CoirProducts.co.uk Featured Grower this week is Emily (@live_sow_grow). Emily shared with us how she first got into gardening, which was in a slightly unexpected way! Emily also spoke to us about how gardening has benefitted her, the environmentally-friendly practices she adopts, what she loves to grow, and also shared a few tips and suggestions. She also reflected on the wider benefits of gardening on a big allotment site, where she finds a sense of community and gardeners and growers share knowledge and experiences. Read on to find out all about Emily’s gardening journey.
Recalling how she started gardening, Emily says, “I have to admit my first foray into gardening was not very successful. I would have been about 6 years old when my dad could not work out why he was not getting any runner beans. At the time I had pet guinea pigs, and I was picking the flowers off my dad’s runners to feed to them. My dad caught me, he was not cross, but explained to me how it all worked and I was hooked.” Having always gardened on a small scale, Emily took her allotment about three years ago, and she hasn’t looked back. She took on her second plot at the end of last year.
Emiy’s favourite things to grow changes every year. “At the moment I am really into squash, there are so many different varieties to try. Something I am really excited about this year is a manpukjui carrots. They can grow up to a metre long,” she says.
She also shared with us her process of working with plants. “Most gardeners get the itch to start sowing seeds as soon as Christmas is over. I try to resist and not be tempted to start too early, as I know I will only end up starting again. I always try to remember that plants want to grow, and not to kill them with kindness,” she explains. Every year, she would grow something she has never tried before. This year, Emily is having her first attempt at growing melons. “I am quite a visual person, so I like to look at Youtube videos, but remember to find people growing in a similar environment to you.”
Speaking about environmentally-friendly practices she adopts in her garden, Emily says, “plastic is a hot topic in gardening as there always seems to be a lot of it. I don’t buy cheap seed trays as I find they fall to bits after a year but spend a bit more knowing that they are going to last a long time. I have also moved to peat free compost and found that my local gardening centre will also recycle the bags.”
Having used coir products, Emily says, “I am a big fan of CoirCoins for sowing things like tomatoes and chillies. I start both in a heated propagator and what I find really helpful is that I can move the individual coins off the heat as soon as they germinate, which is something you can not do if you have sown multiple seeds in a seed tray.”
Gardening on a big allotment site, Emily especially likes the sense of community it creates, and the knowledge they get to share with each other within this space. She says, “something I think is not spoken about enough is the sense of community that exists. I can talk to anyone on site as we all share a common interest. You have a whole range of experience, from more traditional gardening techniques to newer gardening methods. I can go up the allotment and work on my own but if I want to have a bit of company, I can always find someone who is willing to have a chat with me. We share plants and help each other out when needed. Gone are the days of the stereotypical older gentlemen being the only people found on allotment sites. There is now a real mix; young and old, male and female, people gardening on their own to it being a family effort.”
On the other hand, she finds it challenging when some things just don’t go to plan. “Last year I was plagued with flea beetle and it got really frustrating at times. I also cannot grow swede, have no idea why and try every year but never have any luck. I try again every year and will do again this year because I love it and this year may be the year.”
Working as a social worker, her work sometimes can get a bit stressful, and here she finds gardening relaxing. “Gardening is my way of relaxing and unwinding after a long day. It’s something that I do just for me, it’s not about advancing my career or learning a new skill that I can use at work. I simply do it because I enjoy it.”
Emily is inspired by the new generation of gardeners that are coming through that like to break the rules and grow things that people would have not have thought possible in our climate. “Lucy Hutchinson and her jungle room gives me gardening envy and Huw Richards garden is just amazing,” she says, adding, “then there is the wonderful instagram community. Everyone is full of amazing ideas and are just so supportive. I also enjoy the banter that we have, especially with Dave (greedy_gardens) and Andy (mrgreenseldonseen).”
Sharing tips and suggestions, Emily says, “everyone says grow what you like to eat and I agree with this. There is no point growing cabbage if you hate it. However, I also like to grow things just because I can. Do I need to grow one metre long carrots? Probably not but I enjoy the excitement of saying ‘look at this’. There is also a bit of an allotment site competition going on as loads of us have bought the seeds. No one has announced this competition but we all know it’s happening.” She emphasises, “don’t be afraid to give things a go. There is no one way of doing anything and, when it comes to gardening, the worst that can happen is that nothing happens.”
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