Vegetable Growing: What I Would Teach

Food security's a hot topic at the moment and I reckon it's set to become even more so over the coming years. Fluffy Muppet and Soilman had some thoughtful posts and debate on this subject earlier this year, and now Matron's joined in too.

Her piece focused on our ability to pass on our vegetable knowledge to those that don't grow their own, which Soilman followed up by posing the following question:

If you had to give three specific bits of help/advice to a total vegetable virgin – once the oil and fertilisers have gone – what would they be?

As usual his response to this question is pithy, smile inducing and thought provoking. Lots of people have left their ideas in the comments already, but I wanted to have a think about it and respond on here. Matron's original post said:

Growing food locally using sustainable methods has been placed at the top of the Government's food security agenda following its first ever assessment on the safety of the country's food supply. So all of us out here, the beekeepers, poultry keepers farmers and allotmenteers will be in great demand. I know I won't go hungry! will you?

Having seen some of the Government's consultation on Food 2030 and their most recent Food Security Assessment, I'm appalled there's hardly anything in there about folks doing it for themselves. Yet we have a country facing a projected population increase to 70 million souls (the current UK population is about 62 million) over the next few decades with greenbelt and farmland being used to meet our increased demand for housing and services - 3 farms are set to go in Wiltshire's proposed plans for Chippenham 2026 alone. Imagine how this will be scaled up nationwide.

So, I can't see us having a hope in hell of feeding ourselves economically without there being a WWII-style approach to tackling the problem to complement anything happening in the UK food industry. So back to Soilman's question, what of my hard-won knowledge would I like to pass on to others?

Grow what you actually like to eat

Ignore any specific advice about starting with cabbages, beans, potatoes or whatever. NAH hates both cabbages and beans, so I'd be wasting both a lot of veg and my time if I'd heeded this advice. Of course, it might be a little tricky if your current dietary favourites include lots of warmer climate items such as avocados and mangoes, so do keep your sights to what can be comfortably grown in this country. Joy Larkcom's Grow Your Own Vegetables will show you not only what's achievable, she also says which crops will give you the best value for money and also provides plot plans depending on whether your needs are feeding the family or are more gourmet inclined.

Things will be different every year

Expect crops to do poorly or to give you the biggest glut you could ever imagine. You will rarely achieve the nirvana of 'just enough for your needs' and what crops poorly one year will probably be a glut the next. A lot of this will not be down to your level of skill, but is dependent on the weather, the health of your soil, what pests are doing well that year etc etc. As your experience grows, you'll be able to take this in your stride and to ensure you provide the best possible growing conditions whatever nature throws at you. You'll also feel increasingly confident in tackling those crops which are more difficult to grow.

Be flexible and adaptable

As space becomes a premium, you'll probably not have enough room to grow everything you need. I'm assuming government plans will focus mainly on the basic foodstuffs, so grow more of the other items you like (or are most expensive to buy) and be prepared to have them in your borders or on your patio. Herbs can be used instead of shrubs and flowers - I grow thyme as a border edging for example and I've planted a couple of apple trees instead of more ornamental ones in my garden. Gluts will mean learning about preserving or sharing/bartering with your neighbours. In fact there's a lot more you could do as a community - you can pool your resources and knowledge, as well as sharing food. Think about seed saving - so you'll need to know about open pollinated varieties rather than F1 ones and perhaps buy your seeds from companies like Real Seeds - and seed swaps. Expect the unexpected and change your plans where necessary.

If all this makes me sound a bit alarmist, well I am pretty concerned about what's going to happen in the future, but I'm also optimistic that the issues we face can be tackled positively if we all get involved in some way. Do you think I'm being melodramatic or just sensible? What advice would you add?