Feeding body and soul

Leading wellness expert Dr Libby totally digs good nutrition – and her own garden shows just how much she values it

- Text Rachel Clare

When it comes to growing edibles, you'd expect a renowned nutritional biochemist to have specific ideas about which fruit and vegetables you should plant, but Dr Libby Weaver's message is simple: “Grow what you love to eat.

The keen gardener is a strong believer in “food first” when it comes to nutrition, and she packs as many of her favourite leafy greens and herbs as she can into her own 60sqm plot, where she grows crops in raised beds made from old railway sleepers and untreated timber.

For Libby, the key to growing healthy vegetables is starting with good soil, and she fills her raised beds with an organic mushroom compost. “It’s excellent for helping the soil retain water, adds back a host of nutrients (so the food that grows in this will take up those nutrients), plus it helps break up otherwise dense soil so the roots can embed better.”