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There’s nothing quite as rewarding as growing your own vegetables. They have much more flavour and are always fresher than shop produce. All vegetables should be eaten as quickly as possible after being harvested as fresh produce is more nutritious and has more taste. By growing your own, you can also save considerably on the cost of food. A vegetable garden needs plenty of sun, so try and select a spot that is sunny for most of the day and is also sheltered. Good, well-drained soil with regular addition of compost and mineral fertilizers will give good results. Crop rotation is just as important in a small vegetable garden as in mass vegetable cultivation. Growing the same vegetable in the same spot year after year can cause a build-up of soil diseases. A change of location may come automatically, depending on seasonal crops. This depends on the choice of vegetables grown and of course is very much a question of taste. Once you’ve decided, it’s time to do a more detailed research on cultivating your chosen vegetables.
There are also other beneficial aspects of growing your own vegetables. One is fresh air and exercise. Another is eating the “five portions per day” recommended for a healthy diet and which you are more likely to do if they come from your own garden. Eating five portions of fruit or vegetables daily is said to lower the risk of chronic ailments such as heart disease and some cancers. So how much is a portion? For example: an around 80g helping of vegetables, a medium-sized piece of fruit e.g. an apple, a glass (100ml) of vegetable or fruit juice, a side salad... Unfortunately your favourite and mine, French fries, don’t count as potatoes are considered starchy
food.
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