2. 2
In recent years growing food has become
increasingly popular – nowhere more so
than in London, where Capital Growth has
been supporting Londoners to grow their
own since 2008. Back then, we started
out with the bold aim of establishing 2,012
new community food growing spaces in
London in time for 2012, the Olympic year.
We were responding to the upsurge of
interest in healthy and home-grown food,
the sometimes decades-long waiting lists
for local authority allotments, and also
reports from individuals and local groups
about how hard it had been for them to gain
access to land when they had tried to do so
by themselves. By joining forces, we could
tackle the barriers together.
Our aim was bold, but we rolled up our
sleeves and we succeeded, celebrating the
2,012th
new food growing space in December
2012. Over 150,000 Londoners from diverse
backgrounds, including many people living
on a low income, have now been involved
in food growing in these new spaces, which
– they tell us through our surveys and
research – enhance their diets, their physical
and mental health, contact with nature and
community connections. Since 2012, Capital
Growth has gone on to become the network
for community food growers throughout
London.
Foreword by Sarah Williams
It is salutary to consider just how far we have
come. Sustain began to examine urban food
production for London back in the 1990s, with
our landmark Growing Food in Cities1
and
City Harvest2
reports.Then, we considered the
ideas theoretically, projecting what food could
potentially be grown by local communities if
land, tools, seeds, water and willing hands
could be provided. Our reports discussed the
practicalities of making this possible.
In 2004, we helped the London Development
Agency and Greater London Authority to
design and consult on the Mayor’s London
Food Strategy, published in 2006, in which
community food growing was identified as
a core theme. Supported by the Mayor of
London, the Big Lottery’s Local Food Fund and
Sustain’s London Food Link network, Capital
Growth went on to turn theory and strategy
into reality.
In this report we see the progression of the
agenda, assessing how community food
growing is contributing to urban agriculture
in the Capital. We see the difference that the
Capital Growth network is making on the
plates of Londoners by getting our members to
record their harvest and quantifying the ‘hard
outputs’ ie the produce that London is reaping.
Impressive? Well we think so and we hope
after reading this report you share our view.
Food Growing Programme Manager at Sustain
Weight of produce harvested
Total = 21,236 kg
Value of produce harvested
Total = £150,744
£14,190
this week
March
2013
August
2013
Harvest-ometer data
01/03/2013 > 28/02/2014
Key growing season May to October
3. ‘Growing a Million Meals for London’ was
a campaign launched by Capital Growth in
2013, with the aim of helping and inspiring
more Londoners to grow delicious, healthy
food in their growing spaces, schools or
back gardens. Inspired by Vertical Veg4
,
whose founder had grown £600 of food on
his balcony in one summer, we wanted to
investigate how much fresh and healthy
food could potentially be grown in London,
particularly in time of recession and
cutbacks, with many people struggling to
feed their families due to rising food prices,
job losses and changes to the social security
system.
The campaign encouraged people to pledge
to grow a number of meals towards the
overall target. We also provided an online
tool, named the Harvest-ometer,5
which
has proved to be very popular. It stores and
calculates the financial value of the harvest,
in order to encourage people to record their
harvest data. This was added to our existing
data on the different types of food growing
spaces that are part of the Capital Growth
network, and their size in square metres.
Spaces vary, for example, from small food
growing spaces in schools to larger allotment
plots with communal or individual growing,
right up to commercial or semi-commercial
horticultural sites and farms.
Growing a Million Meals for London was
well received by members of the Capital
Growth network, with 237 growing spaces
pledging to be part of the campaign and
160 groups going on to record their harvest
data. The findings have helped us to build an
understanding of the yields and productivity
of urban food growing in London and to
estimate how much food could be grown
throughout the capital, for the benefit of
London’s communities. It also provided ideas
for further research.
The Capital Growth team was also able
to provide more in-depth support to 14
groups as part of our ‘Grow More Food’
pilot initiative, giving extra help so they can
increase their yield. We also ran networking
events, training sessions and produced Grow
More Food TopTips,6
a toolkit to help our
wider network to improve their yield.
In 2014 Capital Growth will continue to run
and develop the Growing a Million Meals
campaign7
and will collect data, as well as to
work with EU research project, Food Metres,
to help build more information on sustainable
urban food production in London.
Growing your own food is like
printing your own money”
Ron Finley, guerrilla gardener in South Los Angeles, TED talk, February 20133
“
1,621kg
this week
February
2014
October
2013
4. 4
Capital Growth was
established as a partnership
initiative between Sustain’s
London Food Link network,
the Mayor of London Boris
Johnson, and the Big Lottery’s
Local Food Fund. It has been
championed throughout
by the Chair of the London
Food Board Rosie Boycott
and supported the creation
of 2,012 new community
food growing spaces across
London by the end of 2012.
Capital Growth is run by the
charity Sustain: The alliance
for better food and farming
and in 2013 and 2014 has
continued to receive funding
from the Mayor of London,
alongside additional funding
from trusts and other
grant providers, to develop
London’s community food
growing network and provide
training and other support to
help London’s community food
growing spaces to flourish.
Capital Growth Spaces that participated included:
Arnold Road Car Park Food Project, Barbara’s Garden, Bassett
Street Garden, Bee Interested In Portobello Road, Bee Interested
In Portobello Road St Charles Site, Blythe Hill Allotments,
Brettenham Garden, Brixton Flour, Burgess Park Food Project,
Camp Growing Ground, Carshalton Community Allotment,
Castle Microsite, Cedars Road, Charlton Manor Primary School
Food Growing Space, Chisenhale’s Edible Playground, Clapton
S, Clissold, Collect And Create, Common Growth, Cordwainer
Gardens, Cowley Food Farm, Cultivate London, Cumberland
Kitchen Garden, Davoll Court Gardening Club, Didara, Drovers
Foodspace, Eastlea Organics, Edible Golden Lane, Evita,
Finsbury Park Art Club Garden, Floating Allotment, Food Craft,
Food For Life, Food From The Sky, Food In Mind, For The Love Of
Food, ForeverYoung Garden, Frampton Park Garden Association,
Gallions Grows, Gardening Club 2010, Gardening Thymes,
Green Kids, Greenfingers, Greenhouse And Garden, Greenwich
Mind Garden, Grow Green, Growing Communities Springfield
Park, Growing Communities Allens Gardens, Growing For Life,
Growing Glyndon, Growing Kultur 1, Growing Zone!, Hen Corner,
Hen Home, Home Park Community Garden, Hood’s Plot, Hook
Allotments, Hoxton Street Allotments, Jackson Road, Jfk Growers,
Keepers Lodge, King’s Cross Orchard, Kingston Orchard Project,
Ktcc Gardening Project, L’arche Garden Project, Late Bloomers,
Le Haricot Vert, Lincoln Garden, Linkway Plantastic Prescription
Gardens, Living Under One Sun Community Allotment, Lordship
South Community Garden, Lowhall Allotment Gardening Club,
Maujai, Median Road Gardens, Mother Goose Wildlife Garden,
Myatt’sFieldsParkGreenhouseProject,MyddletonGrangeVacant
Lot Garden, Natural Bourne Growers, Nelson Road, Nightingale
Estate Herb Garden, Olden Garden Community Food Growing
Space, Our Balcony, Our RoofTerrace, Parapet, Perfume Garden,
Plantastic Prescription Gardens, White Hart Lane Allotments,
Prince Of Wales Growing Space, Priory Court Gardening Club,
Queens Park Allotment, Re Instate Our Garden, Ree’s Allotment,
Rocky Park, Rokeby Gardening Club, Rowstock Allotment
Group, Royal Naval Place And Stanley Street Allotments, Secret
Garden, Seed To Plate, Setting Up A Community Garden, Sharp
End Growers, Sky Garden, Southlands Road Allotments, Sow.
