Weekly TV role grows on Pete

Published on Saturday 4 April 2009 10:30

PETE JACKSON is on a mission to get people growing. It doesn't matter if they've got a window box, a shared backyard, or their own garden, he thinks we can all grow our own food.

Most days, the 37-year-old can be found preaching his message from the Earthy Food Market, in Newington, a shop-cum-cafe filled with seeds, knobbly vegetables and mouthwatering organic food. As he darts around, chatting to customers and enthusing about the local producers, it is clear how passionate he is about the business.

Now he will be spreading his word even further with a weekly slot on STV's Five Thirty Show. He aims to coax reluctant gardeners into realising you don't need to be born with green fingers and show that even city-dwellers can discover the fun of getting closer to the ground.

This new offshoot of his career grew after a chance meeting with presenter Stephen Jardine, a keen advocate of locally grown food and a regular shopper at Earthy. Pete first appeared in a feature about "living Christmas trees", which could be returned and planted out in East Lothian. His mixture of enthusiasm, knowledge and approachability proved a hit with viewers, and he has now been given a 12-month contract.

"The main thing I want to focus on is an awareness of the origins of food," he says. "Everyone can grow it themselves. It doesn't matter if you've just got a window box in a tenement flat. You can buy a packet of seeds for just 99 pence and grow a fantastic array of herbs.

"Years ago, gardening was a way of life. I think that it's becoming more popular now, especially due to the economic downturn. People are spending more time in the kitchen, cooking their own food and they want to know where the food has come from. They are realising they can save money and eat better by growing it themselves.

"I'd like to see Edinburgh leading the way in being greener and providing spaces for people to garden. There's already a seven-year waiting list for allotments here. I think we need to be more aggressive and push the council to make use of empty land."

Pete's love of gardening began as a child. He grew up in Staffordshire and remembers winning a sweetpea growing competition at school aged eight. As a child, he spent as much time out of doors as possible, and began working in a nursery garden to make extra pocket money when he was 13.

After leaving school, he studied for an HND in horticulture, before taking a year-long course in garden design. He set up his first business, Blooming World, after building his own greenhouse in his parents' garden. He designed and planted hanging baskets, which he supplied to pubs around the country. Then he decided to travel to New Zealand and work for a year.

He explains: "I always wanted to see the flora and fauna there. I got a job running a restaurant in Keri Keri on North Island, and working with two amazing chefs. That's when I fell in love with food. The fish would come off the boats in the morning, and be in the restaurant for 11am. We used to have a mini garden out the back. Everything else would come from four or five local producers.

"I was inspired by the combination of finding out where food came from, and the horticultural element. I came back wanting to do something with both."

Pete moved to Edinburgh six years ago, working for Dobbies designing show gardens, but he always dreamed of running his own business. This became a reality when he met his three partners. He started chatting to Patricia Stephen by chance at a beer festival, and they realised they shared similar ideas. The other directors are Dirk Douglas and Chris Purser, who used to run an organic box scheme.

The shop, which marks its first anniversary on May 1, is a Mecca for those searching for organic, locally-grown food. Next, Pete aims to set up a "market" for people living in the middle of the city, and support local producers in the Lothians. These range from chutney and jam produced by the Cyrenians social enterprise in East Lothian, to wild leeks "foraged" from the countryside.

They recently started a cafe area, which Pete plans to expand downstairs. A front garden features a scarecrow and clusters of rhubarb, chives and other herbs. They also sell seeds and plants, along with plenty of free advice.

Pete hopes to bring in grow-your-own windowbox kits, and is also planning to run eight-week gardening for beginners courses. He will juggle this with filming for the STV show one day a week.

He says: "I'll be offering tips and advice, as well as 'Pete's plant of the week!' I want to give people the confidence to try growing things themselves."

After a long day at work, his favourite way to relax is – in the garden of his East Linton home.

He says: "Now the clocks have gone forward, I can even fit in an hour of gardening in the evening. I've just finished putting in a herbaceous border, and I love plants that are a bit dramatic. It's amazing living out there. I can really switch off when I go home."