Growing fruit and vegetables is an immensely rewarding and popular activity. The average waiting time for an allotment in Edinburgh is 4 ½ years with some people waiting up to 9 years! However there are other ways to get your hands dirty and grow fresh, healthy produce.
Community Gardens
There are a growing number of community gardens in Edinburgh.The Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens and the Edinburgh and Lothian’s Greenspace Trust both produce maps to help you find one in your neighbourhood.
Volunteering for a community garden is a great way to meet new people, learn new skills, improve your local area, keep fit and grow fruit and vegetables.
Edinburgh Garden Partners
Edinburgh Garden Partners match up people who have a garden and can’t look after it with people who want to grow their own food but don’t have a plot and can’t wait for an allotment.
At the Botanics this weekend (Sat 13 — Sun 14 Apr 2013) Edinburgh Garden Partners will be running a free event, ‘Getting Edinburgh Growing’. It will take place between 1.00 pm — 4.00 pm in Real Life Science Studio in John Hope Gateway. Come to the Botanics to find out more about Edinburgh Garden Partners and start your partnership. There will be other grow your own activities and you will even be able to taste soup made from freshly harvested garden produce.
Window sill growing
If all else fails you can grow a range of things on your window sill; from tomatoes and chillies, to salads and herbs.
Window sill growing
Photograph by Laura Cohen