Grow.Eat, Space 9, Spitalfields Garden, St Ignaitus Gardening
Club, St Luke’s Centre, St Mary’s School Allotment, St John’s
Fruit And Vegetable Garden, St Mike’s, St Paul’s, St Stephen’s
Ce Junior School, Stellman Farm, Strathbrook Backgarden,
Strawberry Hill Raised Community Garden, Streatham Common
Community Garden, Sunshine Garden, Sutton Community Farm,
Sydenham Garden Food Growing Space, Test Food Growing
Space, The Bedfords Park Walled Garden Project, The Castle
Climbing Centre, The Garden, The Learning Garden, The
Maryon Park Community Food Growing Garden, The Regent’s
Park Allotment Garden, The Secret Garden, The Secret Orchard,
Tom’s Farm Garden, Tree Nursery, Vale Farm Food Growing
Project, Weavers Estate Allotment, Westcott Park Community
Garden, Westow Park Herb & Wildlife Garden, Windley Close
Community Garden, Wins Project and Zinnia Garden Nursery.
5. 5
Headlines
Background
Typology of growing spaces
Methodology
Collecting data
Encouraging participation
The campaign – Growing a Million Meals
The pledge
Competitions and giveaways
Online Harvest-ometer
Recording fruit and vegetable weights
Changes and feedback from participants
Valuing produce
What is a meal?
Grow More Food learning sites
Analysis and assumptions
Results
Overview
Information on participants
Types of food growing spaces
Geographical spread
Quantity, frequency and range of produce grown
Average yields
Projected value of the network
Impact of Grow More Food support
Other feedback on Harvest-ometer
Conclusion
Next steps
Relevant publications
Appendix 1: Downloadable log record
Appendix 2: List of produce available on the Harvest-ometer
Appendix 3: Workings for projected yield of the network
Contents
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8
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6. 6
Headlines
Following the first growing season, the Growing a
Million Meals for London campaign has achieved good
participation and produced useful data to help understand
more about yields and the financial value of the fresh food
being grown by members of the Capital Growth network.
Other headlines include:
●● 160 community food growing spaces in London were
helped to record data on their harvest, using the online
Harvest-ometer, collectively recording 21,236 kgs
(21 tonnes) of produce in one growing season. This
equates to:
£151,000 in financial value of the food grown,
compared with high grade and organic supermarket
produce
265,450 meal portions grown
●● The average yield during 2013 growing season for food
growing spaces submitting data was approximately
492 grams or 6 meals per square metre, valued at
£3.50 per square metre.
●● The yield varied between different types of growing
spaces – ranging from £1.62 for communal allotment
plots to £10.17 per square metre for individual growing
plots on community spaces, with farms at £5.00 per
square metre and community growing spaces at £2.08
per square metre. (See page 7 for definitions of types
of growing spaces).
●● The most popular produce grown (using total amount
grown) included salad leaves, squash, courgette,
tomato, potato and onion. The most popular by number
of spaces growing, additionally included strawberries,
chard and runner beans.
●● Using the average yield of the different growing
space type and size, our conservative estimate is
that the 2,000+ food growing spaces in the Capital
Growth network have the potential to produce at least
£1.4 million worth of produce, weighing between 313
and 357 tonnes (see next page for what this would
look like).
●● This could be increased if they were achieving the top
end of the potential yield per square metre and our
Grow More Food pilot demonstrated that additional
support and materials can help food growing spaces to
increase their yield.
Capital Growth will continue to provide the Harvest-
ometer service to its members during 2014, providing
additional data and information. This will also feed into
the Food Metres project, an EU initiative aiming to look at
innovation in short supply chains.
The 2,000+ community
food growing spaces
in the Capital Growth
network could grow 357
tonnes of food per year.
What does that look like?
To help visualise
357 tonnes of food
(or 357,000 kg), we broke
the figure down to give
you a better idea, using
the percentage of types of
crops grown as recorded
by participating groups in
our online Harvest-ometer.
7. 357tonnes
(equivalent to
this whole list)
1 million
bags of salad
750,000
tomatoes
300,000
squash and courgettes
150,000
apples and pears
120,000
bags of leafy greens
100,000
eggs
80,000
potatoes
75,000
bags of herbs
75,000
punnets of berries
25,000
cauliflowers and cabbages
10,000
jars of honey
what
could
the
Capital
Growth
network
grow?
Q:
A:
8. 8
Background
Capital Growth is a network of
more than 2,000 community food
growing spaces in London. Run by
food and farming charity Sustain,
it provides support, advice and
services to help members set
up their growing spaces, find
volunteers and develop their
projects. In addition, Capital
Growth aims to influence policy,
decision makers and land owners/
managers to increase the amount
of land available for food growing
and to promote the role of food
growing in achieving a number of
health, social and environmental
objectives.
Growing a Million Meals for
London is a campaign developed
by Capital Growth in 2013. It aims
to provide a useful service to our
members and capture information
on the scale of community food
production throughout London’s
food growing network, to influence
policy and decision makers. To
complement our existing research
on social and health benefits of
community food growing, we also
sought to attach financial value to
the food grown.
This idea of giving a financial
value to different types of
outcomes is increasingly being
used, for example project
evaluations are starting to use
a Social Return on Investment
approach. This project did not set
out to measure all inputs (social,
water, volunteer hours) or outputs
(social, environmental and health)
of food growing, but attaching a
clear financial value to the food
grown is a first and useful step. In
addition it has provided a tool that
can be used by projects, as well
as Capital Growth, to demonstrate
their worth.
9. 9
Typology of growing spaces
The Capital Growth network consists of different types of food growing
spaces. They vary according to location, how they are run and their
purpose. When joining the network, people are asked to select the
category that is most suitable from the following group/ communal types
of spaces:
●● Allotment sites – this would
cover the whole of a statutory
allotment site.
●● Communal allotment plots –
these are based on a statutory
allotment plot but the growing is
undertaken by a group, linked
to an organisation.
●● Farms – these are sites that
are primarily growing to sell.
●● Schools – these are growing
spaces within or run by a
school group.
●● Community growing spaces
– these are communal sites,
not based on an allotment or
school. Those involved may
be growing collectively or
allocated a small individual plot.
(they are sometimes referred
to as mini allotments but are
not statutory, ie protected by
allotment act).
For this campaign we also opened the network to and created the
following additional categories for people growing as individuals or with
their families:
●● Allotment plots – these are
based on statutory allotment
plots, and the growing will be
by an individual or family.
●● Home growers – people
growing alone or with family at
home.
●● Individual plots on
community spaces – these
are discreet areas on a
community growing space
which are the responsibility of
an individual (or family).
10. 10
Capital Growth’s Harvest-ometer
was purpose-built as part of the
members’ area of the Capital
Growth website, to provide a
simple, useful and exciting way to
record the data. People were able
to log in to their own record and
enter their harvest data through
a simple from with a drop-down
list of different types of fruit,
vegetables and salad. Eggs and
honey were also included, as we
knew that some community food
growing sites were producing
these items. The Harvest-ometer
database was able to store this
data and show a running total both
in graph and total form.
