up garden and kitchen waste material.  Use potato and other vegetable peelings; add some rose cuttings which will help with the texture.

Organic gardening can give a good sense of pride even if the only space available is a small patch of land. It is even possible to get the children involved in organic gardening, by encouraging them to have an interest in how the food is made. They are sure to have some fun helping with the making of the compost, planting seeds and trying to think up ideas on how to remove any bugs. But most of all, they will love eating all the delicious food that has come from the organic garden. “