Grow
Container gardening is a cheap, fun, and accessible way to get more nutritious fresh greens into your diet. Gardener Rowena Fry shares her knowledge.
GREENS
at your doorstep
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or the current price of a lettuce and a cucumber, you can be set up to continually grow greens outside your front door or on your deck, balcony, or patio for much of the year. Your garden can be just a few steps from your door, making it easy to pinch off a few leaves to add goodness to your meals. Not only is a nearby pot of greens convenient but the flavour will always be superior to store bought as well as more nutrient dense. It’s also an excellent way to introduce children to the magic of what happens to seeds once they’ve been put into soil. MOBILITY AND WELLNESS BENEFITS
Container gardening is perfect if you don’t have a diggable outdoor space or if you have limited mobility. You can set it up at a level that works for you. For example, you could have your garden at waist level for some no-bend standing or at a lower level where you can harvest while sitting down. Pick what you need and leave the plant to keep producing for another day. Confining your garden to pots also means there’s virtually no weeding involved. The plants grow close together, so weeds don’t really have a chance. This could be a game changer to those with arthritis in their hands or wrists.
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DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2022
Another benefit is that you get to share the goodness of fresh air and sunshine with your plants. Not only is it good for your physical health but brilliant for your mental wellbeing. You could even think of it as a gentle workout. WHAT GREENS ARE BEST TO GROW?
Known as cut and come again or perpetual greens, these are plants that behave as their name suggests. Rather than needing to be harvested as an entire head of lettuce, you can just pick what you need on the day, meaning there’s no waste and no fright of discovering a forgotten, rotting pile of greens at the bottom of the fridge! Mesclun is the umbrella term for a mix of salad greens. If you haven’t been a fan of edible leaves in the past, you might find you enjoy homegrown greens, as the younger and tender leaves are softer and tastier than their grown-up versions. If you prefer cooking your greens, then there are plenty of dual-use leaves to choose from. Kale, spinach, silverbeet, and pak choi are the mainstays. All of them can be harvested when young and tender and eaten raw, or cooked into stir fries, soups, and curries among others.