Email reminders were sent to
encourage people to enter their
harvest data to ensure that
the system was regularly used
throughout the growing season,
but people were also able to
back-date their harvest and were
given a printable sheet (see
Appendix 1) so they could make
records whilst in the garden.
We were also able to use the
system to produce global statistics
and graphs on the yield of all the
spaces participating.
Growing a Million Meals
To engage Capital Growth
network members, we promoted
a campaign with a shared goal –
namely growing enough food to
contribute to a million meals. Our
experience of the first phase of
Capital Growth, with the shared
goal of creating 2,012 new growing
spaces, showed how inspiring and
engaging it can be for local groups
to feel they are part of a shared
ambition. We also encouraged
participation with the idea that
the harvest data could be used to
promote the network and wider
food growing sector. Further, we
opened up participation not only to
new food growing spaces, but also
– for the first time - to individuals
growing at home or on existing
allotments.
The pledge
All participants were encouraged
to pledge how many portions of
fruit and vegetables to contribute
to meals they could grow using
an online form that linked to their
own data record. For the purposes
of the campaign, we defined a
portion of fruit or vegetables in the
same way as for the government’s
5-a-day campaign (ie 80 grams
per portion).9
Defining a portion
as 80 grams of fruit or vegetables
enabled us to standardise prices
and portions. We also decided
that describing a portion of
fruit or vegetables as a ‘meal’
would be a straightforward way
of communicating the essential
message of the campaign to
participants.
Encouraging participation
Online Harvest-ometer
Competitions and giveaways
We used competitions and
giveaways to create a buzz and
keep people engaged in the
campaign. Vouchers, tools and
weighing kits (with digital scales
and forms to record data) were
given away to more than 50
people. Growing materials were
also distributed to our Grow
More Food pilot sites as well
as others who applied for our
materials giveaway. In total, 57
groups received growing materials
including soil, polytunnels and
greenhouses.
Methodology
Collecting data
The project was devised so that
people growing food in London
would collect and record the data.
This follows on from another
similar project called Farming
Concrete, which used data
collected from members of the
public (often referred to as citizen
science) from community growing
spaces in New York8
. The benefits
of this approach for our project
were that it enabled collection
of a good amount of data, which
would not exist in the absence of a
well funded research programme.
It also meant those taking part
have learnt something, feel an
ownership of the project and
hopefully enjoyed it. They have
also seen the potential of urban
growing in feeding London.
11. 11
Stage 1
Join Capital Growth and
activate your Harvest-ometer in
your personal members’ area
Stage 5
Check progress on
your personalised
harvest-ometer graph
Stage 4
View your harvest and compare
with previous seasons. Export a
record of all your harvest data!
Stage 3
Log in to members area,
select a produce type and
enter your quantities
Stage 2
Weigh and record your
harvest in the field
Harvest-ometer
Record and view the progress
of your harvest in 5 simple steps
Harvest log
Enter this information online by visiting
www.capitalgrowth.org/members
Space name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Head grower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Phone number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Space number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Month: Date: Date: Date: Date:
Crop name Measure Grams Grams Grams Grams
Artichoke artichoke(s)
Asparagus apear(s)
Beans (Broad) handful(s)
Beans (French) handful(s)
Beans (Runner) handful(s)
Beetroot handful(s)
Broccoli (sprouting) spears
Brocolli (head) head(s)
Brussel Sprouts Sprouts
Cabbage cabbage(s)
Carrot (baby/small) carrot(s)
Carrot (large) carrot(s)
Cauliflower Cauliflower(s)
Chilli chillies
Courgette courgette(s)
Cucumber cucumber(s)
Fennel bulb(s)
Garlic bulb(s)
Kale cereal bowl(s)
Leek untrimmed leek(s)
Mange tout/peas handful(s)
Marrow (medium) marrow(s)
Onion onion(s)
Onion (spring) onion(s)
Pak Choi bulb(s)
Parsnips parsnips
Peppers pepper (s)
Potato potato(es)
Potato (new) potato(es)
Radish radish(es)
Squash/pumpkin squash(es)
Swede Swede (s)
Sweetcorn cob(s)
Tomato tomato(es)
Tomato (Cherry) tomato(es)
Turnips turnips
Vegetables
Month: Date: Date: Date: Date:
Crop name Measure Grams Grams Grams Gram
Egg egg(s)
Honey jar(s)
Coriander cereal bowl(s)
Basil cereal bowl(s)
Chives cereal bowl(s)
Mint cereal bowl(s)
Rosemary cereal bowl(s)
Thyme cereal bowl(s)
Parsley cereal bowl(s)
Tarragon cereal bowl(s)
Month: Date: Date: Date: Date:
Crop name Measure Grams Grams Grams Gram
Cavolo nero cereal bowl(s)
Chard cereal bowl(s)
Lettuce (headed) cereal bowl(s)
Rocket cereal bowl(s)
Salad leaves (mixed) cereal bowl(s)
Spinach cereal bowl(s)
Basil cereal bowl(s)
Chives cereal bowl(s)
Coriander cereal bowl(s)
Month: Date: Date: Date: Date:
Crop name Measure Grams Grams Grams Gram
Apple apple
Blackberry handful(s)
Cherry cherry
Pear pear(s)
Plum Plum(s)
Raspberries handful(s)
Rhubarb stalk
Strawberry handful(s)
Gooseberries handful(s)
Red/Black/White
Currants
handful(s)
Blueberries handful(s)
Grapes handful(s)
Fruit
Salad & leaves
Other
If there is a crop type that is not included, please enter the details at the bottom of the ‘Other’ section
We are constantly adding new crop types to our online list. Let us know is you would like us to make
If you cannot log this information online please email the form to us at paola@sustainweb.org or po
Capital Growth, C/o Sustain, Development House, 56 - 64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT
12. 12
Harvest-ometer feedback
Below are some of the comments from food growing groups using our
online Harvest-ometer to record their harvest and find out its financial
value and how many meals this contributed to:
“It was a great tool, making it very easy to record
harvests. We think it will be very useful to track our
improvements and changes from year to year.”
“It was really easy to use and it’s incredibly helpful to
get that kind of data.”
“It helped our apprentice with his maths and to
appreciate the value of the food we were growing. It
gave us the incentive to grow and encouraged us to
sell [the food] to our staff and volunteers.”
“Great tool – It has helped me in knowing what was
successful or not. As such I am better able to plan for
this year.”
“It made me realise how much food one can grow.”
“A great way to monitor and record our own
crop-growing which would otherwise have gone
unnoticed.”
Recording fruit and
vegetable weights
We allocated each type of produce
with a set value in pounds (£)
per 100 grams using an online
price comparision website (see
appendix 2). The system multiplied
the weight of produce entered
by the unit price automatically, to
create an estimated total financial
value for each entry.
We were aware that weighing
all produce might prove too
onerous for some groups, so
as an alternative groups could
give a proxy measure such as
handfuls, number of carrots, etc.
Using available data and through
directly ‘test-weighing’ produce,
we decided on an average weight,
so the Harvest-ometer could
convert the proxy measure into
a reasonably accurate average
weight.
