What Can We Plant in our Edible Garden?

Get in While the Growings Good !

What a popular topic for discussion as the cost of Organic Food rises higher and most people seem to be eating healthier too. Growing your own vegies and herbs is not only fun and good exercise, it can also be particularly rewarding and potentially contribute to saving some costs and also improving health in your home.

No doubt this is the best time of year to plant a wide variety of crops, however i want you to be realistic about what is going to work in your own situation. The amount of direct sun is the biggest telling factor on what you can grow. Two other main factors to consider are whether to grow plants in pots or whether to grow plants in the ground (things will nearly always grow better in the ground ). Finally are you prepared to water the plants you buy on a weekly basis?

 Lets start at the top – plants in the sun. if you have at least half a day direct sun, good news – your options are wide open…… i would look at growing reliable plants that are expensive to buy from the supermarket! What about the cost of Blueberries at the moment, Tomatoes are really reliable tough plants and should fruit continuously over the season so its convenient to pick them as they ripen. Having a Rosemary plant may just inspire you to make that perfect lamb roast.

Various Grafted Dwarf Citrus such as Lemon, Limes or Oranges will appreciate a sunny position and can be grown in pots or the ground and reaching a height of only 2m. We all know how good for us orange juice is! If you have the room why not put in a Mango tree (height 5-7m) ? It may take a few years to get those bumper crops but long term surely there are some rewards to be reaped there. Another plant that can be great for producing fruit is a Passionfruit vine which is a noted fast-grower and could act as a fantastic screening plant as well, it would just need something to climb on.

If you have Less than Half a day of direct sun or Full shade or even Indoors your options start to become increasingly limited. With less sun i would suggest herbs like mint, leafy salad herbs such as various Lettuces, Rocket, Pak Choi will do ok in a shadier spot. Also you could take your pick from herbs such as Parsley, Oregano, Chives, Celery, but generally they will always do better in more sun. As you would grow a Kaffir Lime for its leaves this is one plant that would be more suited to a less sunny position, a Curry Leaf Plant or even a Bay Leaf Tree may also fall into this category. To some extent Strawberries could also provide a good option in a less sunny position.

I hope you find these suggestions useful, feel free to direct any questions or discussion on stock or availability to our email address or Facebook wall.

We also have a great team here to assist and advise you on your next purchase for your edible garden no matter what the position.