Before You Grow Your Own Herbs, Fruit & Veggies
Trying to decide whether you should grow vegetables this year? Here are six things you should know first.
1. Anyone can grow food
If you don’t have a big, sunny back garden, take heart: you can still grow food. A balcony or even a windowsill will work. If your space is shady, most salad greens, and even blueberries, can grow well.
2. Start small
Gardening is a skill that takes time to learn. If you’re new to growing food, start with just a few potted herbs or one raised bed. Embrace mistakes and don’t beat yourself up if you lose a crop to slugs. Gardening is a forgiving practice: you can always begin again.
3. Growing medium is key
If you have rich soil good, if not try a no dig approach by simply placing some cardboard down where the garden is to be and cover it with 150mm to 200mm of clean, porous compost and grow directly into that.
4. Gardening takes time
You can’t just plant seeds once at the beginning of the year and walk away. Gardens thrive with weekly planting, thinning, weeding, harvesting and pruning, and will need to be watered frequently in hot weather.
5. You still have to wash your vegetables
Even when your crops are pesticide-free, it’s important to wash them thoroughly to remove soil, bacteria and parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii. A big salad spinner will be your best friend.
6. You can grow a lot of food
With just six, 1m x 2m raised beds in a sunny garden, you can feed a family of four all the kale, tomatoes, carrots and greens you could possibly eat without having to go to the shops, plus enough extras to freeze for the winter. If your space is smaller, a collection of medium-sized planter boxes can keep you supplied with the salads you need.
Growing a significant portion of the vegetables your household eats, or even all your vegetables, is more attainable than most people realise. By starting small, setting aside time each week for garden maintenance and not getting discouraged if things don’t go perfectly, you’ll be well on your way to garden success.