The Harvest-ometer used the
weight information to calculate
the number of meals to which this
produce contributed, and stored
this information in table and graph
form.
Changes and feedback
from participants
Additional vegetable and fruit
products were added during the
pilot year to make the system more
useable for participants who told
us that they are growing a wide
range of different types of food
plants. A number of suggestions
have been incorporated into our
Harvest-ometer and Growing a
Million Meals campaign for the
2014 growing season.
Feedback from users on the
Harvest-ometer was very positive
and the 11 projects who completed
the final survey from the Grow
More Food pilot rated this as the
most useful support (see right).
13. 13
Valuing produce
We decided to equate the
financial value of the produce from
community growing spaces to
high-end organic produce available
at supermarkets, which we tracked
using online comparison sites.
This was because it was important
to represent the unique value of
completely traceable food, grown
locally in London, and harvested
to be eaten at its freshest.We
also considered making price
comparisons with produce available
in farmers’ markets, but price data
was difficult to compile, and not
always consistent between markets.
The value of the produce was
checked throughout the season
with changes made to any produce
that had varied significantly (ie
more than a few pence).
As part of the project, Capital
Growth gave extra help to 14
groups to grow more food on their
food growing space. All Capital
Growth members were invited to
apply and those selected were,
following a site visit to assess
needs and opportunities, given
growing materials, training and
specific advice to help increase
their yields. A set of criteria
was developed using organic
principles, in order to assess
the productivity and to guide the
groups to increase their yield
around these themes, which has
since been turned into a toolkit:11
●● Management of the food
growing space and people.
●● Layout/making best use of the
food growing space.
●● Crop rotation.
●● Crop selection and crop
planning.
●● Soil fertility.
The yield data was analysed to
investigate what the yields were,
where and who was growing and
to see what opportunities this
might provide. There was also
some comparison made with other
data, including information on
Capital Growth members and the
latest monitoring survey.12
Some assumptions were made in
order to take the analysis further.
For example, we assumed that
growing space size reported by
the growers was accurate and
that weights given were accurate.
Human error is a limitation of
any public participation in data
collection. Checks were made by
looking for outlying data, ie figures
that seemed very low or very high
in terms of yield for the size of the
growing area.This resulted in the
data from three growing spaces
being removed as they had not
What is a meal?
We used the idea of ‘contribution
to a meal’ to make the numbers
more meaningful. We chose the
unit of 80 grams to represent an
average portion in terms of the
government’s ‘5-a-day’ promotion,
with the idea that this was a
portion contributing to a meal.10
Grow More Food learning sites
been using the Harvest-ometer
regularly. Other cautions and
considerations include:
●● Total yield being recorded
and reported: the data may
not cover the actual total yield
of these spaces and so yield
figures could be higher. A
survey of 48 users of our online
Harvest-ometer suggested that
over two-thirds were recording
between 76% and 100% of
their yield. We therefore felt
confident to use reported
figures to make conservative
calculations or estimates that
would not over-claim.
●● Accurate size of the growing
space: growing spaces are
asked to register the size of their
growing space when joining the
Capital Growth network, which
was used to calculate per sq m
yield. A survey of 34 groups was
made to test the accuracy and
identified out of 34 spaces, 11
were within 10 square metres
of accuracy. A further 18 had
used less space than they had
originally recorded which would
mean a small increase in our
estimates for yield per square
metre. Only 5 had a growing
space that was in fact larger than
their original listing, ranging from
20 to 300 sq meteres different
with only three being over 100
sq metres, which would have the
effect of lowering the yield.
Overall, due to the number of
growing spaces participating,
even taking into account these
variances and assumptions, we
felt that the data would provide
a useful picture of yields, as well
as a good basis upon which the
Harvest-ometer can be developed
in future years.
Participating groups were also
asked to complete a pre- and
post-pilot survey to assess the
impact on their yield of the support
provided by Capital Growth. The
results are discussed later in this
report.
Analysis and assumptions
14. 14
Results
Overview
In total, Capital Growth’s Growing
a Million Meals pilot campaign
received pledges from 257 of
London’s food growing spaces, who
collectively pledged to grow over
340,000 meals during 2013 growing
season, equivalent to enough
fruit, vegetables for approximately
three meals per square metre for
the growing season (May 2013 -
February 2014).
160 community food growing
spaces used the Harvest-ometer
regularly and contributed to the
data collection. Overall, this
resulted in over 21.24 tonnes
(or 21,236 kg) of produce being
recorded, worth £150,744.
Table 1: Key findings
Number of growing spaces submitting data 160
Total land area of growing spaces 43,137 square metres
Total weight of produce recorded 21.24 tonnes or 21,236 kg
Total number of ‘meal portions’ grown 265,458
Total financial value of produce grown £150,744
Average productivity per square metre in weight 492 grams
Average productivity per square metre in financial value £3.49
Average productivity per square metre in number meal portions 6 meals
On average per square metre,
this means that 492 grams were
being grown, or around 6 meals
per square metre, with a value of
£3.48. This was higher than the
average amount that the spaces
had pledged and suggested that
participants were not necessarily
aware of their potential yield when
they pledged.
15. 15
Over 160 food growing spaces
participated in the data collection,
including the following flagship
sites, who made high pledges due
to high yields from their sites:
●● Sutton Community Farm, Sutton.13
●● Growing Communities Patchwork
Farm, Hackney. 14
●● The Castle Climbing Centre
Garden, Hackney.15
Information on participants
Types of food growing spaces
The campaign was open to all
types of food growing spaces, who
were categorised as follows:
Table 2: Information on participating growing spaces
Type of growing spaces Number participating
Area of land covered
(square metres)
Average plot size
(square metres)
Allotment plot* 15 1,490 99
Allotment site* 1 250 250
Communal allotment plot* 3 516 172
Farm 11 19,625 1,784
Home grower 30 828 28
School 23 3,071 134
Individual plot in community site 4 17 4
Community food growing space 73 17,340 238
Total 160 43,137 270
*located on an allotment site run by a local authority
The average plot size taking part was 270 sq m but when broken down by
inner and outer London we can see that there is a significant difference
with outer London spaces between three and four times bigger than inner
London.
Average size of participating spaces: Inner vs outer london
523sqm
Average size of Outer
London Growing Spaces
142sqm
Average size of Inner
London Growing Spaces
16. 16
The growing spaces participating reflects the membership of the Capital
Growth network, when looking at the number of each type that took part,
with community food growing spaces making up the largest group. In
terms of the amount of land covered by the different types of groups, this
does not reflect the membership as accurately, largely due to some of
the larger farm projects, that took part. Community growing spaces are
the second largest group in terms of land coverage and collectively are
providing a significant majority of the land used for this pilot.
Area of land covered by participating growing spaces
Allotment plot
Allotment site
Communal allotment plot
Farm
Home grower
School
Community growing space
Geographical spread
All of London’s 33 boroughs had at least one community food growing
space participating in our Growing a Million Meals pilot. For some
boroughs, the numbers were very low, but this reflects the geographical
spread of growing spaces in the Capital Growth network as a whole.
Nine of the boroughs in the top ten (see below) are also in the top ten for
number of food growing spaces that are members of the Capital Growth
network.
