London To Encourage Backyard Gardening Among Residents

London, England (AHN) - With the United Kingdom expected to be the hardest hit among mature European economies with the global financial meltdown, London officials are searching for ways to help ease the financial pressures on residents.

One measure proposed Monday by London Mayor Boris Johnson is to encourage backyard gardening among residents, even on top of flat roofs. The first phase of Capital Growth project, which will be overseen by London Food head Rosie Boycott, is for city residents to grow food on 2,012 patches of land by 2012.

Councils, schools, hospitals, housing estates and utility companies will be encouraged to pinpoint idle lands which could be converted into vegetable gardens by green-thumbed Londoners.

Boycott said the veggie gardens do not need to be only on flat lands, it could be small plots of soil on canal banks, reservoir banks and unused railway yards.

She added the green campaign was timed with the hosting by London of the 2012 Olympic Games. Boycott said she hopes some of the meals to be served Summer Games athletes would be sourced from the backyard London gardens.

In the early part of October, Johnson said he will try to keep the cost of hosting the 2012 Summer Games within the $17 billion (12 billion euro) allotted by the city on account of the global financial meltdown.