How To Grow Your Own Vegetables

The farm to table movement isn’t slowing down any time soon, even if gas prices have bottomed out. It’s better for the environment, your health, and frankly, good for your soul. Maybe it’s time you considered a little self-reliance when it comes to your veggies.

 “Choose crops that are easy to grow and make a big difference in cooking when it’s freshly picked” says Ran Goel, founder of urban farming organization and grocery delivery service Fresh City Farms in Toronto. “You can’t beat the taste of a ripe tomato that’s just cut off the vine. I’d also include garlic because it’s a very low maintenance crop. Squirrels typically leave tomatoes and garlic alone, same with raccoons. I’d also grow herbs, main ones like rosemary and basil that are best when cut fresh because they don’t travel well from the supermarket. Herbs add lots of flavour, grow fast, and weeding isn’t a big deal if you only have time to tend to your garden on weekends.

“If you don’t have a yard, container gardening is a good bet and are great for early and late seasons because you can cover them. The pots offer good drainage, and the soil heats up faster than the ground. Just remember to get some high-quality soil. In the winter, you can continue growing herbs inside, as well as lettuce and microgreens like pea shoots, sprouts, and sunflower shoots. But I recommend herbs because you don’t need as much of them while cooking, as opposed to taking a month to just grow a salad bowl’s worth of lettuce.”