With today’s focus on fresh produce, what better way to ensure that you have a steady, reliable source of delicious veggies and herbs than to grow your own?

By creating part of your own food supply, you can control selection (by growing what you love), pesticides, freshness and even the cost of veggies and herbs. And there are other bonuses that come with gardening:

• Get some outdoor physical activity
• Take satisfaction in watching your plants grow
• Get in touch with nature
• Make your property more beautiful

Tools of the trade

First, you’ll need some basic gardening tools. The good news is that you may already have some of the basic items you’ll need. If not, borrow or barter with a neighbour or head to your local gardening centre for cost-saving advice. The basics include:

• Gloves — to protect your hands and prevent blisters
• Kneeling pads/mat — pads allow you to move from spot to spot freely; a homemade Styrofoam mat is economical but means you’ll have to position it as you work your way through your garden
• Spade — for digging and distributing compost
• Garden rake — to smooth and level your garden
• Hoe — to keep soil loose and outline rows for seeds
• Hose or watering can — to water your plants and clean up paved areas around your garden
• Small shears — to trim plants of damaged areas in order to keep them healthy

Backyard basics

Even a novice can create a successful garden, growing vegetables and herbs — and even fruit trees — with a little effort and some simple tools. If you have a backyard, you’ll need a small patch of ground that offers:

• at least six hours of sunlight a day;
• rich, well-drained soil; and,
• approximately 20-30 cm of topsoil.

Going to pot

Don’t have a yard or tight on space? Container gardening works well for certain vegetables, and offers the high-rise dweller both delicious and visual rewards. And container gardening isn’t as limited as you may think.

Lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, radishes and even blueberries can thrive in containers. And herbs grow well indoors on windowsills.

Your local gardening group and gardening centre are great sources of location-specific information for the best pots and soil for your crop.

Growing easy

Not sure which vegetables or herbs are good for newbie gardeners? The following list is a good starting line-up. All of these veggies — except carrots — are good choices for both backyard and container gardens.

• Lettuce. Loose leaf and cutting types (Salad Bowl, Green Ice) offer you continuous harvesting all season but are at their best in spring and early fall. Take off the outer leaves and leave the inner core to keep growing, or plant new seeds every few weeks.
• Tomatoes. Tomatoes are best started indoors from seed and planted after the last frost. And they love the heat! Some varieties — labelled “determinate” — can be trellised. Popular varieties include Beefsteak, Cherry, Tom Thumb, Heirloom Brandywine.
• Carrots. The no-fail hero, carrots can be re-sown every few weeks and can tolerate shade. Try Nantes, Touchon, Short 'n’ Sweet, and Chantenay. Not recommended for container gardens.
• Green beans. They’re easy to plant and provide a good quantity to harvest. Green beans come in either a bush or pole variety. Try Blue Lake or Kentucky.
• Cucumbers. Cucumbers grow best in the heat, can be trained up trellises and are available in dwarf varieties.
• Peas. Plant these in early spring. Enjoy snow peas or snap peas along with their lovely vines that can be trained up trellises.
• Radishes. Virtually the easiest veggie to grow, radishes can be harvested in four to five weeks. Varieties include Cherry Belle, White Icicle, and Sparkler.
• Herbs. Herbs, such as basil, rosemary, coriander, and parsley are easy to grow indoors, but you’ll want to use a separate pot for each one. Other herbs are best suited outdoors such as oregano, mint and thyme (which need space to spread) and dill (which grows quite tall).

Now that your garden is growing, read 7 easy ways to get more fruits and vegetables for ideas on adding more veggies to your daily eats. To speed up meal prep time, review Healthy meal prep for the time crunched.