Grow your own veg fast - Kitchen Garden Magazine

In these uncertain times lots of people are having the urge to start growing their own veg. Why not have a go at microgreen growing tasty nutritious veg in a matter of days.

Microgreens are veg harvested while still only tiny shoots and are packed with vitamins and antioxidants to help boost health. They can also be grown on windowsills.

Simply take any container, pictured is a plastic container that held mushrooms. Also in the picture is a white cardboard box that held a bun from a bakery. Fill the containers with some multi-purpose compost or even a bit of soil from your garden.

Article continues below...
Advert

Enjoy more Kitchen Garden reading in the monthly magazine.
Click here to subscribe & save.

There are many seeds you can sow, one of the best and quickest are peas as the shoots are delicious. Other ones to look out for are packets of mixed salad leaves, lettuce, beetroot, pak choi, kale, cabbage, broccoli or cauliflower. You can also sow carrots, the leaves are actually very tasty. Spring onions or just onion seeds are also suitable, as are leeks. The ones to avoid are the tomatoes, aubergines and squashes and beans.

Most leaves on the things that are usually grown to maturity are fine to eat too. You can buy seeds mail order from many seed companies or from garden centres and some supermarkets, especially Aldi and Lidl. They have very cheap seeds which is ideal for this method of growing.

Sow the seeds fairly close together but not touching; maybe 5mm between. Pea seeds are quite large so maybe 2cm apart.

Article continues below...
Advert

Cover with a light dusting of compost/soil and water well. If you are using containers with no holes in the bottom (ideal if on a windowsill) then just be careful you don’t overwater.

Dampen the compost and keep the compost moist, then placing the container on the lightest windowsill you can. In a few days you will have some tasty shoots.

Some of the plants could be grown a little larger in size and then planted outside.

Article continues below...
Advert

Here at Kitchen Garden, we know things are tough right now. Lots of you can’t get to the shops, or leave the house full stop. But – we are here for you, and we hope that we can help you escape into your garden and enjoy growing your own.

We have some unmissable offers on both print and digital subscriptions and single issues of Kitchen Garden, you can enjoy instant access on your favourite device, or we can deliver the latest issues direct to your front door. Head to www.classicmagazines.co.uk/kg358 to find out more.

Article continues below...
Advert

Enjoy more Kitchen Garden reading in the monthly magazine. Click here to subscribe.

Sign-up to the Kitchen Garden Magazine Newsletter

Enter your e-mail address below to see a free digital back issue of Kitchen Garden Magazine and get regular updates straight to your inbox…

You can unsubscribe at any time.

Steve Ott

Steve Ott is editor of Kitchen Garden magazine and started his career as a professional grower, producing everything from cut flowers to vegetables. He has been growing fruit and veg all his life and spends most of his spare time in his garden in the East Midlands. He loves to experiment with crops and varieties he has never grown before and when he isn’t gardening is to be found out in the countryside bird watching and walking his dog Ted.