My name is Karen, and I love everything about growing, preserving and cooking home-grown produce. There is no greater pleasure than wandering round a productive veg patch.

I use organic, mostly raised-bed, no-dig methods, which suit me well as digging is not my favourite job. 

Our property is on heavy clay soil, which bakes rock-hard in the summer and gets waterlogged in the winter. So raised beds help me maintain good soil health, control weeds, and manage water drainage. I could spend time amending the clay soil, but it’s far easier with raised beds to keep the weeds under control.

The ability to move to the countryside has allowed me to grow much of the food we eat and pursue a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

I’ve been gardening for about 10 years, initially on an allotment in the city, and now on my own land in a small village in the west of England in zone 9. 

I want to share my knowledge, learn from others and build a supportive gardening community. I also want to keep things as real as possible. Gardening isn’t always successful; caterpillars, slugs, snails, and birds can all decimate your plants. You forget to water, you don’t get time to weed, life, children and work will get in the way.  But when you harvest that precious, freshly picked cabbage or cauliflower, it makes your heart sing, and it’s worth all the hard work.

Growing your own food is a joy; it helps you to be more resilient, it connects you with the natural rhythms of each season, and gives you a greater understanding of food security.

Seeing a shelf full of preserved homegrown produce is an amazing feeling. However, we all have to start somewhere, be it a few herbs you have dried or a couple of bulbs of garlic. We all need to learn what works best for us and how we prefer to garden, so that is what this blog is for. It’s to help people learn, gain confidence, and enjoy the journey.

I hope you will join me in this wonderful world of fruit and veg growing, self-sufficiency, and living a more intentional life.

If you are interested in garden coaching, please visit my services page.