Archive for February, 2012

Bangladeshi Balcony in Camden

Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

Image: www.verticalveg.or.uk

The lush backdrop of a Bangladeshi village is a difficult rival to an urban balcony in the heart of Camden, imagine leaving the perfect weather climate for growing all your favourite vegetables and then arriving to find you have no outdoor space apart from a small, cold balcony. This is what befell Helal Ahmed and his family when they moved into their flat Camden.  Helal had grown up in the heart of Bangladesh, his Father was a keen grower and insisted that they ate home-grown food. Helal was determined to continue this in his new London home and to also instil a love for gardening in his young daughter Maisha. Helal also wanted to grown Asian vegetables that were often too expensive or too difficult to find in UK supermarkets and fill his grey balcony with greenery and colour.

Image: www.verticalveg.or.uk

Helal first started growing plants in pots in his balcony in 2010, he was finding it difficult to grow Asian vegetables in the colder temperatures. He found he had to use better compost – often using free municipal waste compost which he found worked better – and combined it with fertiliser. Helal also had to learn when to sow plants – something very different to Bangladeshi planting. Soon Helal and Maisha were beginning to see promising results, the tomato plant produced over five kils of fruit and then lalshak (an Asian spinach), sour leaf (similar to sorrel) and mustard green all grew well. It was a case of practice makes perfect and learning from your mistakes – the pumpkin and mist lay produced more leaves rather than fruit, thankfully pumpkin leaves are used regularly in Bengali cuisine!

Image: www.verticalveg.or.uk

Another great benefit for growing on their balcony was the taste of the food, Helal was particularly pleased with the freshly picked coriander which was used immediately in cooking. Helal also noticed a reduction in the family’s waste levels, we “only pick it as and when we need it, and don’t have to throw any away in the bin” Helal explained.

It was great to learn about Helal’s growing story, he saw the growing potential of his small outdoor space and wanted to share it with his family. It’s also wonderful to see how Helal has been able to grow Bangladeshi vegetables in abundance in the heart of Camden.