Number of spaces participating per borough
Hackney
Lambeth
Lewisham
Southwark
Camden
Islington
Greenwich
Haringey
Barnet
TowerHamlets
Richmond
Newham
WalthamForest
Wandsworth
Havering
Kensington&Chelsea
Sutton
Hounslow
Enfield
Bromley
Barking&Dagenham
Kingston
Westminster
Brent
Croydon
Ealing
Bexley
CityofLondon
Hillingdon
Merton
Redbridge
Harrow
20
15
10
5
0
Numberofspaces
17. 17
The top ten boroughs change when looking at land coverage (as opposed
to number of spaces) which can be attributed to certain boroughs
having large community food growing sites, and even some farms. This
includes Sutton, Barking & Dagenham, Havering and Wandsworth. The
participation of Sutton Community Farm (a large site, with seven acres
– or just under three hectares – under cultivation) has also affected the
spread, dramatically increasing the position of Sutton when looking at
land covered.
Despite the lack of land, inner London boroughs are still represented
in the top ten (Southwark, Lambeth, Haringey, Wandsworth, Camden,
Hackney, Lewisham). This reflects the membership of Capital Growth,
which has high numbers of community food growing spaces in inner
London, where a lot of the demand for additional land to grow food initially
came from.
The information on the average space size per borough supports the
understanding that growing spaces tend to be larger in the outer London
boroughs. But the inner London boroughs tend to make up for this in
terms of the number of spaces that participated.
Total land covered by top 10 boroughs
Sutton
Southwark
Lambeth
Haringey
Camden
Wandsworth
Hackney
Havering
Lewisham
20
15
10
5
0
1000sqmetres
Barking&
Dagenham
Average size of space participating
Sutton
Ealing
Wandsworth
Hounslow
Havering
Southwark
Bexley
Haringey
Kingston
Lambeth
Camden
Newham
Enfield
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Barking&
Dagenham
Kensington
&Chelsea
1000sqmetres
18. 18
Initially, 50 different types of fruits,
vegetables and herbs were listed
on our Harvest-ometer based on
popular produce. But many users
soon requested additions to the
list. These included more unusual
produce such as kiwi fruit as well
as some staples like parsnips.
By the end of the pilot, we had
expanded the list to 65 produce
types listed on the Harvest-ometer
(see Appendix 1).
Quantity, frequency and range of produce grown
The most widely grown (or
‘popular’) produce being grown
amongst the respondents can be
analysed in a number of ways,
including most popular by weight,
by financial value, or by number
of spaces growing that grow that
produce. Headlines include:
Popular produce by weight (kg)
Saladleaves
(mixed)
Squash/
pumpkin
Courgette
Potato
Onion
Tomato
Apple
Kale
Tomato
(cherry)
Cabbage
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
●● Salad leaves were a clear
‘front runner’, being the
most successful by all three
measures – weight, financial
value and popularity.
●● Courgettes provided a lot of
weight and value, and were
also popular. These vegetables
are renowned for their tendency
to yield well.
●● Tomatoes and cherry tomatoes
were popular and also provided
a lot of weight and value.
●● Squash and pumpkin – dense
and heavy items – were grown
by under a third of participating
spaces and were lower in
value than other produce, but
provided a lot of weight to the
totals.
Popular produce by value (£)
Saladleaves
(mixed)
Courgette
Squash/
pumpkin
Tomato
Garlic
Tomato
(cherry)
Kale
Beans
(runner)
Beans
(broad)
Apple
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
WeightValue
19. 19
Popular produce by number of spaces growing
Saladleaves
(mixed)
Tomato
Strawberry
Courgette
Potato
Chard
Beans
(runner)
Radish
Rocket
Mint
Beetroot
Spinach
Onion
Lettuce
(headed)
Squash/
pumpkin
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
The data also provided information
on the range of vegetables each
space was growing. The data
showed that, for example:
●● Just under one third of
participating spaces were
growing or recording five types
of vegetables or fewer.
●● Around half of participating
spaces were growing 10
varieties of fruit and vegetables
or fewer.
●● 38% of participating spaces
were growing between 10 and
25 types of produce.
●● 13% of participating spaces
were growing more than 25
types of vegetables and/or fruit.
Further research would be
needed to investigate the reasons
behind these choices but the data
submitted already provides useful
information about the range of
produce that growing spaces are
choosing to grow and how to target
advice to help groups to increase
their yeild, both in terms of weight
of food and financial value.
Number of spaces growing different ranges of produce types
< 5
6 - 10
11 - 15
16 - 20
21 - 25
26 - 30
31 - 35
36 - 40
41 - 45
45 +
Number of types grown
Numberofspacesgrowing
20. 20
Average yields
We wanted to look into yeild by
type and size of growing space.
Analysis indicated that:
●● Individual plots on community
growing spaces produced the
highest yields, at 1.9kg per
square metres valued at over
£10 per sqm, although only 4
participated.
●● Home growers produced an
average of 658 grams per sqm,
valued at £4.09 closely followed
by allotment plots at 828 grams
and £3.97.
●● Farms had a lower weight
yield per square metres at 585
grammes per square metre, but
the value was £5.00 per square
metre.
●● Schools yield was lower with
338 grams being produced
per square metre on average,
valued at £1.73.
Our analysis shows that growing
as an individual is likely to give
higher yields when looking not
only at individual plots but also
home growers and allotment plots
(who are all classed as individuals
rather than groups).This could
be explained by the different
motivations of types of growers.
For example, many community
spaces and schools in the Capital
Growth network may be using food
growing mainly as an educational
tool, for demonstration purposes,
to help people with physical or
mental health problems, or to
build community connections. For
these, yield in terms of weight
and financial value may not be of
primary concern.
In comparison, individual growers
may be more motivated by yield in
terms of weight or value, to provide
substantial amounts of food for
themselves and their families. This
could also be due to individuals
recording more of their harvest,
although supplementary questions
indiciated that over two-thirds of
particpants were recording 75
- 100% of their harvest. Further
research would enable a better
understanding of these variations.
Weight of produce grown by type of growing space
Individualplotin
communitysite
Allotmentplot
Homegrower
Allotmentsite
Farm
Community
growingspace
School
Communal
allotmentplot
Average
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Gramspersqm
Pounds (£) per square metre by type of growing space
Individualplotin
communitysite
Allotmentplot
Homegrower
Allotmentsite
Farm
Community
growingspace
School
Communal
allotmentplot
Average
10
8
6
4
2
0
£persqm
21. 21
Using the average yield
information, some estimates of the
total yield of the Capital Growth
network have been made. This is
based on the assumption that all
the members are producing at the
same yield rate as similar spaces
that submitted data. Regardless of
whether they are actually growing
at these rates we know that they
have the potential to, so this is still
a useful estimate.
The data has been analysed
in three ways, to calculate total
potential yield and to identify the
most conservative estimate of yield
across the network:
1. By type of spaces
2. By size of spaces
3. By type and size of spaces
Projected value of the network
For the third approach due to low
numbers in some categories, it
is only appropriate to use this
breakdown for community growing
spaces, as there is sufficient data
in this range to allow for further
breakdown by size as well as type.
Based on the different approaches
to calculating potential yield,
the estimated yield of the whole
Capital Growth network is
between 313 and 359 tonnes in
weight, which is the equivalent
of equivalent of 4 and 4.5 million
meals, worth between £1.5 and
£2.4 million in value (see table).
