It is with great excitement that I write my very first blog for 2015 with abundant anticipation of the upcoming year ahead. Firstly though, a very happy new year to you all, I hope you had a fantastic festive season and enjoyed plenty of good food and fabulous time with friends and family.

This time of year is perfect for the gardener to catch up on all the odd jobs there is never enough time to do during the growing season. Winter clearing, cleaning and preparation are all high on the agenda and next week’s blog will focus on exactly this. It’s also a perfect opportunity to reflect back on last year’s season; lessons learnt and also to begin planning for the upcoming times ahead.

Here at Growhampton we’re thoroughly looking forward to the year ahead after what was such a diverse and productive last 12 months. There is much in stall for the rest of the year as we continue to expand our edible campus at the University of Roehampton.

On the horizon are new growing spaces so we can plant more vegetables, a chicken coop with 12 lovely productive birds, a sign posted biodiversity trail and new additions to the menu at the The Hive Café.

I wonder what is on the agenda for your year ahead? Any new year’s resolutions? If you’ve yet to decide, let me encourage you to make a resolution your body will thank you for the rest of the year and indeed your whole life. It’s a super easy one and is quite simply just to eat more veg. 

Eating a healthier diet tops the good intentions list for many and it really isn’t that hard. Just throw in some extra handfuls of vegetables with your dinner, or some extra salad on your lunch time sarnie or why not get a little creative and think about how you can incorporate vegetables into your breakfast – veg omelette for example.

A great way to start is to embrace the meat free Monday mantra – cutting out animal protein each and every Monday. Substitute with some beans, chick peas or lentils to ensure you obtain your protein.

From here you’ll quickly discover the wonderful diversity of flavours, textures and colours that vegetables bring and before you know it, the idea of a meal without a wholesome and nourishing portion of fresh vegetables would seem utterly outrageous. So here’s a cheer to 2015 and in veg we trust.

Joel

Joel Williams is the Grower for the University of Roehampton Students’ Union’s Growhampton project