A Norwich artist has turned his hobby into a business to sell an array of homegrown produce from his market garden in his city-centre shop.
The venture is the brainchild of artist Brian Korteling whose shop, The Garden, is on St Augustines Street.
Brian started his No-Dig market garden in 2021 during lockdown when art exhibitions were cancelled, and he found himself with plenty of free time.
Through his shop Brian sells a host of vegetables, plants and locally made goods under the strapline – a local shop for local produce.
Brian explains: “As an artist, when shows were cancelled during lockdown, I found myself with plenty of free time so I decided to start a market garden as I had been interested in No-Dig gardening for a long time.
“No-Dig is a great method of growing and, having tried it out on my allotment, I found the quality of the veg was much better than using a traditional method with much less work. It meant I could manage a much larger space. This gave me the confidence to expand what I was doing and try and make a business out of my hobby.”
No-Dig gardening uses layers of compost as a mulch and by not turning over the soil, the life within it is allowed to flourish much like in a forest floor. With the soil structure undisturbed, the worms and invertebrates do the digging for you, to create airways and drainage channels, and the microbes and mycelium thrive and process nutrients to make them available for the plants. The mulch also suppresses weed growth and reduces water evaporation meaning less weeding and watering.
Brian said: “As well as fantastic nutrient-dense vegetables from the market garden I also grow and sell a range of veg plants and flowers, local honey, Kombucha made locally by Oichi, a range of locally made jams and preserves, as well as original artwork and prints.
“St Augustines Street is the most up and coming street in Norwich with lots of boutique style shops for visitors to explore. I am open 10am-5pm every Saturday from April until November.”
The Garden currently stocks a range of homegrown cavolo nero kale, chard, spring onions, radish, sprouting broccoli, mixed salad bags, mixed mustard leaves, beetroot, sugar snap peas, carrots and new potatoes.
In the coming weeks and months, Brian will be selling homegrown French and runner beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, courgette, pati pan squash, Aztec broccoli, spinach, raspberries, apples, pears, plums, sweetcorn and a variety of winter squash.
Brian is an artist, curator and musician and has lived in Norfolk for most of his life. He has been a full-time artist since 2009 after a career in graphic design, winning awards for both painting and 3D work. Brian is primarily interested in landscape, often fragmenting or dissecting the image.
Together with fellow artist, Will Teather, Brian organises the international art fair, Art Fair East each year, which takes place this November at The Assembly House in Norwich.