Table 3: Different projected values of food grown by the Capital Growth network
Method of calculation Potential yield (weight) Potential yield (monetary)
Using average yield for types of spaces* 313 tonnes £1,848,000
Using average yield by size of spaces* 354 tonnes £2,390,000
Using average yield by type for all categories,
plus further breakdown for community
growing by type and size*
359 tonnes £1,467,000
*The full detail of average yields can be found in Appendix 2
One interesting finding was that
farms participating in our pilot
project came out with a lower
weight yield per square metre in
comparison with higher-yielding
spaces. This may be due to:
●● The size of farm spaces: it
is generally more difficult to
achieve a high yield across a
large site than on a smaller
space.
●● Inputs of various kinds, such
as weeding time, compost
and watering: these may be
higher by individuals than on
farms.
●● Choice of crop: commercial
farms may focus more on
high yield in terms of money,
and place less importance on
weight yield per se.
When comparing this to financial
value you can see that farms are
harvesting a higher monetary
value per square metre. This
suggests that the farms are
selecting high value crops and
we know that many of the urban
farms do choose salads and other
such products. Overall, however
the picture still suggests higher
yields from individuals as opposed
to communal growing spaces,
which could be attributed to the
intensity that an individual using a
smaller space can grow at.
The numbers participating in some
of these sub-categories are low
so further data would be needed
to provide a more robust analysis
of the differences between yields,
but this provides a useful insight
and data which can be further
analysed once new data is
available.
22. 22
Impact of Grow More Food support
Fourteen growing spaces were selected to receive extra help, which
included 3 schools and 11 community projects. They were asked to
complete surveys before and after the support in order to provide some
insight into the effectiveness and impact of the support and to identify
lessons for future support.
Feedback
11 of the 14 Grow More Food
learning sites completed the
before and after surveys. The key
findings from the analysis of their
surveys were:
●● Of the 11 sites, 10 reported that
they had increased their yield.
●● The average yield of the sites
after receiving support was
rated as 7 out of 10 (1 is low
and 10 is high). This was an
increase from an average of
4 out of 10 at the start of the
project.
●● The support provided was rated
as either helpful or very helpful
for all food growing spaces.
●● All those who responded
cited the support from Capital
Growth as one of the reasons
for the increase in yield.
From comparing the pre and post
support data we can see that:
●● Their perception of yield
increased across the group by
2.9. Prior to the support they
had rated their yield on an
average of 4.5 (out of 10) to
7.4, with only one respondent
decreasing their perception
of yield, with the rest ranging
from an increase of 1 to an
increase of 5.
●● Their confidence to improve
their yields had increased
across the group from 6.0 to
8.64 – an increase of 1.74.
The Grow more food pilot provided
different elements of support
such as providing measuring and
growing materials to increase
and measure yields, site visit and
advice from an expert, events and
surveys. The feedback showed:
●● The most useful elements of
the support were the tools
provided to record and better
manage yield including the
measuring kit (scales, diary
and clipboard) and the Harvest-
ometer.
●● Materials such as soil improver,
greenhouses and crop
protection kits were also rated
highly, as were the advice from
the experts and the on-going
support from the Capital
Growth team.
Usefulness of different support provided
Yield measuring kit
Harvest-ometer
Materials eg soil
improver
Advice from experts
Site visit by experts
Advice from Capital
Growth team
Networking events
Drawing up a
site plan
Surveys
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Extremely useful Useful
Number of respondents
23. 23
Feedback from the
Grow More Food pilot
“The advice we were given helped us think about
how to keep the beds going and what to plant”
Christ Church Primary, Wandsworth
“Communication with the Capital Growth team
was consistently wonderful, and made a huge
difference” Low Hall Children’s centre, Waltham
Forest
“We are more confident and also motivated by
the Harvest-ometer”
For the love of food - Barnet
“We are better planned, we have better cover and
pest protection, and a better choice of species
to grow”
“We have another greenhouse thanks to your pilot”
Chisenhale Primary, Tower Hamlets.
Impact of the
Grow More Food pilot
“We’ve learned hugely
from being part of the pilot
and all the knowledge
we gained is continually
being used. I’m confident
our yields will continue to
increase year on year.”
Westow Park, Croydon
“We will continue with the
advice given by your expert
visitor. Thank you for all
your help.”
Priory Court gardening
club, Waltham Forest
“For 2014 it’s onwards
and upwards”
Low Hall Children’s
Centre, Waltham Forest
Sutton Community Farm
by Sam Smith
24. 24
Grow More Food pilot productivity by monetary value
GrowMoreLearningpilotspacename
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
£ per m2
Westow Park Herb and Wildlife Garden
The Regent’s Park Allotment Garden
Cedars Road
Charlton Manor Primary School
Strawberry Hill Raised Community Garden
Myatt’s Fields Park Greenhouse Project
All pilots
Chisenhale’s Edible Playground
The Secret Garden
Comparable non pilots
Sydenham Garden Food Growing Space
For the Love of Food
Priory Court Gardening Club
Queen’s Park Allotment
Bee Interested in Portobello Road
Lowhall Allotment Gardening Club
Harvest-ometer data
Grow More Food Learning sites
also inputted their harvest on
the online Harvest-ometer. A
comparison with other growing
sites who did not take part in the
pilot shows that there was on
average a much higher yield per
Other feedback on
Harvest-ometer
Through the Capital Growth
Monitoring Survey we were able
to ask a wider range of members
about our support. Just under
a quarter had already used the
Harvestometer and 26% of Capital
Growth spaces were planning on
using the Harvest-ometer in 2014,
out of 342 respondents.16
square metre for pilot sites. Some
pilots achieved up to £13.5/m2
and 3.1kg/m2 compared to £3.1/
m2
and 0.6kg/m2
for the average of
comparable non pilot sites (same
types and sizes as pilots).
26. 26
The pilot of Capital Growth’s
Growing a Million Meals campaign,
run in 2013, managed to record
265 000 meals, which is 27% of
the target of 1 million meals, from
less than a tenth of the overall
Capital Growth membership. This
is a great success, as it has not
only engaged and motivated many
food growers but also produced
useful data that could help food
growers, food growing projects and
policy makers to shape their plans
for the future.
The positive feedback and high
level of engagement have shown
that there is a real interest
amongst many of London’s urban
growers in recording produce and
having a better understanding not
only of the current value and yield
of their growing spaces, but also
how this could be improved. The
participants ranged from large
urban farms through to small home
growers and amply demonstrate
the adaptability of this approach.
What support do
growers need?
The pilot has also shown that
our online Harvest-ometer is a
very useful tool for food growing
groups. The survey we conducted
of 14 spaces participating in
our more intensive Grow More
Food pilot also showed that
measuring and recording yield
was a useful activity for growing
spaces to help them increase
their yield. This shows that the
value of the Harvest-ometer goes
beyond the value of the data for
Capital Growth, it is also a useful
motivational tool for growing
project and a tangible way of
showing members and supporters
about achievements as well as the
capacity to help with future funding
applications or to get support with
land or training.
Overcoming challenges of
data collection
Collecting data at this scale
has many challenges, but this
project has shown that with
additional incentives and useful
help to collect yield information,
people are willing to record their
harvest. The data provided by our
members is by far the best yield
data of urban growers in London,
and perhaps in many cities. By
continuing to collect such data
we can build a more robust body
of evidence showing the value of
the urban food growing network
in London, and the contribution of
community food growing to helping
Londoners to eat more healthily, to
have access to high quality food,
and to reduce their shopping bills.
