Learning how to grow our own food Gardening activities you can do indoors
If you don’t have outdoor space or you want to start indoors
Growing your own food can be a daunting task if you have never tried
before trying your skills on your garden, there’s a few things
it before. But worry not - even the most experienced gardener started
you can do indoors:
small. Here are some ideas for how to get started on your food
growing journey.
1. Make a windowsill herb garden: Most supermarkets sell small
herb plants that you can grow on at home. Choose your most
Join a community garden
sunny windowsill and fill it with plant pots (or recycled
containers like yoghurt, ice cream or peanut butter pots). Make
One of the most effective ways of learning how to grow food is to join
sure that any container you use has drainage holes at the
a group of people who are already doing it. You can learn a lot of skills
bottom. Fill the bottom of your container with compost, pop
from other growers and you will likely be able to take home spare
your wee herb plant in and fill the sides of the container in with
produce all whilst doing something for the local community. Glasgow
compost, gently firming the plant in. Water and harvest little
has a wealth of
bits of the herb regularly to encourage re-growth. If you are
community
feeling confident, you can also try growing your herbs from
growing projects.
seed. To do this just fill a container with compost, sprinkle
You can find a map
seeds on top and cover lightly. Keep compost damp but not
of community
soggy. Your seedlings should germinate within a couple of
gardens if you
weeks. Works well with: Basil, Chives, Rosemary, Parsley,
search for
Coriander, Thyme
Community
Gardens in and
2. Grow microgreens: Many vegetables can be eaten at their
around Glasgow on
seedling stage and these can be grown indoors all year round.
Google Maps.
Research has shown that microgreens are packed with
vitamins, antioxidants and minerals and can be even more
nutritious than the fully grown vegetable. To grow them, just
use any container (with drainage holes in the bottom) and fill it
with compost, sprinkle seeds called leacheate (or worm pee) which will drain into the bottom
on top and cover lightly. Water container and which you can use at 1:10
regularly. Microgreens only concentration to feed your plants. There
take about 2-3 weeks to grow is more info on how to make a DIY worm
and you can add them to farm and how to feed your worms in the
salads, sandwiches, stir-frys or resource list at the end.
get creative with them. Works
well with: Cress, Broccoli, Kale, Gardening in small spaces
Chard, Alfalfa, Coriander, Basil,
Spinach, Pea Shoots, Mustard If you have a small outdoor space, there are plenty of ways to
Greens, Rocket utilise it. Here are some ideas for gardening activities you could
do:
3. Make a mini worm composter: Worm composting is a way of
recycling food waste that uses worms to eat the waste and turn 1. Potato Bags: To grow potatoes in
it into compost you can use in your plant pots. It is great a bag all you need is some seed
because it is like having a very low maintenance pet (or many potatoes (you can get them
wormy pets). You can make a worm farm out of two containers online or in any garden centre),
that can slot into each other, e.g. old storage boxes or large compost and an empty compost
plastic containers. Make sure one of them has a lid. All you bag (or another large sturdy
need to do is drill holes into the bottom and sides of one of the plastic bag). Fill the bag halfway
containers and then stack it inside the other container. Fill the with compost and roll the sides
top container with worm bedding (shredded paper or down. Put three seed potatoes
compost), some food waste and your worms (you will need in and cover with 5cm of
composting worms, not just any old worm from your garden. compost. Water regularly. As the
You can buy these online or get them from another potatoes sprout they will grow
worm-composting friend). You can keep this composter indoors up through the compost. Add
under your sink or in a cupboard (if you do it right it won’t more compost to cover the sprouts so that they keep growing
smell or attract fruit flies). The worms will produce a liquid upwards. Unroll the sides of the bag to give more height as you
go. When the bag is ¾ full, stop layering with compost and planting distance between plants, each square has either one,
leave the shoots to grow out and produce flowers. The four, nine or 16 plants
potatoes are ready to harvest once the flowers die off. You can in it, depending on the
just tip the whole bag over into a wheelbarrow to dig for your size of the plant. You
tatties. There is more info on how to grow in a potato bag in can grow vegetables,
the resources. flowers, herbs and
some fruit this way.
