![ROOM TO GROW](https://cdn.magzter.com/1387431163/1716819925/articles/0MyKTRDrA1716887010774/ROOM-TO-GROW.jpg)
How long have you been growing your own?
I've been growing since I got my allotment in June 2019 and that's really when I became interested in growing food and flowers. My friend showed me her allotment and I thought "Oooh, that looks like a great thing to do" and so I contacted the local council.
Up until then my mum had spent my whole life trying to interest me in gardening, even giving my brother and me our own little vegetable patch in her veg garden. I remember she gave us £5 to buy a garden ornament for our little patch and I bought a stone dog, but the poor thing just sat there surrounded by empty earth, except for some weeds, for years!
My mum still has that dog in her garden! One of my best friends has also spent years trying to encourage me to garden and grow flowers and I never felt driven by it until the day I saw my friend's allotment, for some reason. Something shifted when I got my own allotment and I felt really connected to nature and to the process of growing and nurturing plants into fruition.
I'm so glad I decided to sign up for one because it is truly one of the best things I've ever done!
You are the founder of Devon Dig and Donate. Tell us about it.
Devon Dig and Donate is something that has been in my heart for a number of years. I work full time in education, often with vulnerable pupils and families and as the cost of living crisis and poverty rates in the UK have increased, I have supported more and more families in accessing food banks.
Through my conversations with them, and my work leading food nutrition across one of the schools I worked in, it became apparent that often families felt fresh fruit and vegetables were an expense that they couldn't always afford. And while donations to food banks are often very generous, due to the nature of collections, fresh produce is not always available for donation.
Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av Kitchen Garden.
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Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av Kitchen Garden.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
![SEPTEMBER SPECIALS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5241/1812416/2fL6aUSKl1724758883161/SEPTEMBER-SPECIALS.jpg)
SEPTEMBER SPECIALS
This month, with sweetcorn, figs and blackberries on the menu, Anna Cairns Pettigrew is not only serving up something sweet and something savoury, but all things scrumptious
![FLAVOURSOME FRUIT AUTUMN RASPBERRIES](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5241/1812416/_Gns6bqVn1724758569080/FLAVOURSOME-FRUIT-AUTUMN-RASPBERRIES.jpg)
FLAVOURSOME FRUIT AUTUMN RASPBERRIES
September - is it late summer or the start of autumn? David Patch ponders the question and says whatever the season, it's time to harvest autumn raspberries
![SOW GREEN THIS AUTUMN](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5241/1812416/1I75b23my1724758285175/SOW-GREEN-THIS-AUTUMN.jpg)
SOW GREEN THIS AUTUMN
Covering the soil with a green manure in winter offers many benefits and this is a good time to sow hardy types, says KG editor Steve Ott
![A HISTORICAL HAVEN OF FRUIT AND FLOWERS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5241/1812416/nRtj1iue81724757876237/A-HISTORICAL-HAVEN-OF-FRUIT-AND-FLOWERS.jpg)
A HISTORICAL HAVEN OF FRUIT AND FLOWERS
KG's Martin Fish takes time out from his own plot to visit a walled garden in Lincolnshire which has been home to the same family for more than 400 years
![RESTORING THE BALANCE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5241/1812416/lfp9CXVex1724757663424/RESTORING-THE-BALANCE.jpg)
RESTORING THE BALANCE
The phrase regenerative gardening is often heard in gardening circles, but what is it? Can it help you to grow better veg? Ecologist Becky Searle thinks so, and tells us why
![WASTE NOT, WANT NOT](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5241/1812416/ewBXFU9pm1724757490926/WASTE-NOT-WANT-NOT.jpg)
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
Garden Organic's Anton Rosenfeld shares his expertise on using compost made from green bin collections with handy tips on getting the right consistency and quality
![Celebrating Organic September!](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5241/1812416/cT8pgju_h1724756509981/CELEBRATING-ORGANIC-SEPTEMBER.jpg)
Celebrating Organic September!
In this special section we bring you four great features aimed at improving your crops and allowing nature to thrive
![SEEING RED](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5241/1812416/Z26qufoSo1724756196848/SEEING-RED.jpg)
SEEING RED
Do your tomatoes have a habit of remaining stubbornly green? Or perhaps you're lucky to enjoy lots of lovely fruits - just all at once. Either way, Benedict Vanheems is here with some top tips to ripen and process the nation's favourite summer staple
![NEW KIDS ON THE BROCCOLI!](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5241/1812416/jK4l_j3jO1724755922814/NEW-KIDS-ON-THE-BROCCOLI.jpg)
NEW KIDS ON THE BROCCOLI!
Rob Smith is talking broccoli this month with a review of the different types available and suggestions for some exciting new varieties to try
![A NEW kitchen garden](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5241/1812416/53hWPDmMC1724755583587/A-NEW-KITCHEN-GARDEN.jpg)
A NEW kitchen garden
Martin Fish is getting down to plenty of picking and planting on the garden veg plot, while Jill is rustling up something pepper-licking good!