Happy spring! This month I’d like to talk about how to grow your own food on a budget. Growing your own food can be rewarding, and can save you money in the long run.

Choose your crops 

Start by considering growing food that you and your family would actually enjoy eating. Some popular and easy to grow options include string beans, sugar snap peas, determinate cherry and grape tomatoes, apple cucumbers, lettuce, microgreens, chili peppers, silver beet; and culinary herbs such as parsley, basil, thyme, lemon balm, mint and oregano.

Plan your plot 

What you grow depends on your plot dimensions and depth. Crops such as corn, pumpkins, and zucchini are heavy feeders, need a lot of space to grow, and take months to mature and harvest. More compact crops such as lettuces, herbs, cherry tomatoes and beans take up less space and can be continually harvested through the season.

Soil and sun 

Choosing your growing medium is important to ensure the right balance of nutrients for your crops. Potting soil for flowers is not always the best choice for growing fruits and vegetables due to the levels of nitrogen. I prefer to use garden compost that has added chicken manure and amend it with a general slow release fertiliser, blood and bone, garden lime, coffee grounds, crushed eggshells, and some chopped up banana peels. If you are growing in containers, always feed more heavily than crops that are in the ground, and top up with water and fertiliser regularly. Happy gardening!

Melissa Cox is owner of Papamoa Pick Your Own Flowers, a garden offering affordable pick-your-own flowers for weddings, parties and special occasions. Learn more at: tinyurl.com/papamoaflowers