Growing one’s own produce has been a dream for generations, since even before ‘The Good Life’ first graced TV screens. Today, though, there has been an undeniable resurgence in interest among younger generations when it comes to self-growing tubers and tomatoes alike. Lets find out the best fruit and veg to grow in your garden.
But the journey to growing the best fruit and veg to grow in your back garden is a relatively long and tricky one, with many different pitfalls – not in the least relating to which fruit and veg you attempt to grow first. Where, then, should you start in order to get the most out of your own back garden endeavours?
Potatoes
Potatoes are arguably the quintessential back-garden vegetable, needing little more than some good-quality clod in which to grow. Furrowing rows into your lawn is not the only way to grow these, either, as smaller quantities can be grown out of plastic planter tubs; this means you can grow this staple tubers no matter the size of your garden.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes might not be the first thing you think of when it comes to home growing projects, being much more evocative of Mediterranean terrazzos than provincial Yorkshire back gardens. However, tomato plants are astonishingly easy to grow for yourself, provided you provide them with the right atmospheric conditions.
Those atmospheric conditions can be created through the installation of either a small greenhouse or a polytunnel, enabling you to create a hot and humid microclimate in your garden that makes Mediterranean plants like tomatoes much happier. With either in place, you can also expand your exotic plantings to include other Mediterranean natives – for example…
Chillies
Chillies are often overlooked by the more essentialist green-fingered growers of Britain’s horticultural community, but have seen a great ‘growth’ of interest in younger gardeners and growers – with large thanks to a general increase in popularity of hot sauces.
Chilli plants are also relatively low-maintenance, as long as they are given the requisite humidity in which they can fruit and thrive. There are many varieties of chillies you can grow, too, giving you the chance to create diverse sauces and condiments.
Courgettes
Courgettes are another eminently easy vegetable to grow at home, especially as a beginner to back-garden allotment-ry. Courgettes thrive in warmer conditions, but do not necessarily require a greenhouse in order to grow successfully. If preparing them beforehand, growing them in flowerpots indoors is a simple and effective way to start.
Kale
Finally, kale is a great option for back-garden growing, on account of both its ease and its aesthetic value. Kale is luxuriously leafy, and a deep verdant hue to boot. Kale is an all-weather crop, which can endure the colder months much better than other leafy greens. You can also benefit from approaching your kale growing a number of different ways, including how you harvest them; they can be salad greens, collected semi-regularly, or an annual crop for cooking.
