1. Remember: Location, Location, Location
Most herbs and vegetables require a minimum of six-plus hours of sunlight a day, fruit plants closer to nine-plus hours, so try to plant them facing north without obstructions. If you find you are limited with light, there are several vegetables that will happily grow in filtered or partly shady conditions, such as spinach, Swiss chard, mixed salad greens, Asian greens and beetroot. You can also grow several pots of herbs, like basil, thyme, chives and origanum, on a sunny windowsill.
2. Interplant
To maximise space, use interplanting techniques by growing fast- and slow-growing crops together. Radishes and carrots are a great combo. Mix the seeds together in a cup and sow directly into the ground, about 1cm deep. The radishes will germinate in five to seven days, while the carrots will take 14-plus days. Harvest the radishes in three to four weeks and the carrots in three to four months.
3. Cut and Come Again
Focus on planting ‘cut and come again’ salad greens like cos, butter, oak and frilly lettuces that can be spaced closer together and cut regularly throughout the growing season, unlike your typical shop-bought crisp-head lettuce. Keep your plant spacings between 10cm to 15cm per plant, centre to centre. You can then enjoy a fresh, healthy salad every day by cutting back the outside leaves.
