Huntly's Room to Grow project turns redundant gardens into food sources to fill tummies
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A project to tackle food poverty and bring redundant gardens into use is flourishing.
Room to Grow was the idea of Julie-Anne Henderson who runs her own gardening business and from cultivating just one plot last year the project has grown to three plots this season with a further five or six available.
Julie-Anne leads a small group of volunteers growing veg on a no dig principal - grass is mown short, a timber framed plot made, the grass covered with cardboard and topped out with compost.
People are being taught how to create compost so that going forward none will need to be bought.
Julie-Anne said: “People had big gardens and they were not able to look after them. They have volunteered their gardens for us to grow food to fill bellies - tatties, carrots, parsnips, brassicas - stuff that stores or freezes.
“What is grown we try to share and distribute to people who are facing food poverty and we really want to work with the Foodbank. Huntly has a high level of poverty and I want to reach those families.”
As well as plots in private gardens group has also created beds on land at Huntly station.
Emma Wood was the first to offer her extensive garden space to the project and says it has been a great success for her.
She said: "The garden was just too big for me and I was keen to be more sustainable in my way of living - growing our own food was a skill that had been largely lost but the method we use is easy and doesn't involve digging. The crops I had last year I was able to share with friends and family.
"The veg comes in and is cooked and eaten as opposed to going to a supermarket for something.
"I have a three year old grand-daughter so it's good for her to be growing food."
Everything in the garden is not rosy for the team though and their three biggest challenges are snails, cats and rabbits.
Anyone willing to volunteer with pest control, watering, which is urgent, or to share their garden can contact Julie Anne via the Room to Grow Facebook page or calling 01542 801708.
