A new website called Choolip.com is aiming to connect people who don’t have to space to grow their own food with householders who have unused garden space.

Growing your own food has never been more popular in the UK but many budding GYO-ers are either living in urban areas with no space of their own to grow or are among the 140,000 names on council allotment waiting lists.

Choolip.com founder Aidan Flynn believes that there is an untapped supply of land in the UK suitable for growing of fruit and vegetables but is unloved and untended. “After the recent vegetable shortages retailers reported that the sales of seeds sky-rocketed,” he said, “and it is widely acknowledged that as a country we are going back to nature and growing our own food again. Choolip.com was developed to create a community that helps people who want to grow their own food but lack garden space. We connect them with home/land owners in their locality who have an unused plot of land or a garden space that can be rented out as a ‘growing concern'.”

He thinks it’s a “win-win situation as an unused garden can be turned into extra income for its owner when rented out to a gardener who can then reap the many benefits of growing their own fresh produce”.

Choolip.com enables owners flag up their details share the details free of charge. All gardens are vetted and safety checked by Choolip, who will collect rental income monthly on their behalf through the PayPal service.

Simon Pearson of Staffordshire, who recently joined the Choolip.com community and rented out his unused garden, said: “I've dreamed of sorting my garden out for years but never had the time, energy or skills to get round to it. After listing my garden on Choolip I found a local gardener who has turned my outside space into something I am proud of. The best bit, I earn extra money every month.”