My £25 Victory Garden Quest

I've recently been following news about climate change and have been increasingly concerned about my actions and it's impact on the environment. Tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, drought... so many natural disasters that have been occurring recently, all part of the chain reaction brought upon by climate change.

Just watched this video and I have to admit, this is scary stuff. Scary enough to make me decide to do something about it, or at least, reduce my consumption and waste.

Now I've always said that I wanted to be difference that difference that makes a difference, and while I realise that one person can't really do much, it is all it takes to start the ball rolling.

And this one person I've come across is a guy who calls himself Joe Gardener, and while he's not so much focused on the stance against climate change as to that of saving money, I thought that his project/challenge of growing an organic garden for less than $25 was very fitting to the theme. Click on the link to read more about this quest.

So I've jumped on the bandwagon and decided that I will try this challenge in my little London backyard and do my part. Here are the rules, taken from his website: Let the challenge begin!

*****

Rule #1: You can buy and use whatever you want with your twenty-five dollars. But, once it’s gone, it’s gone! That includes items listed below in the “can’t use” list.

What can be used from existing inventory (Anything that would reasonably be expected to already be on hand if you lived in a house with a yard, including equipment to maintain it)

• Tools (hose, shovel, rake, etc)
• pots & containers
• Fertilizer used to maintain landscape
• shop light, tables or shelves, etc.

What can’t be used from existing inventory (but you can buy with your $25):

• Compost (I hate this one the most)
• Seeds (personally owned from previous seasons)
• Seed starting trays and kits including heat mats
• Specialized tools specific to seed starting or veggie gardening, not commonly owned

What is fair game: Everything. This is the best part. Anything and everything you need can come from outside sources as long as you don’t spend past your limit. Just get creative and barter, go online, beg or borrow, just don’t steal!

*****

Let the challenge begin!

How could I forget?

I also have courgettes and tomatoes! Planted ages ago and have finally sprouted! Woohoohoo!

courgette 'zucchino genovese' from Franchi Sementi

first tomato seedling!

This is the pomodoro/tomato costuloto genovese - it's supposed to be as big as the palm of your hands. Can't imagine something so tiny producing something so big, but we'll see.

Earth hour

And to commemorate I've sown some seeds:

Saturday, 27th March 2010

The 5 biodegradable pots at the top are of Sunflowers (Sungold from Mr Fothergill's) and the bottom two have 2 seeds each of Marigold ('Moon' from Thompson and Morgan)

1 tray of alpine strawberry (whole pack, approx 80 seeds from Mr Fothergills)

The first 6 modules are chilli seeds that I got free from Wahaca (restaurant). The top 2 modules in the second column up till the 4th contain Tsoi Sim seeds and the final 8 modules are planted with Kailaan (both from realseeds.co.uk)

6 seeds of Latah early tomatoes (from realseeds.co.uk) are in the clingfilmed and wrapped in leftover fruit protecters to keep the clingfilm in place, the other two pots contain 3 tubers of tiny ginger rhisomes leftover from the ones I used to cook (from Hampton Farmer's Market)

Seeds planted 2 weeks ago or so

2x little plastic pots of basil sweet genovese (seeds from Wilkinsons)

the 3 pots in the middle are sweet pea 'superstar' from Thompson and Morgan

1x shallow plastic tray spring onions (white lisbon from Wilkinsons)

First 2 columns are no show 'Superstar' sweet peas from Thompson and Morgan, the next 8 modules are of purple sprouting broccoli (from Wilkinsons) and the final 2 columns are Acidanthera Peacock Orchid bulbs from Poundland

1 tray (24 modules) pak choi (choko f1 from Johnsons cooks oriental garden range) pictured here with some spring onions from Waitrose that I've used the tops of and kept in water to resprout (it worked), a terracotta pot of 5 bittergourd seeds from a bittergourd melon I got from Chinatown (clingfilmed and wrapped in polystyrene webbing to keep the clingfilm in place as well as keep the pot warm) and my curry leaf plant from Malaysia.

baby pak choi seedlings

Gone gardening

I thought about starting a new blog just for my newly acquired hobby, but then thought, well, what if I get bored of it? There'll be another neglected blog out there, and that, we don't need.

So yes, I've started gardening as a new hobby. And no, I never expected that I would love it so much. Part of the reason I started was because we've just bought a house and by the time the builders had left, the garden was in a sad state of mess.

A little weeding here, a bit of planting there. A pot of basil from Waitrose and some seeds from Thompson and Morgan later... bam, I was bitten by the gardening bug!

the garden last year