Fruit, vegetables, salads and herbs

Pick fruit and vegetables fresh

Fruit and vegetables taste so much better if you leave it until the last minute to pick them before cooking / eating.

68% of bagged salad is wasted

​A recent survey by one large supermarket chain found that 68% of bagged salad is wasted, and 35% of that was wasted in the home. Growing your own means zero waste, as you only need to harvest exactly what you’ll eat, and you can guarantee it’ll be fresh.

68% of bagged salad is wasted, so grow your own and only use what you need (it will be fresher too!).

Sow a small amount of salad seed every 2 weeks

To maximise your crop of home-grown salads such as lettuce and radishes, sow a small amount of seed every two weeks for a continual harvest throughout the summer.

Good sanitation is crucial in your vegetable garden

Pick up plant debris, trim away dying or unhealthy stems and branches, and keep weeds to a minimum. Foliage or stems left over from diseased plants can mean the same problem the following year.

Rotate crops

​Ensure a healthy vegetable garden by rotating crops. This is the growing of different crops in succession on the same piece of land to avoid exhausting the soil and to control weeds, pests and diseases.

Deter insect pests by mixing different plants

​A confusing mix of sights and scents can help deter certain insect pests. Try to increase biodiversity and avoid monoculture by mixing plants from different families. Instead of planting long rows of a single crop, try planting:

• Onions alongside broccoli,
• Tomatoes with basil and chives,
• Peas with carrots.
• Better yet, intermix edible with ornamental plants. Add a few hot pepper plants to your flowerbeds, or edge your vegetable garden with low-growing annual flowers, such as alyssum or dwarf marigolds.

Mixing carrots and onions can deter pests

Grow your own decoy

Try allowing a single weed to grow as a decoy among your cultivated crops. Decoy crops may attract pests and help to keep the bad guys away from your other valuable crops.