Satisfaction guaranteed by growing back to front

Now it is time for the harvest. My small urban patch has produced a glut of vegetables and edible flowers, attracted frogs, hoverflies and a buzz of bees. It has also surprised and delighted passers-by.

Since the start of the recession, more than 100,000 people have put themselves on waiting lists for allotments, and sales of vegetable seeds have outstripped those of flowers. Growing vegetables has become more popular than at any time since the Dig For Victory campaign of the Second World War.

In the spring, I made four six-foot-square raised beds. I divided each into one foot squares and planted up my selection of vegetables, edible flowers and herbs. They included asparagus peas with tiny blood red flowers, zingy French marigolds, dark, velvet-petalled violas, miniature round carrots, purple peas and borlotti beans with decorous red skins.

The most curious was the tromboncino squash. It curls like a trombone, looks like a snake and grows to about a metre in length. It is beautiful cooked young, like a courgette, or left to develop as a thick-skinned squash.

A random planting of borage rampaged across the garden earlier in the summer with its brilliant blue star flowers attracting the attention of bees.

Is it worth the effort? Undoubtedly yes. The effort to grow vegetables tends to be concentrated at certain times of the year, for example, during the spring but thereafter just a little light maintenance is all that is required.

The effort is offset by the deep connection you feel to the food you grow and a sense of satisfaction.

Aromatic marrow marsala

This can be made with either a marrow or a squash. You can use ready made marsala paste or make your own. Either produces a delicious, succulent curry.

Serves 4

1 marrow, about 1kg

3 onions, sliced

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2-3 tbsp marsala paste

2 cloves

165ml coconut milk

150g cherry tomatoes cut in half

A few sprigs of fresh coriander, chopped salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas mark 6. Cut marrow in half around its middle. Cut each half lengthways several times to produce wedges. Scrape the pith and pips from the core of the marrow and sprinkle with salt. Leave for 15 minutes to allow excess moisture to be drawn from the marrow.

Meanwhile, using a large oven-proof pan, sweat the onions in the oil until soft and translucent.

Add the marsala paste, cloves and coconut milk, stir well and continue to cook over a gentle heat. Add the marrow wedges and coat in the marsala and coconut paste.

Remove from the heat and scatter the tomato halves over the marrow wedges. Cover this pan with either a tight fitting lid or foil.

Place in the oven and cook for about 40 minutes until the marrow is very tender. (If using squash add a little more liquid half way through the cooking time and stir well.)

Remove the pan from the oven, stir well, season to taste and scatter with a little chopped fresh coriander. Serve with marigold rice.

Marigold rice

Marigold leaves add flecks of bright orange to plain white rice and make it look magnificent. Allow 100g of Basmati rice per person.

Four marigold flower heads, rinsed and dried. Place the Basmati rice in a saucepan with double the volume of water, ie 100g rice requires 200ml water. Remove the petals from the marigold flowers and scatter in the saucepan. Bring the rice to a rolling boil.

Turn off the heat and place a tightly fitting lid on the saucepan. The rice will now steam until it is cooked. This usually takes about 12 minutes.

Fluff rice with a fork before serving.

Borlotti bean stew

I grew a hardy variety of borlotti bean known as Lingua de Fuoco and it has done extremely well in our Yorkshire climate.

The whole beans can be sliced and steamed when young. Alternatively, they can be left to mature and shelled. These can be cooked fresh or dried for future use.

Serves 4

2 onions, sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves of garlic crushed

1 red pepper, thinly sliced

1 small fresh red chilli, seeds removed and chopped

2 tbsp white wine

6 ripe tomatoes, skinned and chopped

500g fresh young whole borlotti beans, sliced

1 bay leaf

1 tsp fresh oregano or parsley, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

50g Parmesan cheese, grated

Place the sliced onions and olive oil in a large saucepan and sweat the onions until they are soft.

Add garlic, red pepper and chilli.

Continue cooking until they are soft. Add the wine, tomatoes, sliced borlotti beans and herbs and allow to simmer for half an hour. The vegetables should be soft and bathed in a rich tomato sauce. Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and a chunk of bread.