The Sunday Mail
GROW what you like to eat and choose varieties that are expensive in the shops.
Vegetables like shallots can add a few extra dollars to your weekly budget. Choose leafy vegetables, like covo and rugare, that allow you to harvest a few leaves and keep growing.
Grow something different, most supermarkets only sell the most popular. This gives you a chance to grow something you would like to eat. Not always being told what to eat.
Below is a small list of vegetables to grow in a small garden.
Shallots
They are a member of the allium (onion) family. Just one set (immature bulb) planted in the soil will develop into five or six shallots. They also store well over winter.
Garlic bulb
Again an allium, when you plant one clove, it will develop into a whole bulb and is very easy to grow once you follow the planting guide.
Early potatoes
If you are keen on growing potatoes, not only do early varieties grow faster than their main crop cousins, they are usually pricier in the shops. Potatoes also grow well in containers, making them ideal for small space gardening.
Lettuce
Cut and come again lettuce or salad leaves are plucked off as and when you want them.
Do not harvest the entire plant. They also do well in winter and in small areas.
Beetroot
It is delicious plus you can eat the leaves. Some steam the leaves as a side vegetable, but the fruit is tasty and healthy.
Tangled carrots
Carrots take long to develop. One should choose small early varieties like Nantes for something different. Chanteney carrots are expensive in the shops and are a deliciously sweet variety of carrot too.
Cherry tomatoes
Tiny, sweet cherry tomatoes will grow in beds, borders or hanging baskets and are a good choice if you are new to tomato growing.
Runner beans
They do well in containers, you can hang or place the container next to trees and they will sprout.
It provides enough beans for a few dinners. ln addition, children love watching them grow. A healthy meal it is. — https://greensideup.ie
