Grow your own

Always wanted to enjoy fresh ingredients straight from your garden? B&Q can help – even if space is tight

There are so many benefits to growing your own food. For a start, not only will you have your own supply of the freshest produce at your fingertips, but you’ll also be cutting down on plastic packaging. You’ll discover a huge variety of fruit, vegetables and herbs at B&Q, including an impressive selection of fruit trees, within its range of more than 2,000 plants across the year*.

Plus, you can be sure of the quality, because B&Q works with carefully selected plant growers to ensure its plants are healthy and will thrive in your garden. Only the best varieties are chosen and rigorously tested before they even reach its nationwide stores.

So, where to start? Choosing food you already eat a lot of is always a good idea. And don’t worry if you haven’t got a big garden. Here are some crops that are big on flavour and can be grown in small spaces…

Blueberries

Containers are ideal for growing blueberries such as the tasty ‘Bluecrop’ variety, available at B&Q. If your soil isn’t acidic, pot-growing is a great way to ensure you’ll get a harvest of healthy fruits. Grow them in pots of Verve Ericaceous Compost and grow more than one variety – this will help pollination and increase the size of your crop.

Tomatoes

This is the perfect time to plant tomatoes in a sheltered spot, but if you only have a small space, pick up a couple of compact cherry tomato plants and some of B&Q’S Verve Multi-purpose Compost and plant them in a hanging basket. A 30cm round basket will take two plants and you can simply let the stems tumble over the edge. Feed with a weak (quarter-strength) tomato fertiliser each time you water, for a big crop.

Cut-and-come-again salad

A shady part of the garden or a patio container is perfect for growing leafy salads such as Little Gem and rocket. Sow in a 5cm layer of compost forked into the topsoil. Gently rake it over, water the soil, then sow the seed on the surface before covering it with a little sieved compost. Once leaves are 10cm tall (about four weeks after sowing), snip them o— just above the ground and they’ll re-grow for a second or even third crop. Feed with Verve Liquid Plant Feed after each harvest to encourage rapid re-sprouting.

Herbs

Why not try growing your herbs from seed this year? The B&Q Verve herb seed collection features five herbs: mint, basil, coriander, parsley and dill. Alternatively, B&Q’S expanded organic herb plant range includes Mediterranean herbs such as thyme and oregano. Herbs tend to thrive and produce their healthiest leaves when grown in a sunny spot with free-draining soil, and they don’t need much room to grow, so they’re ideal for window boxes.

Bring nature home this summer with B&Q. Visit in store today