It started with a seed...

Years ago, I dabbled with growing my own fruit and veg, and it was moderately successful. But GYO is time consuming, and I found that the day job, plus writing, plus having a family equalled not that much time to devote to it.

I still have the day job (with slightly reduced hours) and I still write (more than ever), but my daughter has grown and flown, and OH has sworn he'll help, so I brought the GYO idea out of the shed, blew off the dust and cobwebs and checked it out for viability.

But what really convinced me is the current situation we're all in. I didn't want a knee jerk reaction, so I thought long and hard about whether I was serious about this, and whether I'd be able to sustain it, and I came to the conclusion that I was and I could.

I no longer want to be held ransom by imports when it comes to food. I no longer want to buy New Zealand lamb when Wales has an abundance of the fluffy white creatures. I don't want to buy South African strawberries in December. I want to live a more environmentally friendly and more sustainable lifestyle, and if this means a bit of work on my part, then so be it.

I'm lucky I live in a fairly rural area, where there are an abundance of allotments and most people have gardens. I've been picking the brains of my lovely next door neighbour because he's been growing veg for years. Shouted conversations over the garden hedge are becoming a bit of a thing!

So, I thought I'd share my journey, and hopefully gather more tips and advice along the way. Because, let's face it, I haven't got the greenest fingers in the world...

I've started with plating seeds in any old receptacles and popping them on my kitchen windowsill - tomatoes, sweetcorn, peas, broccoli and cabbage.

And these are teeny tiny baby lettuces. Or weeds. I'm not sure at the moment.