A Garden in south London.

In February of this year, I and three old friends from school moved to a four bedroomed house with a small garden in south london, not far from Brockwell Park. Previously I was living in what can only be described as a divided shoe box, just above a coffee shop on the Wandsworth bridge road. With little more than a boat galley kitchen fitting one person at best, a sitting room just big enough to fit a sofa, and walls thin enough to put your elbow through if you weren't careful, cramped was an understatement. Although, the area did have it's share of fine dinning and gastro pubs, 'The Sands End' to name just one of the favourites serving seasonal country dishes with wonderfully classic game recipes, the closest a  london pub can get to being a remote country inn. Living above the coffee shop also had it's benefits, other than being able to order coffee and pastries in you pyjamas, the smell of freshly roasted coffee every morning was a brightening start to the dullest of mornings and made a good job of masking the smell of the psychotic next door neighbours festering drain pipes.

I'd very nearly come to forget what it was like to be able to swing a cat in your living room and, have more than two people physically able to move around in a kitchen without thwarting each other with hot pans and sharp knives. The real difference with new abode however was beyond the kitchen door. A green space, not a big space, but a green space none the less which, in London is a gift not to be wasted. The warm sheltered conditions of a london garden create a fitting environment for herbs, fruits and veg that would otherwise need a green house in the country and far less frosts to worry about in the midsts of winter. So, with the help of a few books donated from the misses, the Internet, an iPhone app for vegetable growing novices and armed only with an old rusty spade and fork, work began.

Six months on and i'm up to my eyeballs in tomatoes, I haven't bought a bag of a salad since May and I have a plentiful supply of pesto from Basil growing like wild fire. However, it's been no easy feat and there have been disasters along the way; my potatoes, the week after I took the photo above decided to collapse creating a seen like a tornado had blown through the garden, my peas were devoured by staggering hordes of snails and my tomato plants were toppled to the floor by the storms in early August. Would I do it all again next year? Absolutely, with one or two adjustments of course. 

Since starting in March, I've frequently been asked the question "are you doing this to save money", honestly, the cost had never really crossed my mind, does there even need to be a reason to grow veg other than the simplistic satisfaction of nurturing a seed to fruit and then to mouth? It's a simple pleasure with which we can all relate to one way or another, just being outside tending to the garden has a very subtle way of deflecting the trials and tribulations of modern life, if only for short while it seems to slow things down a little, there's no rushing involved at all, if there is your doing it wrong. Having a bountiful supply of fresh herbs, salads and tomatoes has given me even more of a reason to be more creative and adventurous in the kitchen, and yes, maybe I did save a penny or two, but really, nothing to get excited about.

Give it a go, make use of what ever green space you have, there is endless amounts of information available on the web for the green gardner. My advice, grow what you enjoy eating, theres no point in planting potatoes or brussel sprouts if really, your not that fussed about eating them. Use your space wisely, I made the mistake of trying to grow too many spuds in too little space, hence the reason they all keeled over on me, it was a sorry sight I can assure you, if you only have a small space then perhaps try the grow in the bag spuds, small waxy new potatoes work brilliantly in grow bags. Get a head start on the growing season, fruits such as tomatoes, courgettes and peppers can all be started off indoors earlier in the season, get yourself a plastic propagator and place it on a warm sunny window sill, starting seeds off  early indoors not only gives a better chance of survival, but also allows for earlier crops, especially if your small London garden is not blessed with long hours of sunshine. Understand the conditions of your garden, the soil, light conditions, drainage etc, then buy your seeds, a tomato plant in a west facing garden that only gets limited sun aren't likely to excel in the class. If however, you are lucky enough to have sheltered garden with a good amount of sunshine, I cannot urge you enough to give the tomato a go, when you take your first bite of you own sweet ripe tomato, wrapped in a green basil leaf, trust me it'l be well worth it.