The Unexpected Gardener

Hi there, my name is Njoki, I'm an unexpected gardener who shares tips and tricks to get an abundant year round harvest. Stick around and learn with me.

  • The power of seasonal routines

    Having an allotment or gardening space is great! Time just seems to stand still as I work on a little patch, clearing some weeds or digging away in a new patch. As a mom however with other responsibilities, I’m conscious of how brief the snatches of time can be. Before long, the alarm you set…

  • My goals for 2024- A Mid Year reflection (May 2024)

    The year seems to be flying by and already we stand proud on the cusp of May. With long summer days beckoning us tauntingly, and brief icy blasts of frost and cold weather to remind us of the winter slipping by.  It felt like a good moment to reflect on the progress towards my lofty…

  • How to get good at processing your bountiful harvest

    I don’t know about you, but sometimes life gets in the way of things. After all that patient hard work germinating, transplanting and worrying and watering the plants, I sometimes don’t get to enjoy the harvest! I’ve narrowed this down to two things, sometimes there is a glut of food and other times, I’ve not…

  • Looking back, growing forward

    Like many other people, I like to set myself some goals. It’s a fun part of growing food and for a planner like me a major attraction to gardening. But in the words of Nelson Mandela.. “Vision without Action is just a dream. Action without a vision just passes time and vision with action can…

  • What can be done in an hour?

    I don’t know about you, but I’ve often thought that an hour was too small a time frame to get much done! Instead, I’ve missed going to the allotment on days when I only had an hour to spare.  Well not any more! Last week I went to the allotment, even though it was  So…

  • How to make a hotbed and increase growing space in cool months

    Over the past couple of years, I’ve been dallying with the idea of making a hotbed. This year, the stars seemed to have finally aligned as we were given some flexible wood frames that I saved for a winter project.  The wood frames provided are essentially used as pallet frames for delivery of electrical goods….

This is how it all started…

I have always had a simmering desire to grow food but thought I wasn’t such a good grower. Although I’ve been enthusiastic about it, it hasn’t always turned into reality. I grew up in Kenya, watching my mom, my dad, uncles and aunts all growing food with various levels of success. However, the realities of life soon kicked in, with going to university, working full time and then having a child. Time was suddenly very short, with demands even higher. I had my first allotment in the 2010’s but soon had to give it up. I couldn’t keep up but somehow the lure of a garden kept calling. I then signed up and got another one in 2021. It was unexpected as I’d just had a child and life felt even more complicated at times. But I remained hopeful, and kept learning. My allotment gives me great joy and its been my hope to continue growing. I hope to share what I learn as I go on a journey to becoming self sufficient in garden produce.