Beat The Cost Of Living Crisis – Grow Your Own Fruit & Vegetables
As prices seem to be skyrocketing and your average food shop is costing more, there’s no better time than now to start thinking about growing your own fruit and veg. In this weeks blog we’ll tell you what types of plants you can grow, how to grow them and how to get bumper harvests.
What Fruits & Vegetables Are Easy To Grow?
A lot of people think growing your own fruit and veg is hard when in fact it’s just as easy as remembering to brush your teeth. Once you get into a routine of watering your plant when it needs too you’ll be growing your own in no time.
Easiest Fruits & Vegetables To Grow
- Lettuce
- Rocket
- Tomatoes
- Blueberries
- Spring onions
- Carrots
- Chilli Peppers
- Kale
- Strawberries
Once you’ve decided what you want to grow, you’ll then need some equipment.
What Equipment Do I Need To Grow Fruit & Vegetables?
The equipment you will need…
To get started with growing vegetables, you will need a few key bits of kit.
Seeds
Of course, you need to pick what you’ll be growing – so pick your seeds carefully.
Containers For Planting Your Seeds In.
We recommend using propagation trays which come with individual compartments. The lid isn’t necessary, but using it will help to speed up the germination process – which turns your seeds into plants! To give your plants the best start in life we suggest you use some propagation cubes, like rockwool cubes. These allow the seedlings to develop root structures and can easily be transferred when the seedling is ready to go outside or into a bigger pot
Nutrient Rich Potting Mix
Your regular garden soil really won’t fit the deal here – you’ll need to use a nutrient rich soil.
Nutrient rich soils are packed full of everything your plant needs to grow strong and it’ll also help your plants to drain better too. If you’re growing outdoors, simply dig in the potting mix to enrich the existing soil.
Plant Supports
Plants like Chillies and Tomatoes need supporting due to the thickness of their stems and how heavy their fruits can be. To do you’ll need a plant support like bamboo canes or plant cages. Combine this with garden wire and your plants with have the perfect base to grow big and strong.
Optional Extras
Plant nutrients – adding a nutrient to a plants feeding cycle can really improve the end result. Simply follow the instructions on the bottle and start enjoying large results.
Lighting – if you’re growing indoors, sometimes the lighting environment won’t be enough. This is where you can introduce an additional light source, for example, a LED light or CFL. These provide plants with the right spectrums of light for them to grow.
Fans – when plants grow indoors they sometimes suffer from thin stems and breakages. This is because they do not have an airflow to help strengthen them. When grown outdoors, plants are subjected to stresses from wind which helps them adapt and grow thicker stems. Thicker stems = bigger fruits or vegetables. To mimic the wind indoors, simply introduce a fan to the growing area.
Self Watering Systems & Accessories – If you don’t have time to water your plants or you’re just notorious at forgetting, you can automate your plants watering cycle with a Self Watering System. One of the easiest to use is the Easy2Grow system. Once your seedling is established and has a good root structure, fill up one of the Easy2Grow pots with soil, pop the seedling in the soil, fill up the systems water tank and then that’s it. For more info on Easy2Grow, head on over to their website and check out their knowledge base.
