Gardens: With ingenuity you can be self-sufficient, even in Scotland By LOUISA PEARSON Published on Sunday 3 June 2012 11:59 A government slogan a few years back proclaimed, "One Scotland, many cultures," but it could have easily have said "One Scotland, many gardens." From windswept coastal gardens to city courtyards, there is huge diversity in terms of what's grown and how it's grown. And when it comes to growing fruit and vegetables, our climate can be a challenge, regardless of which part of the country you garden in. Recognising this and looking for a way to help gardeners in Scotland make the most of their edible crops, Kenneth Cox and Caroline Beaton got together to research and write a book that would fill that gap. Fruit and Vegetables for Scotland is the result, a book that covers everything from our growing heritage and the national diet to hands-on techniques for successful planting. Visiting Scottish gardens and speaking to local experts was a key part of the research process, something Beaton says led to plenty of interesting experiences. "In September 2010 I travelled from Barra via North and South Uist, Benbecula, Harris, Lewis and Orkney to Unst in Shetland, speaking to gardeners growing veg and some fruit in these wilder parts of Scotland," she says. The gardeners were enthusiastic and generous with their time and knowledge. The creative use of recycled materials in gardens was great - fish boxes, fishing nets, piping and even supermarket trolleys. There is a wonderful walled garden in South Uist and they had their greenhouses battened right around the outside to stop them being destroyed when the wind hurls objects over the very high walls - I had never seen anything like that before. Ken Cox has his own list of unexpected discoveries - a vineyard on Loch Tay; apricots growing outside in Aberdeenshire and the Commonwealth potato collection at the James Hutton Institute, to name just a few. Uncovering the diet of ancient Scots in excavations on Loch Tay's crannogs was another highlight - archaeologists have found remains of up to 160 different edible plant species at the site, including raspberries, blaeberries, wild vegetables and hazelnuts. The book takes a close look at our national growing history - from walled gardens that gained popularity among the wealthy in the 16th and early 17th centuries to the innovations of the Victorian age, which saw pineapples and other exotic crops being cultivated - our gardening heritage has brought us to a point where we now have a wide range of tools at our disposal. While growing your own food can be an enjoyable hobby, Kenneth Cox thinks it goes far beyond this, saying "For reasons of health and diet, food miles and a local food economy, it is vitally important that everyone who wants to should be able to grow fruit and vegetables. And the Scottish government recognises that growing and eating your own produce is the best way to break the cycle of poor diet leading to poor health for generations of Scots. He adds that the main challenges for gardeners in Scotland who want to grow edibles are the lack of sun and heat; wind; drainage and a short growing season in inland and high-altitude gardens. Despite these factors, there are plenty of ways of finding success. If you're a complete beginner or are encouraging children to try to grow their own, Beaton recommends baby carrots, Chard Bright Light for its zany colours, peas to eat straight from the pod, baby beetroots, edible flowers and lettuce to make an amazing-looking salad. She says it "depends on how patient you are and what you like to eat - courgettes are relatively easy and in a good year you will get a vast crop, which is very satisfying." Within the pages of the book there is a wealth of growing advice and recommendations of varieties for different sites. Some varieties will be familiar while others - French bean Cherokee Trail of Tears, Grandpa Admire's Lettuce and Pepper King of the North, for example - provide fresh inspiration. Common problems, pests and diseases that might occur with each crop are all addressed. Despite our cool climate, plenty of gardeners can't resist trying to grow more tender crops. "I think gardeners like a challenge," says Beaton. With access to a greenhouse or tunnel - or even a sunny windowsill - lots of people grow chillies, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, physallis, melons and so on. I would say that the failure rate with these things is relatively high as they are quite fussy, but very much worth a shot. It's possibly best to buy good plants from a garden centre rather than seed when you are beginning to experiment with tender crops, and then at least you have got a head start. Veg-growing seems to get more publicity than fruit, but Cox points out that unlike most vegetables, fruit is perennial, so once you have fruit trees or bushes you can harvest for years. "Apples are pretty low-maintenance once they are settled in and so are currants and blueberries and gooseberries," he says. Beaton agrees, adding "blackcurrants, too, are easy to prune annually and very productive, so great for jams and jellies to eat throughout winter and spring. They freeze really well and then you can use them for ice-creams and cheesecakes. Rhubarb, strawberries and raspberries also come recommended. With all this knowledge at our fingertips, should we be aiming for self-sufficiency? "It depends very much on what you eat but it is certainly worth a try," says Beaton. If you are vegetarian - and plan your plot carefully, assuming that it is at least allotment-sized - then you can probably be pretty much self-sufficient in fruit and veg. When the hungry gap comes you can use the produce stored in the freezer. She says you would have to commit a good amount of time to your garden to move towards self-sufficiency, but even if this isn't your goal, adds, "I think it is really worth growing some of what you want to eat, just whatever you can, for all the well-rehearsed nutritional, social and climate reasons. And because it is likely to make you happy. Fruit and Vegetables for Scotland: What to Grow and How to Grow It by Ken Cox and Caroline Beaton is published on 7 June by Birlinn, priced £20.