My allotment is a two-minute walk from the house and in the Spring and Summer months is a place of WOW. Each year I try to grow more produce than the year before and love nothing more than strolling up to it with my little girl, on a sunny day, and getting covered in soil. Perhaps I enjoy it so much because I’m an earth sign (good old Capricorn) or perhaps it’s that the soil is such a key part of Mediterranean life. I’m not really sure – but I know how healthy and happy it makes me feel and so I encourage my clients to experience growing their own too.

I believe in eating seasonally, as much as time, budget and accessibility allow, and incorporate my own produce in home cooking, catering and The Little Strawberries Cookery School for Children, where part of the sessions involve the littles ones picking their own and enjoying a full earth-to-plate experience.

There’s no doubt that growing your own has a holistically positive impact on health; from the physical exercise required to do it, to the peace it allows for contemplation and mindfulness away from social media, appointments and emptying the dishwasher (something I seem to spend my life doing!). It’s also great for kids to understand where food comes from and I’d advocate that growing some fruit and/or vegetables at home, even a couple of strawberry or tomato plants, is beneficial when it comes to combatting fussiness. Why? Because children love to wonder at nature. They enjoy understanding the source of their food, take ownership of it’s growth and look forward to the reward of tasting it when it’s ready.

My blog posts contain seasonal sowing and growing tips so please pop onto there if you’re interested in growing your own. I am only a beginner, but allotment gardening has become one of my favourite past-times and I like to share my knowledge and experiences of growing organic vegetables where I can.