Why Growing Your Own Food Matters More Than Ever

When I filmed my latest video at my allotment, I was not expecting to make a serious statement about food security. I was simply showing what I was seeing: dry, cracked ground, young trees struggling, pumpkins that had failed, tiny tomatoes and plants that were simply running out of the water they needed. My entire growing space is less than half an acre, which is not a large piece of land by any agricultural standard. Yet this year has demonstrated something important to me: having even a small piece of productive land can matter enormously when the systems we depend on become less reliable.

The UK is now seeing the consequences of a weather pattern that farmers have been warning about for years. On 29 July 2026, the government declared drought across seven areas of England after exceptionally low rainfall and high temperatures. Farmers were harvesting earlier than normal, river levels were low, wildfire risks were increasing and restrictions on water use were already affecting millions of people. Government reports have also warned of poorer yields in some crops and concerns over winter forage for livestock because grass growth has been so badly affected. The NFU has been equally blunt: reliable access to water is fundamental to producing food, yet farmers are dealing with increasingly unpredictable weather, rising costs and the need to adapt their businesses to conditions that are becoming more difficult to manage.

This matters because food security is often misunderstood. Food security does not simply mean that there is enough food somewhere in the world. It also means that food remains available, affordable and accessible when weather, disease, war, fuel prices or international trade disrupt the normal supply chain. Modern Britain relies on an enormous network of imports, transport and agricultural inputs. When drought affects several countries at once, importing our way out of a shortage becomes much less certain. The NFU has already warned that drought and wildfires across Europe demonstrate the danger of becoming too dependent on overseas food supplies at exactly the time when European agriculture itself is under pressure.

That is why I believe ordinary people should seriously consider growing some of their own food. I am not suggesting that everybody needs to become self-sufficient, own livestock or produce every calorie their family consumes. That is unrealistic for most people. What I am suggesting is much simpler: reduce your dependence by producing something yourself. Apply for an allotment if you do not have a garden. If you have a garden, consider turning half of it into growing space. You might be surprised by how much food a relatively small area can produce, particularly when you can water it properly. A productive garden does not have to look like a commercial farm. A few beds of potatoes, onions, beans, courgettes, tomatoes, brassicas, salad crops and herbs can produce an extraordinary amount of food over a season.

There is also an important difference between growing food in a normal year and growing food during a drought. This year, many agricultural crops have suffered because farmers are working at a completely different scale. Irrigating hundreds of acres is not the same as watering a few vegetable beds. On a small plot, you can concentrate your resources where they matter most. You can collect rainwater where permitted, improve the soil with organic matter and mulch, water deeply when necessary, shade vulnerable plants and choose varieties that cope better with your conditions. The ability to look after a relatively small area intensively can be a tremendous advantage. My own allotment has taught me that a small plot can still be extremely productive — but it also teaches you very quickly just how important water really is.

And September does not mean that the growing season is over in Britain. Quite the opposite. There are still opportunities to produce food for autumn and winter. Established plants of kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts can continue growing into the colder months, while chard and other leafy crops can provide winter greens. The RHS specifically identifies kale, cabbages, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and chard among the crops suitable for winter growing, although many brassicas need to have been sown earlier in the year and are now best planted out as young plants rather than started from seed. There is even the possibility of growing potatoes for the festive season. Specially prepared seed potatoes can be planted in late summer for a Christmas harvest, giving gardeners the unusual opportunity to dig up their own potatoes on the way into winter.

For me, this is where permaculture becomes more than simply a gardening philosophy. It is about designing systems that are capable of coping with change. We cannot control rainfall. We cannot control international fuel prices, fertiliser costs, wars or global markets. We cannot prevent every drought or wildfire. What we can do is make our own households and communities a little more resilient. Grow perennial plants. Improve the soil rather than constantly trying to extract more from it. Harvest and store rainwater where it is legal and practical.

Compost. Save suitable seed. Learn how to preserve food. Grow crops that give reliable harvests. Share produce with neighbours. Learn how to grow something before you desperately need to know. None of these things will solve a national food crisis on their own, but together they reduce vulnerability.

Most importantly, I think we need to stop thinking that growing your own food is something only for people who have acres of land or a perfect garden. You do not need five acres. You do not even need one acre. A balcony can grow herbs and salad leaves. A back garden can produce potatoes, tomatoes and beans. An allotment can produce enough vegetables to make a serious contribution to a family's diet. My own growing space is less than half an acre, and that is enough to demonstrate how productive even a relatively small amount of land can become. It is also a reminder that gardening is not guaranteed to succeed. This year my land has suffered badly from drought. That is frustrating, but it is also valuable knowledge. Every failed crop teaches me something about water, soil, timing and resilience.

There is no need to panic, but there is very good reason to take food production more seriously. The NFU is warning that farmers need greater resilience, particularly around water, while official government reports are already recording early harvests, poorer yields and pressure on livestock feed.

Farmers are doing everything they can, but individuals have a role too. Apply for that allotment. Turn part of the lawn into vegetables. Plant something this autumn. Learn how to grow potatoes. Put in some kale. Grow cabbages. Plant fruit trees. Learn to compost. Learn to preserve what you grow. You may never need your garden to provide a significant proportion of your food, and hopefully you will not. But if the day comes when food becomes more expensive, less reliable or harder to obtain, the person who already knows how to grow it will be in a far stronger position than the person starting from nothing.

Let's hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.