ST201905

What I grow

Simple pleasures

My greatest success

Clockwise from
above: bottled
chillis, a bush of
ripening chilli
peppers, purple-
podded peas and
a wonderfully
knobbly looking
turmeric root

I love to cook seasonally, so I grow beans,

peas, carrots, leeks, potatoes, cabbages

and courgettes, but I also challenged

myself to grow spices, particularly that

essential Indian ingredient, turmeric.

I was amazed that this root grew into a

beautiful plant and even gave me a small

crop to harvest. I also grow many chilli

varieties, and make my own chilli f lakes

and powder, which I use in my curry

powder mixes. Another essential is

coriander seeds. It’s widely used fresh, but

I also save the seeds, not only for sowing

again, but to add to my curry powders.

Growing in open soil, not pots, has given

me the most pleasure. At first I only

managed small crops, but as time’s gone

on, I’ve worked the land and brought it up

Growing my own food is fun, despite

pests, which can sometimes make things

more challenging, but growing fruit and

vegetables year after year from my own

saved seeds has been my biggest success.

I never thought I would manage this, but

by reading helpful gardening books and

sharing notes with fellow gardeners and

plot holders, I’ve been able to keep on

doing it. I’m also proud that I can cook

for my family. When my husband and

I started our family, I realised that if

I cooked even more interesting dishes,

our three children (now young adults)

wouldn’t grow bored with their ‘greens’.

They also had fun in the garden and

learned where their food came from.

to a standard to grow more crops. The soil

here is clay, which has its pros and cons but

I’ve learnt to understand nature and after

eight years produce straight(ish) parsnips.