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He’s been gardening for years, but in 2020 a friend suggested Stratford should share his knowledge online. He got his nephew to set him up on Twitter, now X, and started posting videos of himself talking about veg. Within months, Stratford went viral.
“I had a bucket with some potatoes ready to harvest that I’d grown. I gave my phone to Elizabeth [his wife], we went out onto the lawn, I emptied the bucket of potatoes out, and Liz took a couple of photographs.
“A few minutes later, my phone started pinging and it was driving me around the bend. Ping, ping, ping, ping, it wouldn’t stop.”
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Stratford rang his nephew to ask what was going on. “He said, ‘you’ve gone viral with your spuds Gerald!’ I’d gone from 96 followers up to 9,000 in a couple of hours, and wow, it’s been a juggernaut ride.” Gucci and Alexander McQueen have since featured Gerald in campaigns, and he was recently interviewed by Vogue.
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Helen Hutchings-Cox (123,000 followers on Instagram, over 30,000 on TikTok) says you can quickly and organically build your profile as a gardener on TikTok, as the online gardening community is full of curious beginners keen to ask experts questions.
“I just really enjoyed posting, and then it took off” she explains. “I’m trying to use my experience to encourage others to get the bug as well. The more that you see it online, the more you realise you can just give it a go and get out there and get your hands dirty.
“Ironically, that’s the bit I like – being able to switch off from social media and what’s going on in the world, and just being outside with some seeds and some compost and giving it a go.”
But for many younger people, it’s difficult to find space to try. Allotments have years long waiting lists; the Institute for Fiscal Studies says the number of under 35s living with their parents has increased by nearly a third since 2006; and less than a quarter of under 35 year olds own their own homes, according to Uswitch. Renters often face restrictions on digging up their gardens, if they have one at all.
Helen Hutchings-Cox says growing potatoes in buckets is one of the best ways to give gardening a go, however limited your space.
“You can grow them in a deep bucket, one of those £1 ones that everyone seems to have. Just drill some holes in them, fill them with soil and they’re good to go.” She also recommends trying to grow peas, spring onions, and carrots if you’re just starting out.
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Radishes are Gerald Stratford’s top pick. His father taught him to grow them aged five, and he’s been planting and eating them ever since.
“A radish grows very quickly, you haven’t got to wait weeks and weeks. From start to finish it takes 30 days,” he explains.
His other top tip is learning to take your time and try lots of different things:
“Don’t think you’ve got to learn straight away, just enjoy what you’re doing… If you want to dig your soil don’t think you’ve got to do it for four hours; just do half an hour and then put the fork down and do something else. Mix and match stops boredom setting in.
“There’s lots of things happening in the world, and if you can just have a play with the soil in your back garden, up the allotment, in a greenhouse, or even on a balcony, it will help your mental health no end.”
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