Jamie Oliver Goes Gardening!

Top celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has inevitably turned his hand to gardening, and his new series - Jamie at Home - kicks off tonight on Channel 4 says Martin Fiddes.

One of Jamie's most recent projects was to transform school dinners (see our post on the subject here) and this latest TV series follows his attempts to turn an abandoned part of his garden into a veg-producing allotment and demonstrate just how easy it is to grow - and cook - your own vegetables.

In the article I discovered in the Daily Mirror (right), Jamie's keen to point out that size doesn't matter. "I want to let people know it doesn't matter where you live, you can still grow your own stuff," he told the Mirror. "It's about having a go. It can be in a bucket or a boot, a window box, a small or big garden," he said.

Jamie's also keen to show that anyone can grow veg, and not to let any previous unsuccessful efforts put you off. "My first attempts at growing veg were chaotic," he concedes. "What I've tried to do with gardening is to take the mystery out - I wanted to show people how easy it is."

Trailers for the series seem to indicate that it will be of interest to both gardeners and those with culinary traits, and you can catch the first episode of Jamie at Home on Channel 4 tonight (August 7th) at 8pm.