Start an allotment or community garden

“Quite what possessed me to get an allotment with no experience in growing anything, I’m not sure [...] So I toiled one early-autumn day, clearing the weeds, preparing the ground and then scattering the seeds. And then I waited. Not much happened and eventually, by late winter/ early spring, I gave up and threw some black plastic sheeting over the patch, thinking the area must have gone to weeds. A couple of weeks later the plants were pushing up against the black plastic, trying to get to the light. I realised with delight that I had a growing wildflower meadow.”

“This year, Alex and I decided to commit to learning how to grow some of our own food. It’s been a process full of surprises. [...] It’s also an eye-opening experience. I didn’t realize how much weeding we need to do. Weeding is a relaxing activity to do on the weekend. But only because we’re weeding a teeny, tiny little plot. [...] This kind of backbreaking activity requires bending over and pulling out little grassy plants for hours and hours. And it’s a never-ending battle with the weeds.”