Project value of
the network
It is significant that even a pilot
project working with a proportion
of Capital Growth’s members
managed to record an impressive
21 tonnes of fruit and vegetables,
worth an estimated £151,000.
When we used this data to
estimate what volume of food the
wider Capital Growth network of
spaces could be growing, this
paints an inspiring picture of
the potential value of the urban
growing spaces that have been
created and are continuing to
develop across London. Current
yield of the growing spaces in the
network could easily be worth
£1.4 million, producing a huge
amount of food for London. This is
a reasonable estimate as we are
aware of many productive farms
that are producing at scale but did
not participate in the pilot, and we
are keen to engage with them in
the next phase.
Conclusion
Increasing yields
The range of yields observed
shows that there is the scope to
increase yields across the Capital
Growth network, to get more
people achieving the top end.
This could be:
●● Increasing the number of
volunteers and/or managing
them better.
●● Increasing the amount of space
in productive use.
●● Crop selection, or creating
protected growing areas.
●● Encouraging the recording
of produce and provision of
materials to help improve yield.
Capital Growth will disseminate
information on increasing yields
and the benefits of measuring
including our publication Grow
More Food Top Tips. We will also
look for opportunities to implement
the findings from the Grow More
food pilot, providing tailored advice
and materials.
A wider perspective
of value
The weight and financial values
of the harvested produce are
useful in their own right. But
such numbers do not even
begin to measure the full social,
environmental and other benefits
of the Capital Growth network in
terms of volunteer hours, health
outcomes, ecosystem functions
such as biodiversity and flood
prevention, skills and training.
It does show that increasingly
urban growers are developing
their capacity to contribute to the
food system in London and are
providing significant and valuable
amounts of produce along the way.
27. 27
The more we learn about urban
gardens being used to grow
food, the better equipped Capital
Growth is to advocate for their
continued use and growth. More
and more, policy makers, service
providers and funders in cities
use data for decision-making, and
it is important for communities
to have access to – and the
means to gather – the data they
need to make their own case
for support. As gardeners who
understand the critical importance
of community gardens in our city,
the Capital Growth team hopes
that the research and data from
our Growing a Million Meals for
London campaign will be used to
demonstrate the valuable role that
community food growing spaces
play in our food system and in
the health and wellbeing of our
communities.
Capital Growth will continue to
collect data through the 2014
growing season and will also seek
to share this information with
researchers and policy makers.
This includes via Food Metres,
an EU funded programme that
Capital Growth is supporting,
which has agreed to use the data
and build on it, providing resources
for Capital Growth to continue
the Harvest-ometer for another
season.
Our plan is to encourage more
groups to use the Harvest-ometer
and to improve its functionality
as well as ask for additional
information to test the accuracy
of the data. We will be able to see
how groups perform in terms of
increasing their yields and will
also find ways to look at some
indicative measures around inputs
in order to analyse the fuller
picture of productivity.
We are interested in how we
can support growing spaces to
increase their yield, through advice
and training as well as looking for
funding to support this work. We
would like to replicate some of the
successes of the Grow More Food
pilot to build experience of how to
increase yields, while replicating
what was learnt across the first 14
sites that took part in the pilot. We
will also be looking to support the
development of new urban growing
sites, particularly those producing
at scale and growing to sell.
Next steps
29. ●● Capital Growth: Annual Monitoring Survey (2013)
●● Grow More Food: Top Tips (2014)
●● Edible Estates (2014)
●● Planning sustainable cities for community food growing (2014)
●● Capital Growth: What we learned while creating 2,012 new community food growing spaces in London (2013)
●● Growing Success: The impact of Capital Growth on community food growing in London (2013)
●● Financing community food: Securing money to help community food enterprises to grow (2013)
●● A Growing Trade - a guide for community groups growing food to sell in our towns and cities (2012)
●● A Healthy Profit - a simple guide to pricing the food you make or grow (2012)
●● Growing Communities: manual of monitoring and evaluation (2012)
●● Roots to work: Developing employability through community food-growing and urban agriculture (2012)
●● Food Access & Social Housing: How to help residents gain access to good food (2004)
●● Food and Planning: How London’s planners can improve access to healthy and sustainable food (2004)
●● City Harvest: The feasibility of growing more food in London (1999)
●● Growing Food In Cities: The benefits of urban agriculture in the UK (1996)
To download PDF versions of these reports visit:
www.capitalgrowth.org/publications
Relevant publications
29
31. 31
Month: Date: Date: Date: Date:
Crop name Measure Grams Grams Grams Grams
Egg egg(s)
Honey jar(s)
Coriander cereal bowl(s)
Basil cereal bowl(s)
Chives cereal bowl(s)
Mint cereal bowl(s)
Rosemary cereal bowl(s)
Thyme cereal bowl(s)
Parsley cereal bowl(s)
Tarragon cereal bowl(s)
Month: Date: Date: Date: Date:
Crop name Measure Grams Grams Grams Grams
Cavolo nero cereal bowl(s)
Chard cereal bowl(s)
Lettuce (headed) cereal bowl(s)
Rocket cereal bowl(s)
Salad leaves (mixed) cereal bowl(s)
Spinach cereal bowl(s)
Basil cereal bowl(s)
Chives cereal bowl(s)
Coriander cereal bowl(s)
Month: Date: Date: Date: Date:
Crop name Measure Grams Grams Grams Grams
Apple apple
Blackberry handful(s)
Cherry cherry
Pear pear(s)
Plum Plum(s)
Raspberries handful(s)
Rhubarb stalk
Strawberry handful(s)
Gooseberries handful(s)
Red/Black/White
Currants
handful(s)
Blueberries handful(s)
Grapes handful(s)
Fruit
Salad & leaves
Other
If there is a crop type that is not included, please enter the details at the bottom of the ‘Other’ section overleaf.
We are constantly adding new crop types to our online list. Let us know is you would like us to make an addition.
