By Susan Watson

This week, 14^th – 20 August 2017, is National Allotment Week but less than a quarter of the fruit and vegetables eaten in this country are UK grown.  The rest is imported around the world, a staggering £9.1 billion worth [1]

Do you know where the fruit and vegetables you eat has come from? The journey it has taken to reach our Supermarkets? The impact this has on our environment?

I can answer yes to all the above as all my fruit and vegetables are home grown in my husband’s and my allotment. Our crops are dependent on the time of year but we are currently growing potatoes, carrots, beetroot, spring onion, cabbage, white turnip and strawberries, to name a few.

It has taken us 14 years to get to this point where we have a self-sufficient garden but the benefits are great:

• The impact on the environment

One of the main benefits is the significant impact it has on the environment. Not only do they taste 100% better, but it reduces your carbon footprint.

• Reduction in shopping bills.

We don’t pay for the cost of advertising, transporting or packaging with our home-grown fruit and vegetables.

• Minimal waste

We keep waste to a minimum, when we know so much time and effort has gone into our crops, we hate to waste anything so our diet is full of fruit and vegetables.

• Nothing beats the taste of home grown produce plus it’s as organic as it can ever be.

Growing your own is something that everyone could do even if you live in a bustling city.  You can read all about my colleagues in Hong Kong who took part in an urban farming programme on a roof top building here.

[1] https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/buying-and-supplying/categories/fresh/fruit-and-veg/three-quarters-of-fruit-and-veg-eaten-in-uk-is-imported/548771.article