Grow your own food
Growing some of your own food is one of the most sensible, satisfying kinds of resilience there is — Britain imports about 40% of its food, and a garden gives you the freshest possible veg, salads, herbs and fruit. Here's the honest, no-hype guide to doing it, whatever space you have.
What a garden can and can't do — and the five highest-value crops for beginners.
The month-by-month UK vegetable calendar — jump straight to now.
The kit, sized to your space
The easiest start — good soil on any plot or patio.
Extend the short British season and ripen tender crops.
The cheapest, most rewarding way in — £2 a packet.
Turn kitchen and garden waste into free soil food.
Keep crops alive through a dry summer and a hosepipe ban.
Bank a summer glut into a winter store — grow meets prep.
Dry the harvest — from £50 dehydrators to the honest truth about freeze dryers.
Fishing & foraging — wild food as a skill, licences and law included.
Thinking of a ‘survival seed’ tin? Read survival seeds in the UK: are seed vaults worth it? first: heirloom vs F1, how long seed keeps, and the Heritage Seed Library.
The honest bit: a garden won't make you self-sufficient in calories — even a full allotment can't grow a family's wheat and potatoes. Grow your own for the freshness, the pleasure and a bit of resilience against a volatile food supply. Start with a pot of salad leaves and a tomato plant, and scale up only as far as you enjoy it.
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