How to grow your own fruit and vegetables

The reinvention of nutritious staples like spinach, beetroot and beans as ‘superfoods’ might leave you reaching for the ‘baloney’ button, not to mention your overdraft. But, with a pinch of planning, a cup of compost and a sunny spot, some of these so-called superfoods could be just a seed packet away.

‘A grow your own’ revolution is slowly taking hold across the UK, with owning an allotment enjoying something of a renaissance.

But you don’t need a time-hungry plot, bags of knowledge and expensive tools, to quickly, cheaply and satisfyingly supply you and your loved ones with some healthy home-grown delights at a fraction of the cost of supermarket shortcuts. Here’s how to grow your own fruit and vegetables…

Easy come, easy grow

Many hard-working city dwellers don’t think twice about whizzing a handy bag of pre-washed salad leaves through the self-checkout, with the body-boosting properties of baby spinach, chard and rocket forever being trumpeted by health experts and lifestyle mags.

It’s true that the dark green leaves of these salad staples are rich in vitamins A, C and K, not to mention iron and fibre. But once you’ve grown your own plate pleasers once, you’ll never want to fork out for a handful of shop bought leaves again.

All you need is a decent sized pot (a balcony or window box will do) some compost and a packet of seeds. Rocket is one of the tastiest leaves to grow, spinach the most nutritious and Swiss chard the most colourful. Really, though, whatever you decide to sow, all the seeds need is sunlight (so avoid overly shady yards) and regular watering to flourish. On planting, your first seedlings should appear in three to five days, and in two to three weeks you’ll have a regular supply of fresh, healthy greens for your plate.

To save on time and effort, look out for ‘cut and come again’ varieties. This means you can chop leaves back for your plate, but the plant will produce fresh growth, meaning a constant supply of healthy leaves without the need to keeping sowing more seeds.

Outer space

Not all of us our blessed with the space for a full on vegetable patch, but not every field-to-fork creation is land hungry.

Kale is a vitamin-packed member of the cabbage family that’s as fashionable on a bistro menu as it is in a smoothie. It also has the added bonus that it’s relatively trouble-free to grow at home. Seeds can be sown in situ from April, then the first leaves taken from autumn onwards. It’s hardy, meaning it tolerates colder, wetter conditions, and a few strong plants should keep you in greens (not to mention B vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids) right through the dark winter months.

Beetroot juice can be found in many a health food store, and often it’s much more expensive than the cost of a packet of seeds. But this root vegetable can be easily grown in small spaces in seed drills or even large pots. If you plant seeds in well dug soil in 30cm gaps from April and manage to keep the slugs away when the plants are young, you should be harvesting your first roots (and making your own juice) by late summer.

Berry good idea

If you’re looking to save a buck, but haven’t much patience, then growing your own fruit, rather than vegetables, can be a shortcut to success.

Berries are among the most rewarding fruits to grow, with a single currant cane or fruit bush producing bowlfuls of tasty fruit each year given the right conditions. Black, red and white currants are especially beneficial because, as well as tasting great, they are resplendently rich in vitamin C.

The goji berry is one of the most talked about fruits, for its supposed medicinal qualities, and is equally easy to grow. In a sunny position this straggly bush should be producing rosehip-like fruits within a year, although we recommend whizzing them up in a smoothie rather than eating them straight from the bush.

So what are you waiting for? Buy some compost, and boost your health and bank balance all at the same time!