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Dig this!
The spring is now here and it's time to reap the health benefits of working in the garden
Photography by Thomas Arran and Lee Swan, Hull College
His wife Cynthia wishes he worked as hard on jobs around the house as he does on his allotment.
But when it comes to meal times, instead of meat and two veg, they have meat and 12 veg.
John Laverack has been growing his own fruit and vegetables at his allotment on Bilton Grove in east Hull for the last 40 years.
The former docker says it has always been his preferred place to go rather than the pub or betting shop.
"There used to be times when there was no work and you'd get sent home and I used to think 'what am I gonna do?' but I just used to go to the allotment and get busy," says John, who turns 70 at the end of April.
"There was a doctor who used to have a plot next to my brother and he used to say he wished he could prescribe growing vegetables as a therapy for his patients, because it's great for taking your mind off other things.
"Not to mention the physical exercise it gives you."
Get yer wellies on
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John Laverack |
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John on his Bilton Grove allotment in the 70s |
Even if you don't have an allotment, the benefits of being in the garden are many.
And John discovered the joys of gardening as a 17-year-old when his family moved from Francis Street in the city centre to the newly-built Greatfield.
"The estate was like a builder's yard back then, but for the first time we had a garden," he says.
"In the summer me and my dad used to grow fruit trees and fruit bushes and I got interested in growing a few spuds then runner beans and things like onions and potatoes, cabbages and lettuces.
"My dad used to cut off sprigs of privet and stick them in the ground for the neighbours so they could grow hedges.
"Over the years you try new things out and lately I've been growing things like sweetcorn, aubergines, garlic and celery.
Part of the fun is seeing what works and what doesn't work.
"But one thing that's for sure is when you taste little potatoes that you've grown for the first time they are absolutely beautiful, they really are!"
Flower power
If you're starting out as a gardener, John's tips include:
- put some fertilizer in your soil to give it some body (ideally organic fertilizer which will rot down)
- potatoes are a good crop to start with because they clean the soil
- before sowing seeds rub them in a tiny bit of talcum powder so you can see where you've sown them
- convert an area in your garden or allotment into a raised bed and use it to start off your greens (but try to pick an area with plenty of sunlight)
- if you have a small garden, you can use pots or containers to grow vegetables and herbs using a bag of multi-purpose compostor allotment
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Remember to recycle
Whether you're growing your own veg, cutting the grass or sprucing up your garden ready for a spring barbecue, don't forget to use your brown bin to recycle your garden waste.
Every year Hull residents collectively produce more than 20,000 tons of garden waste, including leaves, grass, twigs and hedge cuttings – which could fill enough wheelie bins to stretch in a line from Hull to London and back.
And for the second year running residents can put this in their brown wheelie bins for it to be collected by Hull City Council.
Together with kitchen waste (which is also recycled in the brown bin) the green waste is taken to Ryedale Farm, near Pocklington, where it's made into compost.
The process involves huge machines which 'turn' the waste while fans blow air through it (a bit like turning your garden waste with a pitch fork).
"As the summer approaches we'd like to remind people to make use of their brown bins for recycling garden waste," says Doug Sharp, sustainable waste development manager.
"The people of Hull are really beginning to get the message about the importance of recycling.
"As a result of introducing the brown bins, and blue pins for recycling things like plastic, paper and cardboard, Hull has experienced one of the fastest growing recycling rates in the country."
At the last count Hull's recycling rate was touching 50 per cent.
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