Bim Adewunmi's First Garden Meets Britain's Sixth Heatwave
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- Bim Adewunmi attempted her first vegetable garden after moving into a home with real outdoor space, but tomato seedlings died in the first heatwave of the season and her dahlias, ranunculus, and freesias refused to grow or bloom.
- Her first successful harvest was just three Tumbling Tom tomatoes, which she halved and ate with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- She has since sown onions, carrots, lettuce, and basil in grow bags and pots, awaiting miniature crops as the days shorten.
- Britain is approaching its sixth climate-crisis-induced heatwave of the year, Adewunmi writes, with drought no longer threatening the country but already present.
- Global conflicts have inflated food prices, Adewunmi notes, heightening her low-grade panic about food shortages.
- The hobby has hardened into serious planning: Adewunmi now browses Kilner jars at TK Maxx, follows homesteaders, and scours planting calendars and seed catalogues for guidance.
Why it matters: Adewunmi's pivot from casual gardening to researching food preservation and following homesteaders shows how Britain's sixth heatwave of the year — with drought already established — combined with conflict-driven food price inflation is reframing a leisure activity as a crash course in self-sufficiency.
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