Grow your own food – some top tips!

Growing your own food to save money, be more environmentally friendly or just for fun can apparently be really easy. I am really keen on the idea but all I have ever grown is tomatoes and herbs but I would love to try more things.

I know many bloggers who grow their own food so asked for their experiences and advice. Don’t let it put you off if you don’t have space, you can grow vegetables from scratch in your own kitchen!

So do you need an allotment, polytunnels, and lots of space to grow your own food? Is it easy? What can I grow? are some of the questions I asked and here are their answers and advice.

It has definitely inspired me to give it a go, even though I manage to kill a cactus as I am not at all green-fingered! I didn’t kill the tomatoes too quickly though and had a few lovely little tomatoes grown so it can’t be all bad! Rebecca has some great tips here.

Lauren says “We are growing tomatoes, apples, kale, chard and are soon planting courgette, sweetcorn and squash/pumpkin.”

“My top tips are to grow what you know you like and to grow according to the space and time you already have. Don’t rush out and get an allotment if you’ve never grown your own food before!”

Andrea from Mother Tongue Notes is a bit like me and hasn’t had much success but has recently got two apple trees for each of her children to nurture. I love that idea and what a way to grow up with your own tree to look after.

Claire from The Ladybirds Adventures is also passionate about her children helping in the garden and learning to grow things. She says “I think growing anything with your kids is beneficial no matter how much space you have. my eldest loved picking strawberries from the garden and eating them (we grew them in hanging baskets). This year we are trying potatoes, carrots, courgettes and beetroot so far. Quick wins are salad leaves, cress and pea shoot (from dried peas available in supermarket).” The picture below shows her young one planting some of their own vegetables.

Gemma from Mummys Waisted already has strawberries and raspberries planted (I didn’t even know they should be done by now! I am so clueless!) and will be doing carrots radishes and spinach shortly.

Clare from Wild Mama Tribe grows all sorts but says her kids love growing potatoes best and said I could share with you this photo below. It does look fun actually!

Jade from The Blog Assistant is growing blackberries and possibly tomatoes at the moment she says but until the second one comes out she can’t remember if it was tomatoes or not! This is definitely a woman more on my scale, I could maybe manage a couple of things and surely blackberries can’t be too hard if they grow in the wild can they?

Katie from Living life our way says We have tried growing various things ourselves in our little veg patch! Some examples are potatoes, strawberries, gooseberries, carrots, lettuce and peppers. All with varying success. Even when it doesn’t work out though, it is fun trying!

Rebecca from My girls and me says We grew carrots last year. I and my Daughter Rosie took care of them every day. She loved growing them but we never got any further than very small carrots. Will be trying again this year though. Here is a photo from her of her daughter growing something.

Katy from Hot Pink Wellingtons (cool name for a blog!) says that they have just planted potatoes in a bag. She says it’s great for those with young children or very little space. She sounds like she knows her stuff and it sounds quite a foolproof method so I am wondering if I could try that.

Sara-Jayne from Keep up with the jones family has found that growing vegetables has stopped her children from being fussy eaters. She says “We grow pumpkins, peas, corn, tomatoes, beans and strawberries in our garden. Our boys would not eat vegetables before we grew them – and now I’m lucky if a pea ever crosses my doorstep as they eat them from the pods! We grow them in big oak half barrels and the boys love it – if you’re growing pumpkins, make sure you have a LOT of room as they go for miles! We also grow Christmas potatoes and the boys love unearthing them for their Christmas dinner!”

Janet from Falcondale Life says “The only veg I’m prepared to put the effort in for is runner beans because they taste divine when they are homegrown. They like a deep bed and full sun. Our easy option is blackcurrants which take no effort and make delectable jam. If I don’t net them then I have to share with the birds but there’s usually plenty.” Her photo above is the blackcurrants she grows.

Alice from Living with a Jude says “We have an allotment and grow many vegetables. This year we are trying to partner up plants as best we can to help them grow stronger. Certain plants work best together so for example peas and corn grown well next to each other. It’s a bit of an experiment to see if it makes a difference so I’m excited to see how it goes. We love going to the allotment, as do the children. Jude (who has severe learning disabilities) enjoys the sensory side of it plus all three of them are learning where our food comes from.”

The picture above is from when Ben and I grew some mushrooms. It was so easy I was very impressed and hey we actually grew something that wasn’t herbs. I have grown herbs a few times but find that I forget to water them after a while and they die!

If you are thinking of something different to grow your plants in then maybe vintage apple crates? Gardening is supposedly a good way to keep busy away from comfort eating too so worth thinking about if that is something you struggle with I have a post of 100 other ideas too if that helps. Always worth trying to keep busy. Plus its exercise isn’t it without joining a gym! Below is a picture of Ben doing some gardening a few summers ago!

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