Gardening guru Paul Peacock joins The Edible Garden Show team
Writer Paul Peacock has joined The Edible Garden Show as the event’s ‘Gardening Consultant’.
Since studying Botany at Leeds University, Paul has had muddy hands. Whether it is growing food on allotments, in the back garden, or on a larger scale in conjunction with Manchester City Council, he can usually be found watering, digging or harvesting plants.
Somehow (and presumably with a soil-covered keyboard), he has found enough time to write 17 books on gardening, self-sufficiency and the countryside, as well as contribute to magazines such as Country Life, Farmer’s Guardian and Grow It!
Together with his wife, Diana, he is founder and editor of Home Farmer, a magazine dedicated to helping everyone live a little of ‘the Good Life’, regardless of circumstances. Paul proves this is possible, based in a semi-detached house in Manchester, where he grows his own food, turns them into pickles and jams, and keeps two chickens.
He is a fellow of Salford University’s Environmental Science Department and, committed to promoting self-sufficiency and home-grown produce, he has developed a community project in conjunction with Manchester City Council, encouraging municipal parks to grow fruit and vegetables for local people to cultivate and harvest for free.
To complement this, and in partnership with the Co-operative’s Plan Bee initiative, Paul has developed a training scheme in Beekeeping for beginners, as well as building an apiary in Wythenshawe Park, Manchester, allowing first-time beekeepers hands-on experience.
Paul’s muddy boots have found their way to the internet as he is a familiar face on Allotment TV and The Gardening Channel, web-based Television, presenting video shorts on practical gardening. His videos also appear on GMTV's website and he regularly presents programmes for The Country Channel on Sky and the internet.
As The Edible Garden Show’s ‘Gardening Consultant’ Paul will be contributing regular articles to the show’s website, www.theediblegardenshow.co.uk, on all aspects of the ‘Grow Your Own’ phenomenon. He will use his depth of knowledge to answer questions on gardening issues from visitors to the website.
Paul says: “I’m delighted to join the team at The Edible Garden Show. It is a fantastic concept and it’s high time there was a national event for the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people around the country who are becoming part of the ‘Grow Your Own’ boom.
“It’s not only fun but is also going to become increasingly important over future years as the public will need to grow food to sustain themselves. At long last big organisations and governments are all engaging now and beginning to realise how vital it is to protect our environment and encourage projects where people grow their own food. The Edible Garden Show will be a great vehicle to promote and educate the public about all aspects of home-grown produce.”
Paul Smith, Head of Communications for The Edible Garden Show, says: “We are thrilled that Paul Peacock has accepted our invitation to join our team. He is incredibly knowledgeable about all aspects of gardening and home produce. He is a dynamic and enthusiastic individual with a deep passion for protecting the countryside and helping to educate people about self-sufficiency.”
The Edible Garden Show, to be staged at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire from March 19-21 2010, is targeted towards anyone passionate about Grow Your Own, Brew Your Own… or anything to do with healthy eating or home produce. From fruit and veg to bread making, from poultry to organic herbs, and from bee keeping to home brewing, The Edible Garden Show is THE ultimate Grow Your Own event.