If you cannot log this information online please email the form to us at paola@sustainweb.org or post it to:
Capital Growth, C/o Sustain, Development House, 56 - 64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT
33. 33
Produce type Category Unit Unit weight
Example price
per 100 grams
Tomato vegetable tomato(es) 40 grams 54 pence
Tomato (Cherry) vegetable tomato(es) 12 grams 60 pence
Turnips vegetable turnips 80 grams 22 pence
Cavolo nero salad and leaves cereal bowl(s) 80 grams 80 pence
Chard salad and leaves cereal bowl(s) 80 grams 58 pence
Lettuce (headed) salad and leaves cereal bowl(s) 80 grams 50 pence
Pea Shoots salad and leaves cereal bowl(s) 80 grams 149 pence
Rocket salad and leaves cereal bowl(s) 80 grams 186 pence
Salad leaves
(mixed)
salad and leaves cereal bowl(s) 80 grams 180 pence
Spinach salad and leaves cereal bowl(s) 80 grams 88 pence
Basil other cereal bowl(s) 80 grams 286 pence
Chives other cereal bowl(s) 80 grams 160 pence
Coriander other cereal bowl(s) 80 grams 258 pence
Egg other egg(s) 40 grams 80 pence
Honey other jar(s) 300 grams 150 pence
Mint other cereal bowl(s) 80 grams 175 pence
Parsley other cereal bowl(s) 80 grams 144 pence
Rosemary other cereal bowl(s) 80 grams 425 pence
Tarragon other cereal bowl(s) 80 grams 400 pence
Thyme other cereal bowl(s) 80 grams 495 pence
Apple fruit apple 160 grams 31 pence
Blackberry fruit handful(s) 80 grams 100 pence
Blueberries fruit handful(s) 80 grams 133 pence
Cherry fruit cherry 8 grams 75 pence
Gooseberries fruit handful(s) 80 grams 57 pence
Grapes fruit handful(s) 80 grams 63 pence
Pear fruit pear(s) 130 grams 63 pence
Plum fruit Plum(s) 40 grams 37 pence
Raspberries fruit handful(s) 40 grams 120 pence
Red/Black/White
Currants
fruit handful(s) 80 grams 100 pence
Rhubarb fruit stalk 80 grams 50 pence
Strawberry fruit handful(s) 80 grams 115 pence
34. 34
Appendix 3: Workings for projected
yield of the network
Potential of the network based on average yield for types of growing spaces
Capital Growth Network Data
Harvest-ometer figures for
community growing spaces,
by type of space (excluding
community growing spaces)
Projection if similar
yields achieved across
Capital Growth
Type of growing
space
No of growing
spaces in the Capital
Growth network
Total growing
area (square
metres)
Average
productivity per
type of space (£)
Average
Productivity
(weight in kg)
Value of
produce
(£)
Weight
(kg)
Allotment plot 27 2,571 3.97 0.828 10,198 2,128
Allotment sites 6 21,530 3.69 0.624 79,369 13,435
Communal
allotment plot
5 586 1.62 0.259 952 152
Urban Farm 16 78,603 5.00 0.585 392,997 46,011
Home grower 68 1,199 4.09 0.658 4,899 789
School 712 65,388 1.73 0.338 113,255 22,129
Individual plot
in community
growing space
12 269 10.17 1.915 2,735 515
Projection for community growing spaces only based on yields per size of space
Harvest-ometer figures for community growing spaces, by size of space
Capital
Growth
Data
Projection if similar
yields achieved across
Capital Growth network
Catergory
(size range
in square
metres)
Sum
of area
covered
No of
sites
Total
weight of
produce
grown
(kg)
Total
value of
produce
grown
(£)
Yield per
square
metre
(kg)
Yield
per
square
metre
(£)
Land
coverage
across the
network
Total value
of produce
grown (£)
Total
weight of
produce
grown
(kg)
Under 10 32 4 409 2137 12.79 66.78 120,003 22,980
11-50 949 31 2,333 10993 2.46 11.58 154,091 32,696
51-150 1,247 13 638 4562 0.51 3.66 77,550 10,853
151-500 5,056 15 1,578 10313 0.31 2.04 111,350 17,034
501-1,000 4,386 5 803 4151 0.18 0.95 29,560 5,715
1,001-5,000 5,670 5 849 3922 0.15 0.69 370,232 184,498
TOTAL 862,784 273,777
35. 35
Projection of Capital Growth Network total yield by type of spaces, including project by size for community
growing category (ie a & b)
Type of growing space Value of produce (£) Weight of produce (kg)
Allotment plot 10,198 2,128
Allotment sites 79,369 13,435
Communal allotment plot 952 152
Urban farm 392,997 46,011
Home grower 4,899 789
School 113,255 22,129
Individual plot in community growing space 2,735 515
Community growing space 862,784* 273,777*
Total 1,467,189 358,936
36. 36
1 National Food Alliance (which
later merged with the SAFE
Alliance to become Sustain)
(1996) Growing Food In
Cities: A report to highlight
and promote the benefits of
urban agriculture in the UK,
see: www.sustainweb.org/
publications/info/135
2 City Harvest: The feasibility of
growing more food in London
(1996), see: www.sustainweb.
org/publications/info/134
3 Watch Rob Finley’s inspiring
TED talk at: www.ted.com/
talks/ron_finley_a_guerilla_
gardener_in_south_central_la
4 www.verticalveg.org.uk
5 Find out more about Capital
aGrowth’s Harvest-ometer
at: www.capitalgrowth.org/
millionmeals/harvestometer/
6 Download the toolkit Grow
More Food Top Tips at:
www.sustainweb.org/
publications/info/300
7 Find out more about our
ongoing work on this at: www.
capitalgrowth.org/millionmeals/
8 www.farmingconcrete.org
9 5-a-day, just eat more, leaflet
produced by the NHS, showing
what is a ‘portion’, and using
’80 grams’ or ‘roughly a
handful’ as a measure for one
portion to contribute towards
the healthy 5-a-day target:
www.nhs.uk/Livewell/5ADAY/
Documents/Downloads/5%20
A%20DAY%20z%20card.pdf
10 5-a-day, just eat more, leaflet
produced by the NHS, showing
what is a ‘portion’, and using
’80 grams’ or ‘roughly a
handful’ as a measure for
one portion to contribute
towards the healthy 5-a-day:
www.nhs.uk/Livewell/5ADAY/
Documents/Downloads/5%20
A%20DAY%20z%20card.pdf
11 Grow More Food Top Tips is
available at www.sustainweb.
org/publications/info/300
12 Capital Growth: Annual
Monitoring Survey 2013,
see: www.sustainweb.org/
publications/info/301
13 Find out more about the Sutton
Community Farm website at:
www.suttoncommunityfarm.
org.uk
14 Find out more about the
Growing Communities
Patchwork Farm at:
www.growingcommunities.org/
food-growing/patchwork-farm/
15 Find out more about the Castle
Climbing Centre Garden at:
www.castle-climbing.co.uk/
garden
16 Capital Growth: Annual
Monitoring Survey 2013,
see: www.sustainweb.org/
publications/info/301
References
37. 37
Thanks
This pilot was funded by the Big Lottery’s Local Food Fund, whose
funding contributed to staff time and materials for growing spaces
participating in the pilot. We would also like to thank Vertical Veg and
Farming Concrete for providing inspiration for the project.
This pilot would not have been possible without the participation of
the many gardeners who harvested, weighed and entered their data
(see page 4). We hope that this report will help them to understand the
important part they play in feeding the city.
Also thanks to the staff team including Paola Guzman & Ida Fabrizio for
their help with the Grow More Food pilot, Jenny Hindson for help with the
data and Gavin Dupee for creating the IT systems to make it happen, and
for Moya Kneafsey and Lizzie Bos from Coventry University for checking
that the report made sense!.
38. Can communities grow a
million meals for London?
Reaping
REWARDS
A Sustain publication
July 2014
Capital Growth is a network of food growing spaces
in London. It was set up by London Food Link (part of
Sustain) in partnership with the Mayor of London and
the Big Lottery’s Local Food Programme.
Capital Growth
capitalgrowth@sustainweb.org
www.capitalgrowth.org
Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming,
advocates food and agriculture policies and practices
that enhance the health and welfare of people and
animals, improve the living and working environment,
enrich society and culture, and promote equity.
It represents around 100 national public interest
organisations working at international, national,
regional and local level.
Sustain:The alliance for better food and farming
sustain@sustainweb.org
www.sustainweb.org
Sustain, Development House,
56 - 64 Leonard Street,
London
EC2A 4LT
Tel: 020 7065 0902
growthCAPITAL
Sustain is a Registered Charity No. 1018643
