Growing your own fruits and vegetables gives you produce rich in nutrients, energy and taste without toxic chemicals. And as the price of food increases due to shortages caused by global climate change, natural disasters and rising transportation costs, we can lessen the impact by taking responsibility for some of our own basic needs.

Using good soil and care, the food you grow can be naturally organic, cutting out your exposure to pesticides commonly used on produce. Grow the foods you love to eat, especially those hard to find. The plants can be just as colorful and refreshing as ornamental plants with the bonus of getting your own harvest!

How to grow:

• To grow your food in a garden, prepare the soil by turning it over, adding mulch or compost if necessary until the soil is soft and uniform. Get an early start by beginning the seeds indoors, or in good weather plant directly into the soil; they can be thinned out as they grow larger. Remember to rotate crops every other year or so to avoid various diseases.
• Many vegetables can be grown in outdoor pots on a windowsill, balcony or patio. Let your imagination guide you using long window boxes, various-sized pots, hanging baskets, wooden buckets, or other creative ideas. Fill the containers with compost or potting soil, making sure there are good drainage holes; add stones or broken pottery pieces at the bottom to improve drainage. If you plant the seeds directly, they can later be thinned out to one plant per pot (10-20cm diameter) depending on the size of the plant.
• Position your plants so they get a good amount of full sun and plenty of water during hot, dry days.

Growing suggestions:

• Leafy greens: Imagine a beautiful oblong terra-cotta pot or long window box adorned with spinach, mixed lettuces, purslane or rocket.
• Tomatoes: Standard, plum (Roma) or cherry can all be harvested at home. Bush varieties of standard tomatoes do well in patio pots, as do plum tomatoes. Some of the smaller varieties, including cherry tomatoes, grow well in hanging baskets, on your balcony or even in your kitchen.
• Peppers: As sweet bell pepper seedlings grow, place them into larger pots (up to 20cm), one per pot, and keep in a sunny location. Keep soil moist but not very wet. Peppers can be picked when green to encourage new fruit production, or wait until fully ripe to limit the amount of harvest. For the adventurous, try some hot pepper varieties.
• Beans and Peas: These are fairly easy to grow in an outdoor garden; use stakes and string to support tall varieties. In a large pot on your balcony, arrange several plants of green beans, broad beans or peas around a teepee of stakes. Watch them bloom and grow into a scrumptious meal.
• Garlic, Onion and Chives: Separate the garlic cloves and store in a cold refrigerator for about a week to prepare them for growing. Plant cloves with the pointy end up. Onions and chives can be grown from seed. Try planting chives in 6cm pots and cut leaves close to the base as needed for meals. Garlic, onion and chives planted near leafy greens may give some protection against pesky bugs. Chives also can deter bugs around tomatoes and even roses.
• Root vegetables: Try carrots, beets or new potatoes. Make sure your boxes or pots are deep and roomy enough (about 20cm deep).
• Herbs: Basil, Parsley, Cilantro, Oregano, Thyme, Dill, Mint, Sage, etc.: Many herbs like thyme, sage and rosemary prefer a sunny location, while others like parsley and basil welcome partial shade. Since herbs can be grown individually in small pots (7cm) they can be kept close at hand in the kitchen ready to enhance the flavors of your next salad, sauce, vegetable or main meal.
• Sprouts: Since sprouts are usually grown indoors, they can be available year-round. Good seeds to try are alfalfa and clover; for beans, try mung, lentil or garbanzo. Although there are many techniques used for growing sprouts, the basic idea is to soak the seeds or beans in water for 12-24 hrs, then drain, rinse, and drain completely. You can coat the inside of a cloth-covered jar with the soaked seeds and rinse daily until sprouted.
• Berries: Strawberries or raspberries grown in a large pot can produce a good yield of fresh fruit to add to your breakfast or evening dessert.