Ignore all those garden instant makeover shows that you may have seen on television!! The Landscape Designers of these shows make it look easy with a costly input of materials, a lack of practicability and a “pretty pretty” approach. I want to show you how you can grow your own fruit and vegetables, as cheaply and easily and environmentally friendly as possible.

Choosing where to grow all your food is the first decision to make. If you only have a windowsill, you can grow all your own herbs from seed. If you have a yard or patio, you can grow a few vegetables and fruit in tubs as well. If you have your own garden, you have the perfect location. Just dig up some of that lawn or extend the flower border by a metre and get cracking! If you have none of these, then look for an allotment with the help of your Local Authority. In all cases, the techniques for growing food are very similar.
 
Allotments are the best location for growing your own food, as you will be surrounded by experienced plotters who will be able to show you by example, the way to do it.  However, be aware that an allotment requires hard work at least several times a week from March to November, and once a week during the Winter. You owe it to the other plotters to put in the effort, and prevent your weeds spreading to other plots. As Allotment Associations are voluntary organisations, it is important that you pull your weight keeping the Allotments vibrant, and take part in the Communal activities.

Ask for advice from experienced plotters on the Allotments and note how they usually organise their plots into several large beds, not small ones!! They have learnt the hard way over many years that this is the best way to do it. I know that there seems to be a fashion amongst newcomers to allotments that it would look nicer to have many little “dinky” beds, but trust me, it is not practical. The disadvantages are many! First, you need to waste much of your ground on paths, which need to be wide enough to get a wheelbarrow down, say 60 cm. Unless the paths are concrete slabs, rather than grass or wood chips, you will have a never ending problem trying to stop the perennial weeds from invading your vegetable beds. If you have wooden edging to your paths as well, apart from the increased cost of the treated timber, you will find that it is more difficult to get at these weeds.

Raised beds are only required if you are disabled and cannot bend down, or are in a wheelchair. Landscape Designers and Contractors love them, possibly because they cost a lot and increase their fees and profits!! The cost of the tanalised timber for a 1.5m X 4 m X 30 cm high raised bed is about £55. There are better things to spend on limited resources! Do not forget that raised beds require continuous renewal and maintenance, if they are constructed of wood. If you are in a dry area, raised beds will only increase your drought problems, as the water table under the raised bed will be even further away from the roots. If you are on a steep slope, and you terrace the slope, you may also find that you have drought problems at the retained edge of the bed. Drainage in boggy ground is sometimes given as a reason for using raised beds. While it certainly works, there are also simpler methods for catering for drainage in boggy ground. These include drainage ditches, filled with all the stones from your beds, or the so called “lazy beds” system common in the Crofting communities of the Scottish Highlands and Islands. These consists of digging a spade depth deep ditch round the bed, thereby lowering the local water table. The ditch material is put onto the bed.