A TOMATO weighing 770g is just one of many delicious crops found in a Wokingham resident’s garden.
Evgeni Ganev only picked up vegetable farming three years ago, but says the pastime has changed his life for the better.
His produce includes spring onions, garlic and chili peppers.
He said: “The satisfaction of my gardening adventure is enormous. Feeling closer to earth and nature makes you so proud that you are really making a difference.
“The bees, the flowers and the crops in my garden bring so much joy into my daily life.
“I learned so many new skills and brought extra smiles and warmth to my friends and neighbour relationships.”
After living in Spencers Wood for 10 years, Evgeni began his gardening journey during the first Covid-19 lockdown.
In an attempt to make the best of a bad situation, he and his wife sat down to decide how best to keep themselves busy.
“To be honest, having so much free time is something I never expected to have before retirement,” Evgeni explained.
“I am normally very positive and always try to get the best out of challenging times. My wife and I sat together and decided to make the time count by doing things that we always wanted to do.
“My wife started her cooking channel on YouTube and I always thought it would be a great task to make a small vegetable plot in the sunniest part of our garden.”
With no prior experience in growing vegetables, Evgeni started by conducting some research online, before devising and actioning a plan.
He dug up his garden, removing grass, stones and clay soil and replacing it with fresh compost and organic fertiliser.
After three years’ worth of growing cycles, the 53-year-old has now fine-tuned his annual harvesting routine.
In October, the soil is dug up and refreshed, ready for garlic to be planted in November. Lettuce and spring onions are planted in early March, with a protective plastic tunnel installed to protect crops from frost.
A month later, courgette, chili pepper, tomato and cucumber seedlings in pots make their way into the tunnel; by the end of May, all seeds will have germinated.
Evgeni plants his courgettes between the garlic, which are ready for harvesting in mid-June. At this point, the lettuce and spring onions are replaced by chili pepper plants and herbs.
However, it has not all been plain sailing to get to this point, with the first year proving a particularly steep learning curve.
In 2020, he realised root vegetables were not going to be a success as worms and bugs tucked into his crops before he could harvest them.
Sparrows took a particular liking to his spinach, which led to Evgeni installing protective mesh around the patch. However, he soon removed it after releasing a sparrow he had found caught in the netting.
The final issue he had to negotiate was a lack of bees and other pollinators. In his second year, Evgeni planted a variety of wildflowers and lavender.
“This year, I was so pleased to find that my garden is full of bees,” he explained.
“This is how after three years I ended up with the perfect cycle of vegetables successively growing in my garden.
“I believe, finally this year, I managed to find the balance.”
This summer saw record high temperatures and the dry conditions will not have sat well with horticultural enthusiasts.
However, it was yet another opportunity for Evgeni to demonstrate his positive outlook, and found these conditions were best suited for growing tomatoes. Using plant halos, he reduced his crops’ water consumption.
The majority of the water he uses is rainwater collected in barrels during spring.
Evgeni produced various tomatoes of different sizes and colours, but the standout offering was undoubtedly a 770g tomato, which he says tasted just as good as it looked.
He described its flavour as ’delicious’ and ‘completely different’ to supermarket-bought produce.
Growing crops at home can also make households more self-sufficient, which is particularly important during the current cost of living crisis.
Alongside these many benefits, Evgeni wants others to garner the same joy he derives from the passtime.
“I would strongly encourage everyone who would like to start this adventure to go for it.
“By growing more vegetables and fruits in our gardens, we can take some pressure from the farmland and we can save some of our forests taken because of our need for more farming fields.
“Most importantly, we will become more understanding of what the balance in nature is. Our children will learn where all these vegetables and plants come from.
“They will be able to learn the magic of the balance between all living species on earth.”
