For Jan Ostle, chef at Bristol restaurant, Wilsons, the vegetables his partner Mary Wilson grows at their nearby market garden are his “ace in the hole”. The garden gives him same-day, newly harvested “access to some of the best produce in the South West”.
That flavour advantage is one an increasing number of restaurants are seeking, by cultivating their own produce using – on principle and to ensure quality harvests – ultra-sustainable farming methods. These vegetables elevate dishes and benefit the environment.
Spring is busy for restaurant gardeners. They are currently harvesting their overwintered veg: the leek, kale, broccoli and beetroot that bring vitality to menus during the winter-spring ‘hungry gap’; while also sowing for summer’s bonanza months. By April, they could even be picking the first broad beans.
As we prepare our own plant-filled balconies, gardens and allotments for 2026, Good Food spoke to these ace growers to glean some sustainable growing tips. We also spoke to the chefs involved about how we should be cooking that winter-spring harvest. Dig in!
Wilsons, Bristol
“The menu is completely driven by what we have available on the field,” says grower Mary Wilson, referring to the Barrow Gurney market garden which inspires her partner, chef Jan Ostle’s cooking, at their farm-to-table restaurant, Wilsons.
On Wilsons’ two acres, Mary, who studied biodynamic agriculture, uses regenerative farming techniques – minimal tilling using hand tools only; sowing heritage, organic seed varieties; traditional crop rotation; on-site composting; utilising ‘green manures’ – to enrich land and crops simultaneously. “With regenerative, you’re thinking about feeding plants and feeding the soil,” she explains.
Such sustainable growing and cooking is both an ethical stance, and delivers huge flavour dividends. Freshly harvested vegetables, used before their sugars significantly deplete, eat and cook “in a completely different way”, says Mary. Such “truly seasonal” cooking generates a special creative energy in the kitchen and great personal fulfilment. Mary adds: “We get so much joy being able to produce our own vegetables.” wilsonsbristol.co.uk
Mary’s green growing tips
Variety = healthy plants Growing a wide variety of plants, and the biodiversity that encourages, is good for your garden and the planet. “We have edible flowers everywhere to increase pollinators,” says Mary. “Something, with climate change, we’re seeing a dip in.”
Green manures To boost soil health, Mary periodically sows sections of her growing area with green manures: a mixture of deep-rooting crops, including black oats and rye grass, later cut back and left to compost in situ. In smaller plots, look at planting low-lying clover amid your veg to fix nitrogen in the soil, retain moisture and prevent erosion.
Winter warmers Choose vegetables that overwinter well (kale, chicory, parsnips and other frost-resistant choices) and you can harvest fresh home-grown veggies in even the coldest months. Mary has particular success overwintering bandit leeks and ibis celeriac.
Our Farm, Cartmel, Cumbria
Achieving three Michelin stars, as Cumbria’s L’Enclume did in 2022, requires incredible planning, precision and perfectionism. Its growing space, Our Farm, is pivotal in that and to chef Simon Rogan’s wider UMBEL restaurant group.
“There’s no guesswork,” says Our Farm head chef, Liam Fitzpatrick, who with head grower Adam Frickel, ensures this four-acre-plus site produces vegetables that, in flavour, size and texture, UMBEL’s chefs relish using: “We get it from seed to harvest, exactly how we want it, from a culinary perspective.”
Admirably, Our Farm achieves this without using conventional farming controls. “We don’t use any pesticides,” says Adam, who employs a blend of “organic and biodynamic practices, permaculture and regenerative farming techniques”. L’Enclume’s food is modern but Our Farm’s methods are often pre-industrial. Its land is nourished with horse manure, by chickens kept for pest control and cover crops of rye and vetch, grown to protect and feed fallow spaces. That is where exceptional vegetables start. “It comes down to soil health,” says Adam. lenclume.co.uk/our-farm
Adam’s green growing tips
Respect your roots Instead of uprooting the whole plant when a crop ends, “cut it at the base, leaving the roots in the ground”, until you replant. The roots will help maintain soil health.
Use water butts Collected rain water is, says Adam, “one of the best sources of water” for plants, and homemade natural fertilisers, such as comfrey leaf tea.
Companion planting… or intermingling plants that assist one another. For example, Adam borders his raised beds with hardier herbs as “strong scents deter pests from certain crops”.
The Landing, Stockport
Co-founded in 2020 by restaurant, Where the Light Gets In, this urban kitchen garden and community learning hub sits atop a car park in Stockport’s Merseyway Shopping Centre.
“It’s a unique location,” says head grower Nathan Phipp-MacIntyre, and a boon for a garden which follows organic principles (“We don’t use any chemical inputs.”) while growing many items: Andean oca tubers, citrussy lemon drop chillies, Korean mint, rarely planted in Greater Manchester. “Being able to grow lemongrass in Stockport is exciting,” says Nathan. “We’re lucky. We have a lot of residual heat from the concrete and benefit from sheltered growing space.”
For WTLGI’s chef-founder, Sam Buckley, close interaction with his growing produce provides precious insights, such as discovering broad bean leaves, a delicacy in Italy. “They’re crunchy, succulent and full of really promising flavour. Growing food, you get to know and use the whole plant.” wtlgi.co
Nathan’s green growing tips
Fantastic compost… is all about a balance of ‘brown material’ (straw/cardboard) and green. And patience, as good compost takes six to eight months. “You want 60:40 [brown to green] for winter,” says Nathan. Reverse that ratio in summer, and note: “If it starts to smell, it’s not working.”
Seed swaps Choosing between different seed types is a complex topic. But open-pollinated seeds are notable for their ability to adapt to growing conditions, and yield reusable seeds. Look out for community ‘seed swaps’ among growers, to pick up open-pollinated seeds. “If someone has been collecting seeds over generations, they will have adapted, slightly, to the local climate.”
Grow what you love Sounds obvious but, warns Nathan: “I know so many people that have tried growing chard and really not liked it.”
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