I have given talks to a few really lovely groups recently. My talks have become more ‘organic’ over the years and now often become more like a complete question and answer session. Whereas a lot of speakers I know dread the Q & A part, I love it. It opens up all sorts of topics and is far more interactive, including the audience. Last year, I met my super-nice bee inspector at a talk I gave in Cardiff. He had always checked my hives whilst I was at work and we had never met. During my talk I was asked about the role of bee inspectors and I explained how lovely and helpful mine was despite us never having met. After the talk a man came up and introduced himself as, ‘your lovely friendly bee inspector’.
A few weeks ago, whilst talking about my barefoot endeavors, I met a fabulous man from Talgarth, Roy the Runner, who had been running barefoot in the 1940’s and ran with Zola Budd. What an inspiration. Last week two people turned up at a talk despite having heard me speak just before Christmas. “We love the banter, and we always learn something,” they said. It’s great feedback and of course I always learn a lot too.
Last week an audience were keen to know how to grow veggies in small spaces and without the hard work of digging the ground over. A chap in the audience pointed out that he thought a lot of newbie allotment failures were due to the lack of that good old-fashioned back-breaker – double digging. I have to agree. But there are options. One of the most productive options I have seen is to use the big builders bulk bags to grow stuff in. You can fill them with good quality growing medium to get a good start and I have seen the most amazing crops of spuds and leafy crops grown in them. An added bonus was that rabbits left them alone, as the crops were hard to access. They don’t look the prettiest but can always positioned behind trellis work or a row of runner beans, though to be honest I think crop yield is more important than aesthetics.
If you have room for a simple raised bed then using recycled plastic lumber or wood will mean your crops come early, as the soil is kept considerably warmer than any other material. These can be constructed on the patio and are great for smaller crops, particularly salad stuff.
Several people in the audience had had success with crops in hanging baskets although obviously the trick is to keep them well watered, preferably with a watering system. As well as ‘tumbling tomatoes’, you can now choose from peppers, peas, dwarf beans and small aubergines.
Window boxes will also host salad crops and dwarf varieties of veg and are a great option for balconies.
The secret is to be creative and courageous – just have a go. And let me know about your success so I can share it!
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