The 5 easiest foods to grow yourself.
This week is National Growing for Wellbeing week 6-12th June 2022.
In my last post Growing Your Own, 5 Health Benefits, I talked about the physical and mental health benefits of gardening.
Even having a few pots of herbs on your kitchen window sill provides benefits such as;
- Relaxation
- Connection to the world
- Being present
- Accomplishment
- Increased self-esteem
It doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming to start an edible garden.
Make a Pledge for our Planet is promoted by the Soil Association to raise awareness of how small actions can lead to big changes. Read more about the Grow one Fruit or Veg crop this season pledge.
Here are my top 5 Easiest Foods to Grow Yourself to get you started.
Herbs
You can buy herbs from the supermarket. You can even buy potted herbs but the cheapest way is to buy a packet of seeds.
Whichever you choose, read the instructions on the back for the best time of year to plant and whether they are best indoors or out.
What you find is that most herbs can be sown year-round on a warm windowsill.
Having a packet of seeds allows for succession growing which just basically means sowing a few seeds every 2 weeks. This way you will have young fresh leaves all year round.
If you have herbs from a supermarket you can extend their life by popping them in water. Perennial herbs (those that come back year after year) will produce roots and you can pot these up.
Herbs can provide such flavour and add to the satisfaction of our meals, they are packed with micro-nutrients and can also be used for tea. Start with any of these easy growers;
- Mint
- Basil
- Lemon Balm
- Thyme
- Parsley
- Chives
Strawberries
Who doesn’t enjoy a strawberry?
The best are the ones picked from the garden after they have been warmed by the sun.
You can grow strawberries from seeds. Carefully peel or use tweezers to pick out the seeds from a fruit. Cover lightly with soil and water.
Alternatively, you can buy plants from the garden centre. Plant up, make sure they don’t get water logged and they will provide flowers for the bees and then beautiful fruits for you.
My tip is to plant them in a pot so the fruits are raised from the ground where slugs will enjoy them before you! You may need to invest in some kind of netting if you find they are being eaten by birds.
Salad Leaves
Hands up if you have ever bought lettuce leaves/spinach with every intention of eating it but by the time you go to the fridge to get it it’s all slimy?
My hand is up! It is so frustrating!!
Try growing some cut and come again leaves in a pot or window box. It is so satisfying to pick your own salad right before you are ready to eat it. This is also perfect if you are the only one who really eats salad leaves in your house, there is absolutely no waste.
Just make sure you water and cut often to prevent it from bolting (going to seed).
Tomatoes
I love growing tomatoes. The taste of homegrown just can’t be beaten, especially when they are sun-warmed.
The smell of tomato plants reminds me of my grandad who grew them in his greenhouse.
You can buy young plants from the garden centre but I find they grow really well from seed, just start them off indoors or cover them with glass outside.
Keep them well watered and feed with an organic liquid feed every couple of weeks once flowers start to appear.
When it comes to harvest time, you might find you have a glut. This is the perfect time to make a pasta sauce and freeze it in portions to bring back the taste of summer during the long winter.
Chilli’s & Peppers
If you like a bit of heat a chilli plant is easy to care for and will save you from having to pop to the supermarket just to buy a chilli which you forgot, or is that just me?
The best thing about the seeds is you can harvest the seeds from the last pepper you will buy from the shop.
Plant a few seeds then save the rest for succession growing, you can easily keep the plants going through the winter in a centrally heated house.
If you grow a few too many plants, I always over sow, you can always give them as presents.
Seasonal Living
I hope you have been inspired by one of the 5 Easiest Foods to Grow Yourself and make a pledge to yourself to grow at least one crop this season.
Every week on my social pages I share a seasonal ingredient along with the health benefits to encourage you to include this in your meal planning.
Once a month I release a FREE collection of recipes featuring the seasonal ingredients for that month for you to download. Here is the link for this month’s collection.