When I mention growing my own vegetables to people they say “I couldn’t do that because I haven’t a garden” I tell them they don’t need a garden. People without gardens and the very basic amount of space can grow vegetables in the same way I do. I have to say, though, that vegetables do need some sun. Here are ways to grow veggies without a garden:
• I grow potatoes in potato grow bags. They are actually better than being in the ground as they used to get munched, which they don’t in the bag. You need 4- 5 spuds per bag and these will produce a bagful.
• I grow tomatoes on my porch windowsill. Sometimes I leave them there all the time but latterly I have moved them out into a tomato growhouse which is against the house wall on a path. I grow 4-5 plants and have enough tomatoes to bottle as well. I also grow peppers of several varieties on my windowsill. They are hard to germinate but crop well. They freeze well, too.
• I grow shallots in plastic plant pots. Five in a pot they reproduce amazingly.
• I also grow lettuce of many different varieties in potato grow bags. You can just cut the top off some varieties and they keep growing.
The good news about growing in bags is, that after planting keeping them watered is really all you need to do. With things planted in the garden you have lots of weeding as well, so the bag method is good for busy working people.
Sustainable Lifestyles- Grow your own food
Food miles reduced to food metres
Food being transported over the world consumes a large amount of energy and is a large contributer to global warming. To become sustainable in a future world there has been a movement for reducing food miles and encouraging local production. There is now a trend for more of us shopping at farmers market and seeking out local produce in our shops. I do buy local lamb- even though it is expensive. It’s a wonderful taste and the fact that i buy smaller amounts means we are eating less red meat. Good for all of us. A the very simplest level more and more of us are now starting to grow even a few vegetables in our gardens or allotments and the fact that at my garden centre there are now as many young vegetable plants for sale as bedding plants says that more folks are finding the pleasure of growing their – and reducing food miles to food metres. I have had as much pleasure growing and watching cauliflowers and peas and beans in my borders as I had with the flowers they replaced. I have to say that the raspberry canes i planted in the borders are a little unruly and my husband started to putt his face, but enjoying the raspberries on his cereal right up into October has converted him. I just mow off all the runners that spring up in the lawn. Come to think of it, a bit more global warming and i might just dig up the lawn and plant some olive trees. Perhaps a fig or two.