1 potato, 2 potatoes: Gardening tips from an English retiree – KCRW

“If you didn’t grow it, a person didn’t eat, ” says Gerald Stratford , describing his childhood in the garden, prior to the particular advent of supermarkets. Some years later, after retirement, Stratford became bored with fishing and was encouraged by a friend to tweet about his joyous return in order to gardening. Using the same tactics he applied when fishing, he began to develop large vegetables.

“To catch a big fish, you’ve got to understand how it works, exactly how it lives, what it feeds on, ” he explains.

He visited the library to research just how vegetable varieties grow and what nutrients, light, and heat they needed.  

“To grow something big, you have to off start with the correct seed, ” Stratford states.

His biggest success has been a 100-pound zucchini, which he used to make pickles, chutneys, and drinks. Stratford recommends new gardeners start with radish seeds that will take 21 days to grow, and potatoes which usually only require the gallon jug.  

Stratford’s book of gardening how to’s is “ Big Veg . ”

Gerald Stratford has gardened his entire life, but growing a Twitter audience resulted in their book, “Big Veg. ” Photo courtesy of Headline Publishing Group.