Market garden culture could thrive in Wales

17:54 8th January 2009

A gardening expert from north-east Wales has called on gardeners in Denbighshire and Flintshire to experiment with growing unusual foods.

It comes as £135,000 is ploughed into an agri-food project which is looking to set up a market garden economy, according to dailypost.co.uk.

Phostrogen gardening expert Stephen Green believes foods like curly kale, Jerusalem artichokes and various forms of hardy fruit could be grown in Welsh gardens and that there is a growing market for them.

"I've been trying to get the Denbigh plum reintroduced," he said.

"Fruits perish quickly and you can't store them but there's a new fashion for the old techniques of jam-making, bottling and preserving, and plums.

"This area could support soft fruits such as raspberries and blackcurrants which are very hardy. There's plenty of scope for growing herbs such as parsley, thyme and water cress as well."

Garden expert Martin Fish has recently been advising Yorkshire Post readers on how to keep a Christmas poinsettia alive.

He suggests keeping it in a warm, light room and ensuring the compost is constantly moist.