CoirProducts.co.uk Featured Grower this week is Lisa (@allotment_life_uk). With her love for gardening sown at a young age, in this blog post, Lisa shared with us what she loves to grow, her first successes, and some of the benefits of gardening. She also shared with us her habit of keeping a diary when it comes to gardening and reminds us to grow what we love. Read on to learn more about Lisa’s gardening journey.
Lisa’s love for gardening began at a young age. Reflecting on this, Lisa says, she was just around 6 years old when she first took an interest in gardening with her father. She remembers spending time in the garden with her father and grandfather. “My grandfather had an allotment and my dad grew from home, these are the two that inspired me,” she says.
Since then, Lisa’s love for gardening has only grown, having learnt many important lessons along the way.
Like many of us, Lisa loves growing tomatoes. In fact, these were among her early successes. “Tomatoes were my first success,” she explains, adding “Gardener’s Delight… which I still grow to this day”. While tomatoes remain a favourite, Lisa also enjoys growing various types of fruits and vegetables. Most often, however, it is the time of the year that determines what she grows. In fact, there is something for everyone in Lisa’s habit of keeping a diary on what she plants and timelines, as she explains, “I keep a diary on when to sow and plant out, and what success I had with a plant in the previous years at various times.”
Yet, Lisa has continued to become more conscious of what she uses in her garden, especially opting for environmentally-friendly methods of growing. She emphasises the importance of growing your own and organic growing, including, “growing food without chemicals”. Lisa also uses the no dig method. Many gardeners have discussed the benefits of the no dig method, especially in helping to maintain the natural life of the soil and improving aeration, as well as saving time and energy.
Lisa tries to get out in the garden or greenhouse every day, noting, “it gives me a sense of well-being.” There are many benefits of gardening, especially for one’s physical and mental health and well-being. Lisa goes on to say how gardening has benefitted her, “gardening brought many benefits to my life such as helping with depression, exercise, enjoyment, and achievement”. One other thing that she has come to love and value about what she does is having the ability to share the produce she has grown. She has also found support and strength through the gardening community, and loves sharing her experiences via channels such as Instagram. She also finds joy in spending time in nature and watching things grow from seed.
Lisa also shared with us her experiences of growing with coir-based products. Having mainly used coir for sowing, she reflects, “the seeds don’t require any nutrients to germinate,” and goes on to add, “I also mulch all my garden with coir each year, it’s natural and really benefits the garden.” Coir is also free of the more harmful peat-moss, and can be used for growing a variety of plants and crops, which makes it especially popular among gardeners.
Lisa’s love for gardening doesn’t stop here either. “Creatable Prints is a new business venture for me, printing durable garden, leisure, and workwear. I can also make bespoke designs for anyone that requires something different,” she says, talking to us about her new creative venture.
And finally, Lisa went on to share useful tips with other gardeners, emphasising the need to grow what you love to eat. “The best tip for new gardeners is, grow what you love to eat. Start off with growing in a small area so you don’t become overwhelmed. If something doesn’t work out the first time, don’t give up.” Gardening is also a lot about learning through experience, and looking for ways to learn from what didn’t work as well as celebrating little successes can go a long way.
You can follow Lisa on:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allotment_life_UK/
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