Home grown? This IS about food – promise!

I am by no means a gardener.  My thumb is determinedly NOT green.  I know it’s been a long time sadness of my Mum, whose garden has always been filled with beauty, right from the time when we lived in a little 2 up, 2 down with a tiny little plot to now, when they have a good 3/4 of an acre full of gorgeous blooms.

Now that I have a garden of my own, I’ve found myself wanting to dabble a bit but not really knowing where to start.  I know nothing about different plants and how they’re cared for or even what they will look like.  Mum has offered support by donating various plants and so on, but the thing that has inspired most excitement in me is when she gave me some tomato plants that she had grown from seed to a point where they could survive outside the greenhouse and in my garden.  She gave me strict instructions about regular watering, feeding and thinning out and I was religious in sticking to them – because let’s face it, the end product was food!

Now I put in an order for tomato plants each year (and over time, have even added chilli, pepper, potatoes, spinach and beetroot to the garden’s bounty).  If you have space to grow any veggies or herbs (and who doesn’t have space for a couple of pots of parsley and basil?) then I really recommend it!  There are so many great reasons to go home grown…

5 reasons to go home grown

1) Cost

If your tastes tend to lean towards the more expensive foods such as asparagus then it can definitely be worthwhile growing your own.  Equally, if you are a prodigious eater of fruit and veg, the same applies!  It just makes mathematical sense.

2) Taste

Food you have grown yourself ALWAYS tastes better.  Strawberries are sweeter, tomatoes are juicier and apples are crunchier.  That’s just the way it is – don’t believe me?  Try it and see.

Interested in a few recipes  to use up some of those tomatoes? Done!

Prawn Pilau

Homemade tomato ketchup

Roasted Vegetable & tomato sauce

3) Child friendly

Some veggies can be quite difficult for a small child’s palate.  Spinach, broccoli and (weirdly)  tomatoes are often scorned and rejected by the tiny hands of children.  However, if those tiny hands helped with caring for and watering the plants and nurturing them until ready for harvesting, then somehow, these morsels are infinitely more tempting!

4) Sharing the wealth

Who doesn’t love to be presented with a selection of beautiful, home grown produce?  What a wonderful thing to be able to give to your friends and neighbours – and more often than not, you will find yourself with more than you can manage yourself so generosity can come very easily!

5) Inspiration

The first tomato from my garden this season

What better place to look for inspiration in the kitchen, than in the garden?  With even a small selection of produce, the culinary options are bountiful!  This year, what with a new small person suddenly arriving into our lives, we have only got tomatoes.  But really, tomatoes can be the basis of SOOOO many beautiful meals.   Come back and see me soon and I’ll tell you some of my favourites 🙂

So there you go – five great reasons to dust off your trowel and head down to the garden centre to stock up on your favourite fruits, herbs and veggies.   You don’t need to be a great gardener, you just need to be an enthusiastic eater!