What got you into growing?

[cariann88]

I've just seen a post on facebook so I'd thought I'd ask on here.

What got you into growing and how old was you?

My auntie was growing her own food and I thought I'd give it a try. I was 22 when I started growing my own.

[Mumbles]

My grandparents had an allotment for a garden and I loved helping out on it and eating things before they reached the kitchen- I blame them for me not liking tomatoes from a shop, I was spoiled with home grown for far too long before I ever had a shop bought one

Lived at my mother in laws for a while and I had a few pots in her garden but was slowly taking over, think she was more glad to have her garden back than her house when we got our own place :P

[Guest]

Gardening and cooking are both because of my Nanny (my Dads Mum). My first memories of garden related things are my Nanny pinching cutting material off peoples plants during walks , on one occasion there were pots of root cutting hormone gel, sweet pea seed pods ripening and popping open on sunny windowsills and fruit seeds/pips just pushed in the pots of houseplants. I thought it was great. My Dad also encouraged me and I collected all different types of mint that I would root in jars of water. The veg growing didn't come until 8 years ago. The first veg patch I knew of was when I was a teenager so was only interested in eating produce not growing it.

[skeggijon]

My dad had an allotment for as long as I can remember. I used to go with him as a toddler and help to feed the chickens and do a bit of digging with my seaside spade.

When I was 6 I used to grow loads of tomato plants to sell to family and neighbours, in fact I can't remember NOT being into growing things.

[Greenleaves]

Raised by my grandparents so just became part of the norm....still look up and ask pops for advice. I still do a lot of things his way even though modern thinking says its wrong.

[Verinda]

My mum had a big organic veg garden so growing veg, organically, has always been part of my life.

[GardenGayle]

Neither my parents or grandparent grow fruit and veg but we have family friends who grow the basics. I remember going to their house in the school holidays when me and my sister were little and heading to the bottom of their long thin garden to pick runner beans straight from the plant. I also remember the lovely smell of tomato plants in their greenhouse and even though I don't like tomatoes I still love the smell of the plants.
I started growing myself about 5 years ago at 25/26 because I thought Id give it a go and think I started with runner beans and courgettes because someone at work told me her son grew them and that they were really easy.
My mum finds it really funny that both me and my sister grow our own and that my sister has chickens because no-one else in the family does and my sister especially was always very girly growing up

[Aberdeenplotter]

I had a corner of the garden where there was a telephone pole (which I tried to dig out with a teaspoon) and where I played with my dinky toys. It was nick named the hole. As I grew, so did the hole. Eventually my Dad encouraged me to grow some vegetables in the hole which by that time was growing by the day. He started me off with radishes and other quick maturing crops. That was it

[Potstubsdustbins]

30 years ago someone told me you couldn't grow good crops in containers, been doing it ever since.

[WendyC]

I had a little corner of the garden when I was about six and Dad taught me lots of plant names. When I was 16 Dad left and I took over the garden. Most teenagers were buying clothes and LPs, I was in Woolies buying French Marigold seeds and compost! Didn't do many vegetables. I also have a memory of going to meet Grandad at his allotment in Harrow.
Our first house had a small garden but I did grow tomatoes in grow bags. Not until my youngest started school did I get an allotment. Things go full circle as Dad is now back living in the family home, and waiting for heart surgery so in the next few weeks, I shall be going over to help him in the garden.

[Jay-ell]

My grandmother had a small patch of garden with hundreds of flowers in it. As a kid I dug up half the back garden for veg and herbs then had a gap growing of over 20 years. Got back into growing just recently

[Bigmallly]

I was quite young when I first started growing my own, I must have been around 50...........it was when I bought a house with a reasonable garden. From there I got a plot.......6 years later my life got turned on it's head and now have an even bigger plot with all the time in the world to tend to it.

[Lumpy]

We moved ALOT when I was growing up. By the time I left school at 18 I had been to 14 differant schools so I never had much stability.
Anyhow.....please don't laugh but my favourite programme (when it was first on and now as repeats) was The Good Life with Richard Briers etc. Comedy aside I loved the idea of the crops and animals because if I had all those things I would have to stay in one place long enough to grow it all.
I started with radish and toms when I got my first garden when I was 28 - and at the same time had a rude awakening about blight and slugs. Hey Ho

[Greenleaves]

^^^Don't worry Lumpy, I love "The Good Life". One of our neighbours is a typical Margo Leadbetter

[Lumpy]

Oh Margot and the piglets = happy times!