All there is to know about growing your own food, growing vegetables, producing food

Time for action to increase British fruit and vegetable consumption and production

8:10am Tuesday 31st August 2010

Proposals to encourage more growing and eating of British fruit and vegetables should move forward as soon as possible, says the NFU.

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Smallholders can dig their way to a healthy heart and grow-your-own

5:20pm Thursday 5th August 2010

Did you know that one hour of gardening can burn off around 290 calories? That is equivalent to having a piece of chocolate cake. Simple lifestyle changes such as eating healthily, reducing salt intake, not smoking and exercising, can help reduce our risk of heart disease which remains the biggest killer in the UK. As allotment week is here there’s no better time to become “green fingered” and get digging towards a healthy heart. Not only will your heart reap rewards from the exercise there are plenty of other benefits too.

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Pickling and preservation on your smallholding

3:26pm Friday 16th July 2010

Barbara Hill from Vigo Ltd on how to make the best of your surplus garden produce

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Gardeners call for phased introduction of hosepipe ban

6:50pm Monday 12th July 2010

The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), the trade body for the garden industry, says that United Utilities’ introduction of a hosepipe ban could have been better handled if they had followed the more considered approach that the gardening industry has been suggesting to the water companies and Government since the last drought in 2006. Tim Briercliffe, HTA Director of Business Development, said, “We welcome the fact that United Utilities is now open to holding discussions with the gardening industry. However, we remain concerned that we were not approached earlier in the process. “We have been advocating the phased introduction of a hosepipe ban. This involves the use of drip irrigation, evening watering and watering on alternate days with a hosepipe ban being the final option. It also involves consultation with the widest possible group of stakeholders to ensure that clear advice is communicated to all customers affected via nurseries and retailers.

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