Kyle's garden blossoms with help from Derry's Acorn Farm

The project provides everything you need to grow vegetables at home with the aim of enabling households to grow their own food, reduce waste and reduce the environmental impact of buying imported food. Participants are also supported by a team of experts who can give advice and support to people as they learn how to grow their own food.

13-years-old Kyle has been growing vegetables for as long as he can remember and he has dreams of being a farmer in the future. He is currently growing peas, leaks, radish, lettuce, corn on the cob, spuds, beetroot, onions, carrots, bushes with berries, strawberries, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers and he also takes care of the garden for his mum Wendy, who says that Kyle has been mowing the grass since he was in primary 5.

Wendy said: “Kyle has been growing vegetables since he was a toddler. My dad put him up one of the wee small greenhouses and he was always out with a watering can. Even on his holidays to my sister’s house, he was always out with a wee watering can watering her flowers!

"I put Kyle’s name down for the I can Grow project, not really thinking he would get on to it, but I thought he might pick up some more tips while he was doing it and it has just been great so far.”

Kyle said: “Starting off was the hardest part but I just kept going. I started with a tiny plastic greenhouse and three tomato plants and everything’s gone from there. Acorn Farm have given me a planter with more plants so it’s helping me to have more things to grow. They’ve been able to help me with advice too and I’m really enjoying it.”

For anyone looking to start growing their own food, Kyle advises: “Don’t start out with too much. Start with something small and work from there. Tomatoes is a good plant to start with because there’s not a lot you can mess up with it!”

For more information on the Acorn Farm I Can Grow project, visit communityfoundationni.org/programmes/acorn-farm-i-can-grow/.