I’m a professional gardener – the easiest ways to grow your own veg and save money even if you don’t have outdoor space
WITH the cost of fruit and veg soaring, more of us are swapping shops for soil.
Almost one in three of us believes we could be self-sufficient if we had to, according to a Miracle-Gro survey.
There are other reasons to garden, too. Studies show it can boost feel-good endorphins.
Here Nikki Jones, 38 (@thriftygreenlife), who shares gardening advice with a total of 20,000 social media followers, tells Claire Dunwell how to get growing from scratch.
And you don’t even need a garden!
TURN BAD POTATOES GOOD IN A BUCKET
DO you throw old potatoes in the bin because they start sprouting? If so, stop.
The potato was actually trying to grow into its own plant. So simply plant it in a bucket of soil.
If you want to stretch it even further, you can slice each “eye” off the potato and plant separately.
Each will grow into its own potato plant in a few months.
Once the plants have flowered and died back, empty your bucket out and you will find that you now have your very own home-grown spuds.
LET ONIONS SPROUT IN JAM JARS
WHEN cooking with spring onions, most of us will cut off the ends and discard them without a thought.
But onions can regrow themselves from that root end.
Place the root in a jar of water and put in a warm, sunny spot inside. Your onion will regrow within weeks.
This technique also works very well with celery and lettuce.
Once they have roots you can move them into a pot of soil so they can get the nutrients they need to flourish.
GROW NEW TOMATOES FROM OLD
NOW is the last chance to get tomatoes growing.
Bury any past-its-best tomato in some soil, put it in a warm, sunny spot like a windowsill, and see what happens.
Be patient, as they do take seven to 14 days to germinate.
You can cut one tomato and spread it under the soil — you might get 30 plants from the seeds.
Once they have grown their first true leaves, they can be moved into their own pots and placed outside.
They’re great in a hanging basket too and can be left to look after themselves — just remember to water.
When the top two centimetres of the soil becomes dry, that’s the time to water. You will need to water at least once a day in hot weather.
SAVE YOUR SEEDS
THE vast majority of fruit and veg you get from the supermarket can be regrown from the seeds inside.
Before you bin those past-their-best peppers, have a go at planting the seeds.
Just one pepper plant can generate an abundance of produce.
If you are savvy and save the seeds from just one fruit then you may never have to buy a pepper ever again.
Peas hate their roots being tampered with so growing them in a cardboard toilet roll tube is perfect.
Make three small slits in the bottom of a tube and fold it into itself to stop the compost falling out.
Then fill with compost to the top. Pop in a single pea and as long as it is kept watered, a pea shoot should appear.
Use an empty sweet tin to store the tubes.
All the tubes can be packed together until they’ve sprouted before being moved to soil.
And, because the cardboard degrades, you can move them to their new home as they are, without disturbing the roots.
HANG UP HERBS IN SMALL SPACES
IF you’re short on space, or want to use a balcony, try growing herbs in fabric hanging storage pockets.
You can pick these up on Amazon from £5.
Not only are they pretty but they also make use of otherwise unused vertical space.
Herb seeds can be purchased for 29p from Lidl.
GROW RASPBERRIES IN OLD TYRES
RAISED beds can be expensive to build, especially with the price of materials having skyrocketed this year.
Used tyres make amazing raised planters for fruit such as raspberries and strawberries.
Even better, they are easy to source and usually free as many places will struggle to recycle them.
Stack them up to make high planters for root vegetables such as carrots and parsnips.
WOODEN PALLETS ARE PERFECT ALL-ROUNDERS
IF you have even the smallest outside space then old wooden pallets make incredible planting solutions.
They can be used as they are with a little upcycling.
By adding material on the inside of each layer, they make the perfect home for shallow-growing herbs and may even keep those pesky slugs at bay.
If you are creative and good with tools then they can be taken apart and made into wooden planters.
Lettuce is a good option to grow in the gaps of the pallet — just sow thinly in between. You can buy a pack of seeds in Lidl for 50p.
GET YOUR REDUCED PLANTS FIRST
DID you know garden centres and hardware stores such as B&Q often sell off their less-than-perfect fruit, veg and herb plants at a fraction of the full price?
Ask in store for the reduced plants section and you might grab a bargain edible plant that will benefit you for years to come.