Volunteer turns yard into prize-winning garden

Potatoes growing in an old baby bath, a pepper plant living in a welly and a cucumber-melon hybrid cucamelon plant - these are just some of the things growing in a Salvation Army garden in West Yorkshire.

"They're like the size of grapes. That was just a little experiment," says volunteer Matthew Towers of the cucamelon.

He has spent the last year planting the seeds of the project at the church hall and community centre in Keighley.

The 39-year-old came to the charity after going through rehab and taking part in the charity's cookery class, The Victory Programme.

Matthew, who has experienced homelessness himself, was volunteering at the church's foodbank when he was approached about running the garden.

"When I came from rehab, I thought to myself, 'I don't know how I'm going to be able to do this on my own.'

"As soon as I got offered this, I was like, 'You know what? I'm sound now. That's me. I'm good.'"

As part of the church's efforts to get more use out of the outdoor space, local Salvation Army leader Major Imogen Stewart suggested Matthew take ownership of the plans.

"She said, 'I've got some disused land. It's yours'," explains Matthew.

"It made me feel pretty special, but I also had to crack on."

Despite having no prior gardening experience, Matthew has repurposed the yard for everyone at the charity to enjoy, with the produce grown also going towards the café and foodbank, helping to save on costs.

"I've got some more cucumbers in here, but these are for salads," he says.

"So, on a Wednesday for the asylum seekers' lunch, we put them in the salads."

He has also recently started making and selling jams, chutneys and sweet chilli sauce, with the proceeds going straight back into looking after the garden.

More recently, Matthew's green fingers have attracted attention at local shows and competitions, with the garden placing second in the Best Yard category in Keighley in Bloom.

"I couldn't believe it, to be fair. I was quite shocked, but they were shocked as well because they came down expecting it to be a few tomato plants and then when they came out here, they were like, look at this."

Growing vegetables has become something of an obsession for Matthew, who says the garden has become a full-time job.

"I'm watching gardening videos at 3 o'clock in the morning while everyone's sleeping.

"I can't switch off, that's the problem I have, and I've just recently been diagnosed with ADHD, so to me, it's pretty much a blessing, all this."

As part of a wider eco-community initiative, an allotment that is the size of two tennis courts and which already has a polytunnel has been rented to the charity by Keighley Council.

The talented gardener says he wants to share his passion and knowledge with those who find themselves in a similar position to how he was.

Manwhile, he says he hopes the allotment will help him expand the project.

"Lots of people come to me and say, 'Can I help you?', people struggling with mental health.

"Now I don't have the room down here, but up there [the allotment], I've got the room.

"What I plan on doing is teaching people with mental health and people coming out of rehab. That's the plan."

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