Toolkits & guides

Capital Growth has produced a number of toolkits and guides, all of which are available to download.

A year in London’s food gardens: Capital Growth network survey findings 2023-2024

Find out what Capital Growth members have to say about their growing spaces, ambitions, and hopes for the future in the 2023-2024 network survey...

A year in London’s food gardens: Capital Growth network survey findings 2022-2023

Find out what Capital Growth members have to say about their growing spaces, ambitions, and hopes for the future in the 2022-2023 network survey...

Reflections on Rootz into Food Growing

This new report reflects on the outcomes of Rootz into Food Growing, the collaborative project to understand and reduce barriers to entry into social...

Growing food on urban fringes: a briefing for councils and landowners

This briefing presents the social, economic and environmental case for more commercial, agro-ecological fruit and vegetable production across the...

Protecting a food growing site for the future

Two first-of-their-kind guides from Capital Growth and CPRE London explain how to protect food growing sites from future risk or help save ones that...

Saving a food growing site that is under threat

Two first-of-their-kind guides from Capital Growth and CPRE London explain how to protect food growing sites from future risk or help save ones that...

The fringe farming toolkit

The fringe farming toolkit is for growers, campaigners and food partnerships to start farming the fringes of towns & cities. It is made up of...

The fringe farming toolkit: gaining local authority support for fringe farming

The fringe farming toolkit is for growers, campaigners and food partnerships to start farming the fringes of towns & cities. It is made up of...

Sustain briefing on community cultivation – ahead of Lords debate on the Levelling Up Bill

This briefing supports amendment 483 to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, laid by Baroness Boycott, Baroness Scott of Needham Market, Baroness...

Growing for Change: An urban food garden’s handbook for community, climate and nature

To support gardens in building community, climate and nature resilience, we’ve designed this handbook to support you to make the Growing for...

Council toolkit: Councils and food growing

Useful information, links and signposting to help councils support food growing initiatives.

How to set up a student-led food co-op in a university or college

A short guide to making affordable and healthy food available to students and staff.

How to set up a food co-op or buying group at work

A short guide to making affordable and healthy food available to staff in your workplace.

Draft Briefing: The role of councils in Community Food Growing

This briefing sets out the actions we believe councils should be taking to support and championing food growing.

Sustain briefing: Fringe Farming in London

This briefing presents the social, economic and environmental case for more commercial, agro-ecological fruit and vegetable production in...

Growing Connections: Guide to an inclusive and welcoming community garden

This guide outlines the principles to age-friendly and inclusive volunteering, shares best practice and provides a tool to self-review community food...

Food growing on prescription

This report highlights the findings of a short piece of research undertaken with community gardens and food growing projects in London, to create a...

Strength in diversity: Capital Growth Survey 2017-18

This survey of Capital Growth members was undertaken during the spring of 2018 and completed by 205 people who represent a London-based food growing...

Urban Farming Toolkit: A guide to growing to sell in the city

The Urban Farming Toolkit is a practical guide to help prospective growers establish and run a successful growing site that generates an income.

London Grows Wild: A guide to wildlife-friendly food growing

London Grows Wild is a practical guide to help urban food growers incorporate wildlife-friendly practices and principles into their gardens.

Growing enterprise guide

The Growing Enterprise Guide offers urban growers detailed advice and practical information about how to sell what you grow in the city, whether at a...

Reaping Rewards II

This report presents new findings based on data collected during the 2014 growing season, using Capital Growths innovative online tool – the...

Future Farmers II: A guide to running a farm-based agroecological traineeship

There are many benefits to taking on farm-based trainees and this document is aimed at farmers interested in doing so, with a step by step guide on...

London's pollinators: Creating a buzz in the capital

This report draws together policy and practice from national and London levels, to explore how we can ensure pollinator can thrive in London. It...

Future Farmers: a guide to running an urban food growing traineeship

Capital Growth has been championing new and existing urban farms for the last five years, focusing on sharing the recipe for a successful food...

Reaping Rewards: Can communities grow a million meals for London?

This landmark report, Reaping Rewards, tracks the achievements of the Growing a Million Meals for London campaign, run by the Capital Growth network,...

Capital Growth: Annual Monitoring Survey 2013

Every year, Capital Growth carries out a survey of its community food growing spaces. This survey allows us to find out about the people involved,...

