See what stuff me and my badly behaved pals have been up to lately
I am part of The Growing Kitchen on the Wenlock Barn Estate in Hackney. We started in 2008 with a community garden on a disused piece of lawn. Since then we have expanded to create a foraging garden with a wild area and a community orchard on a separate site. We also have a pond that is teaming with life …
This summer solstice weekend saw the return of the Power of Food Festival to Edinburgh’s community gardens. Across the city, 16 gardens threw open their gates and welcomed in the public, to experience first-hand the magical spaces flourishing right under their noses. From Newhaven to Merchiston, Granton to Tollcross, each garden was unique, with its own original story. Visitors to …
Carol Plummer; engineer, entrepreneur and co-founder of Vivent tells us more about this fascinating subject… Recently there’s been lots of talk in the biology community about whether plants are intelligent. It is an interesting question to consider. What is intelligence? In plants? In people? Do you need a brain to be intelligent? If something is more intelligent than something else …
In her latest blog on seasonal food, Alicia Miller offers more healthy and inventive ideas to help you bridge the Hungry Gap … Although summer has just begun it’s still a lean time of the year for produce. Widely known, at least among farmers and growers, as the ‘hungry gap’ – there’s actually little food about still with winter crops …
In the few years since Arthur’s diagnosis (he’s nearly 7) my family and I have been through a lot with our youngest son and found that like most (if not all) non neuro-typical children, he is happiest outside. Actually he’s a charmingly happy little boy most of the time anyway, but he’s utterly in his element when either walking …
I’ve been gardening without spending very much at all for years now and what started out as an experiment for my Guardian gardening blog , became over time simply what I do. For me it’s as much about the enjoyment I get from making better use of what I already have around me, as the actual money saving itself. Like a lot …
What’s not to love about the ability to turn much of your kitchen waste into fantastic black gold for your fruit and vegetables? Okay, I’ll admit; the idea of a big pile of slowly rotting household waste may not immediately grab you as being a) at all glamorous or indeed b) practical unless you have a lot of space. Yet …
A few years back (and inspired by the community growing initiative in Todmorden), Sahira Ward decided to approach her local council to see what could be done along these lines in her area. Since then, working with friends, family and neighbours, she has gone on to transform a plot of former waste ground at the top of her road into …
So it’s almost May but looking outside you wouldn’t know it. This week we’ve had snow, hail and a severe chill that has made the prospect of summer seem all that much further away. Yes it’s annoying but rather than getting down in the dumps about it all I suggest embracing the cold with a lovely hearty meal. We …
Benedict Beaumont on quitting teaching and the mundane for a life of adventure. Walking. It’s something we all do. Something we hardly ever think about. Maybe after the Christmas binge, when we are still in the first flush of commitment to, let’s face it, unsustainable New Year’s resolutions, we might decide to walk up the stairs rather than catch a …