I’m a gardening expert – here’s the best food to grow at home that will help feed a family for months
THE cheapest foods with the most health benefits you can grow from the comfort of your own garden have been revealed.
At a time when families across the nation are looking for ways to cut costs, home grown food can be an efficient – and healthy – alternative.
Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, in Oxfordshire, is a luxury hotel that provides guests with ingredients sourced from its own allotments.
The two Michelin-star restaurant serves fresh, organic food from their Japanese garden, water garden and heritage orchard.
A stay at the award winning venue includes activities such as Raymond Bland Cookery and Gardening School, as well as tours of the gardens.
Head chef, Anne-Marie Owens, spoke to the MailOnline about the best vegetables to keep a household fed for months – on a budget.
Vegetables
Radishes and lettuces were top of the list for easy to grow produce, Anne-Marie said: “It’s about what you like eating, what you normally buy..
“You will have some failures so you need some things that will grow easily.
“Your radish is quite a simple thing to grow, your lettuce is quite a simple thing to grow. You need that bit of inspiration.”
The green-fingered gardener also recommended courgettes to any potential newbies.
She explained their seeds are cheap and grow quickly – with one marrow large enough to feed a family.
“Scoop it out, cook it, add a bit of mincemeat”, she added.
Next was a larger vegetable – Squash delicata.
Anne-Marie described the crop as “very productive” and advised it could be used to make some delicious ravioli.
She highlighted: “It’s a long trailing type so you could take it up over an archway. It can go vertical as well as horizontal. In a nice sunny spot that will grow beautifully.”
For a healthy fibre and protein source, families could opt to grow runner and climbing beans.
Field beans, and the more commonly recognised broad beans, make excellent choices too.
“You can warm field beans up with whatever else you want to eat”, the gardener advised.
“The flowers are edible, gives you a really delicate broad-bean flavour and you’ve got the broad beans themselves.”
They are best grown in autumn but when their leaves die in the spring, nitrogen is released from their roots which feeds their soil for the next crop.
Micro watercress is a suggestion if you do not have outdoor space, from Anne-Marie’s experience.
It is perfect for those who only have a windowsill or small area to try their hand at gardening.
“You could use a yoghurt pot or a margarine tub or even an egg cup to grow watercress, which is really high in vitamin C”, she said.
Herbs and spices
Celery takes about nine months to grow – so instead Anne-Marie advertised celery leaf.
This alternative only takes about a month to harvest and looks similar to parsley.
It can be sprinkled on top of crockpot dishes, stews and soups to add more flavour.
Another great herb to welcome into your homegrown garden is basil, according to the hotel gardener.
She said: “Basil is totally superb in the summer. Amazing in a tomato salad.
“And celery leaf works with everything. You could have a dinner party and have them in little pots, put scissors on the table and everyone helps themselves.”
If you are looking to introduce a little spice to your meals, chilis are a great option for kitchens that don’t receive a lot of sunlight.
Anne-Marie explained they will be happy to grow indoors and in shady conditions.
Tricky options
A hearty classic that Anne-Marie added to her list was potatoes – however be careful which type you decide to harvest.
She explained: “Get the right variety that you want. Growing maincrop, unless you’ve got a biggish bit of garden, is quite difficult.
“Maincrop is when you put them in in the spring, lift them up around August, dry them for a couple of days, let the skin harden.
“They’re the ones you can put into a sack, put somewhere cool, and they will stay in good form all through the winter. So you can feed yourself with potatoes, but it’s a space issue.”
The helpful head gardener suggested new potatoes as a easier and tasty option.
Mushrooms are another tricky crop to grow, explained the gardener.
“The ones that we like, such as chanterelles, you can’t commercially grow”, she added.
“They can only grow where they’re happy to grow. For example, a lot of the mushrooms grow by certain trees and tree roots, because of the foliage and the chemicals in the soil.
“You can cultivate button mushrooms though – as long as you give them the right conditions they will grow. They’ll just grow in any old compost.”
To discover the four best houseplants to make your home smell amazing this spring, click here.
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