Making urban areas 'self-sufficient'

Alison Patel writes: A growing body of people are looking at urban spaces to provide the answer to a food crisis that threatens to engulf us and people are asking if roof gardens and parks can provide the answer.

"Growing Food for London" was a one-day conference that aimed to look at how green spaces in cities might be put to good use, the Times reported.

Gardeners growing vegetables in their back yard and council's that are prepared to turn parks into vegetable patches could be helping combat climate change.

According to the Times, food production and transportation accounts for the greatest use of carbon from any individual.

The Times say that people are keen to become more self-sufficient as "half a million families - two per cent of households in the UK - keep hens, waiting lists for allotments have never been longer and, for the first time since the Second World War, vegetable seeds are outselling flower seeds".

Growbags can be put down or mushroom growing kits and window boxes can be used for salads and vegetables.

Fruit lovers should, according to the Times, plant trees in Autumn and they suggest Gooseberry bushes which are low in maintenance.

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