Light Relief

About a month ago I went to a local farmers market and brought a tray of sprouting Jersey Royals with the goal of planting them.

families grow more of their own food

The idea was to try it out on the Royals and if it works and I get some tasty potatoes out of it at the other end – then I would turn my small ‘garden’ over to more edible produce.

Well, thanks to my mother in law (I was never actually going to get around to planting them myself) we have some stunning looking plants growing up the side of our yard wall.

And these plants are growing out of Jersey Royals that will very soon be dug up and put on a dinner plate with some butter, black pepper and oregano.

It’s gone so well that we’ve decided to have a go at growing our own tomatoes and cabbage next time – as well as a mix of herbs.

But what’s been the most interesting thing about this experiment is the reaction I’ve had from other people.

When I mention that I’m having a go at growing my own Jersey Royals the response I get is either “oh I’d love to do that” or “yeah we’ve been growing vegetables for a while now”.

There seems to be, based on anecdotal evidence alone of course, an increasing trend towards ‘growing your own’ and moving from flower based to food based gardens.

How about you?

Are you growing your own fruit and veg? Do home grown Royals taste better than shop brought ones? Or is it not worth the effort?

Why do you think more people are growing their own food?