Grow More Food: Top Tips

This toolkit provides a useful overview and top tips of how you can improve the yield of your growing site.

Edible estates

This guide has been developed by Neighbourhoods Green, Capital Growth and Planning Aid for London to share learning and good practice from...

Planning sustainable cities for community food growing

For the first time, this guide brings together in one place examples of planning policies around the UK that support community food growing. It is...

The benefits of gardening and food growing for health and wellbeing

This study reviews the extensive scientific literature showing the benefits of gardening and community food growing for both physical and mental...

Good Food for London 2013

The Good Food for London 2013 report provides a league table of local authorities support for key good food initiatives, such as community food...

Capital Growth: What we learned while creating 2,012 new community food growing spaces in London

This publication summarises what we learned, and provides other sources of information, so that towns and cities that also want to create large...

Growing Success: The impact of Capital Growth on community food growing in London

This report summarises the first phase of the campaign until the end of 2012, and the benefits of Capital Growth to London, its communities and...

Financing community food: Securing money to help community food enterprises to grow

This report examines the funding needs of community food enterprises and how they can continue to use food to achieve a wide variety of important...

A Growing Trade - a guide for community groups growing food to sell in our towns and cities

This Local Action on Food report highlights the commercial opportunities for community grown food and showcases initiatives that are doing it...

A Healthy Profit - a simple guide to pricing the food you make or grow

This report aims to help community food organisations price their produce, to cover their costs and make enough healthy profit to fund other social...

Growing Communities: manual of monitoring and evaluation

This report details the way in which the pioneering social enterprise, Growing Communities, monitors and evaluates its work. As well as explaining...

Growing Manchester(s) Veg People - a guide to setting up a growers' and buyers' co-operative

This practical guide details the creation and development of an innovative growers' and buyers' co-operative aiming to increase the availability of...

The story of Moss Brook Growers - how to set up a horticultural enterprise from scratch

This manual gives a step by step guide to how Moss Brook Growers set up a mixed horticultural social enterprise from scratch. It will be invaluable...

Roots to work: Developing employability through community food-growing and urban agriculture

Published by City & Guilds in partnership with Sustain's Capital Growth project, this research report shows that urban food growing is an effective...

Information Technology and small-scale food organisations: Is IT a nightmare?

This paper aims to share the experience that Sustain has had in working with community-run enterprises that trade in local and sustainable food, to...

Capital Growth monitoring survey findings, Feb 2012

This report presents feedback from Capital Growth food-growing spaces between October 2010 and October 2011. The first 1,000 Capital Growth spaces...

Every school a food-growing school

This 2012 report, complied by a coalition of gardening and education charities, highlights the benefits of food-growing activities in schools and...

East London Green Grid: Supporting community food growing in East London

This report from Capital Growth reflects on how community food growing and horticultural enterprises can support the aims of the East London Green...

Finding the Plot: Access to land for food growing groups in urban areas

Report and workshop notes from an event jointly organised by Sustain's Local Action on Food network and The Women's Environmental Network, organised...

Growing Round the Houses: Food production on housing estates

A briefing paper by Sustain and the Women's Environmental Network (WEN), explaining how social housing providers and their tenants can work together...

Edible Cities - A report of visits to urban agriculture projects in the USA

This is a report of a visit to urban food growing projects in the United States by a group of four people from different organisations based in...

Protecting our Orchard Heritage - a good practice guide for managing orchard projects

This publication aims to help orchard projects by supporting practitioners and local communities to enhance, protect and celebrate orchards.

Food and Planning: How London's planners can improve access to healthy and sustainable food

Planners have an influential role to play in making it possible for people to enjoy good, fresh food that is affordable and readily accessible. This...

Food Access & Social Housing: How to help residents gain access to good food

In a city as wealthy as London, residents have a right to a clean, comfortable and neighbourly place to live and a safe, health-enhancing and tasty...

City Harvest: The feasibility of growing more food in London

This report on the feasibility of food production in cities, taking London as its example, is relevant to all urban areas. It assess how, and to what...

Growing Food In Cities: The benefits of urban agriculture in the UK

This groundbreaking 1996 report on the benefits of urban food growing contains 38 case studies from across the UK and beyond, showing how to take...

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