Grow salads and herbs in containers: Salads and herbs don’t There is more info on
need a lot of space so you can grow them in pots and square foot gardening
containers. Make sure to wait until any risk of frost has passed in the resource
before sowing outdoors, in Scotland this is usually in May. Just section.
fill your chosen container with compost (make sure to leave a
bit of space at the top for watering), sprinkle seeds thinly on In bigger spaces…
top and then cover lightly with compost. Water in and then
water regularly (if it doesn’t rain enough). After about a month If you have a garden with plenty of space and you want to try
you should have your first cut of fresh herbs or salads ready. your hands on growing your own veg, here are some things to
Most salad leaves and herbs will regrow a couple of times after consider:
you cut them, so you can get up to three harvests from each
sowing. Works well with: Basil, Chives, Coriander, Rocket, 1. Healthy soil: Keeping your soil healthy is the foundation of
Mustard Greens, Oriental Greens like Mizuna, Cut and come successful growing. Healthy soils are ecosystems that are alive
again lettuce varieties, Pea Shoots and thriving - full of worms, insects, fungi and microorganisms.
You want your soil to have good drainage, be aerated and be
Square Foot Gardening: This is a method of planning your nutritious for your plants. Most gardeners achieve this by
growing space in which you split your plot up into square foot adding organic matter such as compost, well-rotted manure or
sections. Depending on how much space you have you can leaf mould to the soil. Before you start growing in your garden,
make several square foot quadrants and sow a different try to find out what type of soil you have and how that will
vegetable in each one. This is an easy way of splitting up small affect your plants. If you can, do a bit of research on local
spaces to grow a variety of crops. Instead of having to measure history to find out if there was any industry in your area
previously. Soil in cities can be contaminated with heavy metals
and chemicals and it might be better to grow in raised beds Resources
that you fill with new topsoil.
BBC Gardening Guides - this page has many how to guides on different
gardening jobs at
2. Crop rotation: Different plant families are susceptible to
https://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/
different pests and diseases. They also have different nutrient
and watering requirements. It can
Trellis Factsheets - lots of resources on how to get started growing food
be a good idea to grow plants of
at home including indoors and in small spaces at
the same family together and
https://trellisscotland.org.uk/content/factsheets
rotate their location year on year
Includes guides on Potato Bags, Square Foot Gardening, Container
to keep them happy. Plants in the
Planting and many more
cabbage family for example
(Brassicas) should be grown
RHS Guide on Crop Rotation at
together so you can net them to
https://www.rhs.org.uk/vegetables/crop-rotation
protect from pesky pigeons. The
The RHS website generally has a wealth of information on plants and
plant families/types that we
gardening
mostly grow in Scotland are:
Brassicas (Cabbage Family),
Glasgow Seed Library - community of growers maintaining a collection
Legumes (Pea Family), Cucurbits
of open-pollinated vegetable, herb and flower seeds at the CCA. Often
(Pumpkin/ Courgette Family), Alliums (Onion Family),
host free gardening workshops and skillshares at
Solanaceae (Potatoes, Tomatoes, Aubergines, Chillies) and Root
https://www.cca-glasgow.com/projects/glasgow-seed-library
vegetables (Carrots, Beetroot, Parsnips).
Urban Worm - build your own home worm composting system out of
3. Easy to grow crops: Some vegetables and edible flowers that
recycled materials at https://theurbanworm.co.uk/wormup/
do not require special care or knowledge and are good for
beginner gardeners are: Beetroot, Carrots, Salad Leaves,
Radishes, Chard, Calendula, Nasturtiums, Borage
Glasgow Allotments Forum - organisation bringing together allotment
growers in Glasgow, often host free growing workshops and skillshares
at https://glasgowallotments.org/
