The Vertical Vegetable Garden

July 11, 2009 - PRLog -- For many of us city dwellers, the extent of our outdoor space is a small window box perched precariously on a ledge – but now National Trust has launched a new initiative to challenge urbanites to transform their window sills into beautiful, tasty vegetable gardens…

The ‘Window Food’ campaign targets residents of the UK’s five million flats and encourages them to make the most of what little outdoor space they have.

Part of the National Trusts’ Food Glorious Food campaign which aims to show everyone that they can grow their own, Window Food promotes ‘vertical gardening.’

National Trust estimate that there is a whopping 600 acres of urban window ledge space just crying out for some veggie action. The company says that even two window boxes can grow enough produce to create a meal.

And, as news abounds of rising grocery prices, there has never been a better time to grow your own.

Fiona Reynolds, Director General of the National Trust, says, “Here’s proof that you don’t need an allotment or garden to grow your own food - we’ve got the equivalent of 344 football pitches worth of growing space right on our windowsills.

“Growing ‘window food’ is an easy way to ensure your vegetables are local and bursting with flavour without breaking the bank - and when it’s pouring with rain outside, there’s no need to brave the weather - you simply open the window and pick what you need,” she added.

Gizzi Erskine, chef and food writer is supporting the campaign from her East London flat by undertaking an experiment to create mouth-watering recipes from ingredients grown on her window sills.

She is growing radishes, beetroots, rainbow chard, spinach, various lettuces, new potatoes, tomatoes, courgettes, cabbages and a variety of herbs.

She says, “I’m on a mission to dispel the myth that cooking is difficult and time consuming – and I now want to do the same for growing your own vegetables and herbs. I love cooking with fresh ingredients – it makes all the difference to the taste of food and you can’t get fresher than picking straight from your own windowsill. Living in a flat, I never thought I could grow so much without a garden but my windowsills look pretty and are really productive. Hopefully I’ll never find a soggy supermarket bag of leftover lettuce at the bottom of my fridge again – everyone should give window food a go!”

To support this drive, over three hundred special events are taking place from now until October 2009 where National Trust experts will be giving growing advice and free seeds. To find your nearest event visit www.foodgloriousfood.org.uk

For more information on UK properties and the property market in general, please visit http://www.themovechannel.co.uk/

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.

For further information, please contact:

Dan Johnson
Managing Director
www.themovechannel.com
0207 952 7650

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TheMoveChannel.com is a property website that was founded in 1999 as an online resource for buying, selling and learning about property. It now receives as many as 300,000 visits per month and advertises over 50,000 properties in nearly 90 countries, which are listed by over 500 partner organisations.