I thought I would do a little q&a today over on the blog. I’ve had a little increase in my followers recently so it felt like a good time to introduce myself properly and answer some of your most asked questions!
I’ll dive right in:
- Who are you?
Haha! It’s not really asked like this but I thought I would sum it all up for you. My name is Emma and in 2019 I got my hands on an allotment plot in South London, where I live with my husband and our two children. I’m 34 years old and have been making Youtube videos about all sorts of things for a few years now. When I got my allotment plot, it felt natural for me to start documenting my progress and I’ve managed to build a fantastic community of like minded people online. I now write for several gardening magazines on a regular basis and work with brands to help create online digital content for them too. I’m doing what I love!
2. What made you want to grow your own food?
Several things really. Firstly, I’ve always been interested in gardening and nature, but life got busy once I had kids and I couldn’t really dedicate enough time to grow anything properly. Now that my kids are older, I have time to take care fo an allotment plot and my own back garden, so I can indulge in what I love! I love being able to grow my own food because it fills me with a massive sense of pride and joy when I do. Watching something emerge from a seed and turn into a pea or an onion is magical. It always tastes better when it’s homegrown too!
3. How much time to spend at your allotment plot?
Typically, I like to get down to my allotment plot 3 times a week, for a couple of hours a time. That’s on average though. Some weeks its a lot more and some slightly less. I’m not just growing and gardening there though, I’m creating online digital content for my Youtube channel, instagram and blog though, so I have an extra reason to be there! I really enjoy my trips to the plot, even if I don’t have much to do and it’s become a really great part of my weekly routine now!
4. What’s your favourite thing to grow?
Pumpkins! I don’t really know what it is about pumpkins that I love so much. Maybe it’s just the fact that they turn into such massive plants? Or how funky all the different varieties of squash are? Or maybe it’s just because they are so flipping easy to grow! My pumpkin archway is my favourite thing at my plot and I intend on growing it every year!
5. What’s your least favourite thing to grow?
Probably things like salad crops. Not because they aren’t super delicious or easy to grow, but because they all get eaten! The slugs are pretty hungry at my allotment plot so any kind of salad leaf is usually the first to get munched and I find it a bit of a hassle trying to keep it all alive and protected to be honest!
6. What advice would you give to someone wanting to grow their own food as a beginner?
Get stuck in and learn by doing. There is SO much information out there on how to grow your own food. Too much, even. And everyone seems to be an expert. While it can obviously be really useful to listen to expert advice, sometimes it can leave you feeling a little overwhelmed and out of your depth. So get stuck in and whack in those seeds. Learn on the go, because at the end of the day, whether you are a horticultural expert or a beginner gardener, we are all just whacking seeds into the soil and hoping that they grow.
7. What happened to your book?
I’m still writing it! I know, I’m a slow worker. I actually sent a draft off to a publisher who really liked it but in the end decided it was a little too niche. So I’ve been spending some time trying to adapt it to a wider audience and make it more commercial. It’s my dream to be published and I’ll do my best to get something out there for you to buy for next year!
8. How did you start your allotment plot?
I have lots of videos and blog posts on the best way to start your first allotment plot:
HOW TO CLEAR AND START YOUR FIRST ALLOTMENT PLOT
HOW TO START AN ALLOTMENT GARDEN
Hope these help!
9. What equipment do you use to film your vlogs?
This is a big question! So I was using a Lumix G2 to film, which was about 12 years old. It did great and I had no problems with it… until it suddenly broke! So I purchased the Canon G7x Mark 3. It’s a big and expensive purchase, but I use it so much it made sense to buy something that would last me a long time.
I take my photos for the blog on a Nikon D7000 with a 35m lens.
I use no lighting but I do have a tripod now which I bought off of amazon. Before then I was just balancing it on plant pots! Lol!
10. What’s next for you?
I would love to get my book out there and published officially! That’s definitely my next biggest challenge. I would also like to continue to write for gardening magazines. I’m not sure about moving into TV because it’s such a different medium to what I’m doing now. I did a podcast the other week with Jimmy Doherty and quite enjoyed it, so who knows? Maybe a podcast could be next for me!
