Spending time at home has allowed us to appreciate nature and our surrounding more. This has provided various people with the time to indulge and invest time and care into their garden spaces. Growing your own vegetables is such a rewarding and fulfilling experience and it also an activity you can get all members of the family involved in from young to old.
Potatoes
This root vegetable is a staple in most households and it would be rude not to plant one in your garden. You can plant your own potatoes by using seed potatoes which are potatoes with sprouted roots. There are two types of potatoes that can be grown which are called earlies and maincrop. Earlies grow quicker and live in storage for a short time while maincrop have a thicker skin and have a higher risk of blight.
Peas
These are easy to pick, plant and grow. They are also quite nutritious as they are packed with Vitamin A, B1 and C as well as folic acid. They should be planted in early May and are grown in pods. They also grow upwards and need a stick to support the height of the pods. They usually take about 14 – 16 weeks to grow.
Green beans
These are commonly known as French beans and are excellent for people who have small garden spaces but would still like to grow their own vegetables as they can be grown in a greenhouse or indoors. The two types are climbing and dwarf beans. Dwarf beans are more suited to small spaces as they do not grow too tall while climbing beans produce more beans in the same amount of space but grow to approximately 8 foot tall.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes need a lot of sunlight, space and fertile soil to grow properly. They can be grown in greenhouses, hanging baskets or even on a balcony. They should be sown into modular trays and then transferred into richer soil when they start to germinate.
Salad leaves
These are also one of the easiest and most fulfilling things to grow as they can be plant from may to September. They can also be planted as companion plants or in containers on their own. The best part about these is that you can plant them and pick off the leaves you need and wait for the new harvest. More leaves like this include kale, spinach and rocket.