Having a garden to grow plants is brilliant. Not only can you make your backyard alluring and colourful with flowers, but you can also grow your own cooking ingredients. This can save costs, introduce you to new tastes and make cooking easy. Taking fresh, organic ingredients from the garden to the kitchen is a truly rewarding feeling. Here are some of the cooking ingredients you can easily grow in your garden.
Vegetables
It’s relatively straightforward to grow vegetables in your garden. Vegetable seeds are available for onions, carrots, peas and many other vegetables.
Potatoes are one of the best things to start growing. Not only are they easy to grow, but you can use potatoes in so many dishes that it’s worth having them in the garden. There are also plenty of creative ways to grow them.
You’ll want to create a vegetable patch in your garden. Different greens require different methods of preparing and harvesting, so it’s best to learn some of the basics first. Growing your own veg is a great way to spruce up your stir-fries, stews and pretty much any other meals.
Flowers and Weeds
I’m sure you’ve heard eat your greens, but have you ever been told to eat your weeds? It turns out there are a lot of flowers, even wild growing ones, that can be suitable for eating. These can often provide a lot of nutritional content, and are an excellent addition to dishes such as salads.
You might want to grow some of these plants, such as white clover. White clover is known for providing protein to bees. If it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for us.
Next time you weed your garden, look out for what’s on offer. Some of the things growing in your garden might be worth adding to your next meal.
Fruit
Growing fruit is fantastic. Not only do you get to plant them, watch them ripen and pick them, but you also get your five-a-day for free!
Some fruits, such as strawberries and raspberries, grow on plants. Others, such as apples and pears, grow on trees. Find out what you need for the kind of fruits you want to grow. Some are self-supporting and surprisingly easy to grow.
Smoothies, fruit salads and desserts are some of the ways you can put your garden goodies to use. As well as being edible, fruits make your garden much more colourful than vegetables do!
Herbs and Spices
Most herbs and spices are extracted from plants and seeds you can grow in your garden. Herbs and spices come in handy for a variety of drinks and dishes you might want to make.
Mint leaves can be used to brew mint-flavoured tea. They’re also commonly featured in exotic drinks and cocktails, most popularly Mojitos. Basil, thyme, and coriander are some of the leaf-based herbs which go great in salads, stews and for seasoning roasts.
It can be expensive to buy a whole range of herbs and spices from the store. Growing your own is cost effective and allows you to add a lot more flavour to your meals.
