Nature Features

They have a long and very steep garden at the back of their home in Otley which is packed with plots of vegetables and fruit; not forgetting the 13 chickens, two cockrels  and 11 hens at the very top.

They have set August 1st as the start date for their food challenge which will last a full year.

Rob says, "The reasons for doing this are mainly environmental. We were trying to think of ways to reduce our carbon footprint and we couldn't afford a solar panel on the house, we couldn't afford a new boiler so this was something that we could afford!"

They will however allow themselves to venture out of their garden to buy only locally produced food within a 10-mile radius of their home. "We won't be buying food that's been flown in from hundreds of miles away," says Rob.

Rob and Janet are changing their life

They have been busy researching local food business and have found many close by. "We've found a beekeeper a few miles away, there's a trout farm tucked away at the end of the Washburn Valley and there's a couple of Nurseries that grow vegetables. So I don't think we'll starve. Although we might get bored!" he laughs. "We will use the car as it will be sensible to not put a sack of spuds of top of a bicycle."

Janet adds; "We do try and buy free range or fair trade and when we go out for walks we will incorporate our food shopping within the walks so hopefully we won't be doing lots of little car trips. We aim to get most things from the garden really."

As for surviving the winter there is also a plan in place. Rob says, "We've got a couple of freezers from Freecycle and we've also done some drying in the past - you can store potatoes in paper sacks and hang onions up in the garage. So we'll have plenty of stock to keep us going."

The couple have started a group called Home Grown Otley to encourage others to join in on the challenge and to pass on what they know.

They believe anyone can grow their own vegatables. "You can grow anything anywhere," says Rob.

"On a windowsill, in a plant pot in the back yard, in a little lean-to greenhouse. We aim to show people that when you take one crop out you don't need to pack up for the winter you can put another one in. We'd like to be pulling up new potatoes for our Christmas dinner."

Janet says, "The other thing about the group is that people will be able to swap vegetables so everyone could have a bit more versatility in their diet. Otherwise people may end up with 10 cauliflowers that they can't eat all at once. We started the group last week and over 20 people attended so hopefully that will keep growing too."