The new trend that’s helping us eat more healthily and cheaply
The challenge of eating healthily on a budget has had a boost from a growing trend in the last year – the rising number of people renting allotments and buying seeds. Even some people unable to secure an allotment have found ways to join in. Emily Garland created an edible roof garden on her houseboat: “I hadn’t realised the pure joy of seeing veg grow noticeably every single day”, she says. Now, as the new generation of allotmenteers harvest their first or second crop, are they really living and eating more sustainably, healthily and cheaply as a result? Growing your own can be local and sustainable If you want to eat more local food, one solution is to “dig for victory”, as the World War II campaign put it. Back then, it’s estimated 18 percent of fruit and veg was home-grown in gardens and allotments, but by 2018 this was reduced to just three percent. Since then, lockdowns have led to many of us spending more time at home, and supermarket food shortages have created fears about food availability. Sustainability issues have become more pressing too, and eating home-grown produce removes the carbon cost of transporting food and the need for plastic packaging. Growing veg can bring its own problems, though. You might have a glut (courgettes, we’re looking at you), but recipes for preserves and freezer dinners come to the rescue. Produce can fail to ripen (c’mon tomatoes!), but you can sometimes still cook with it, as with this green tomato salsa (see the video below). And there can be competition from insects (darn those slugs) – not much a recipe can do to help there! Watch this short video on how to make a green tomato salsa. Having an allotment may boost your health Many allotmenteers have found their new hobby has some surprising health benefits. “The social side of it is hugely beneficial”, says Kerrin Wauton, who signed up for her first allotment this year. Having made friends with people who have allotments nearby, she adds, “you’re nurturing people as well as plants”. The chance to share produce with friends and neighbours has also proved mood-boosting for some. Mindful-gardening coach Kendall Plattar found growing plants can help tackle mental health problems. “[Gardening] took me from feeling like a shell of a person on the edge of burnout to feeling happy, calm and confident… it allowed me to stop my brain from overthinking every little aspect of life”, she says. In fact, gardening has been linked to “reductions in depression and anxiety symptoms, stress, mood disturbance, and BMI, as well as increases in quality of life, sense of community, physical activity levels, and cognitive function”, according to an analysis of its effects on health. But there’s a more direct way growing your own fruit and veg can boost health. Households who grow their own consume 40 percent more fruits and vegetables per day than those who do not, and are three-and-a-half times more likely to eat the recommended five portions a day, according to one UK hospital. What’s more, “gardening can inspire you to take an interest in the origins of your food and make better choices about what you put on your plate”, says Dr Helen Delichatsios from Massachusetts General Hospital. Mum Hannah McClune says “we got our allotment in May 2020, and it has been an amazing experience for [my] boys to learn where their food has come from”. Growing veg can save you cash OK, so growing your own veg is hard work and not every crop is a success. But it can save you money over time. Set-up costs can be expensive, with pots, seeds, compost, stakes and kit to buy. But keep an eye out for bargains such as free pots from garden centres who are recycling them. When it comes to plug plants (germinated seedlings), “there’s a degree of swapping that goes on”, says Kerrin Wauton. And of course if you have a successful harvest, produce can be cheaper and fresher than ingredients you can buy in the shops. Surprising growing spots Those with no outside space have had to improvise. “I grew my first veg in a large bowl in the kitchen”, says Toni Koppel, adding that although the carrots and peppers were a little sad, it was a joyous experience. “Watching these plants and nurturing them has been one of those little pleasures that’s helped keep me happy in these weird times”, she says.