In most wealthy countries the majority of the population lives in very cramped spaces, often in flats or in houses so close together the gardens are very small. This often means people will not even consider trying to grow their own vegetables.
Growing your own vegetables is very rewarding, you know exactly what has gone on them (and in many cases that is just water, no chemicals), they couldn't be any more fresh, as you just pick and eat, which gives you plenty more vitamins and minerals than those brought from a shop; and often growing vegetables can encourage children to eat more and get involved in the growing process.
For some lucky people, their gardens are large enough to offer them space to dig a vegetable patch and get planting (even for a smaller garden a 3m by 3m plot is large enough to provide a family of four with vegetables all year round), but for the majority of people this just isn't a possibility.
Take a trip to your local garden centre and you will see a huge array of pots and tubs available, these can benefit every gardener. To start growing vegetables in a small space you should think about what you wish to grow first. The best vegetable to start with is the potato. Potatoes are a great vegetable as you really only need to plant and water them and that's it until you harvest the. The excellent thing about growing potatoes is you don't even need to buy a large pot, the best thing you can use for growing potatoes is a large old dustbin. Simply drill some holes in the bottom for drainage and them place a layer on compost in the bottom, put your seed potatoes (can be brought from all good garden stores) in the bottom layer, then every time the little shoots start to rise out of the compost, cover them up. Continue doing this until the bin is full, then leave the potatoes to continue growing. Many people love baby potatoes, you can harvest these just after the plants have finished flowering, or for older potatoes leave them for a month or so, and then dig them up.
Other than the staple of potatoes, there are plenty of other vegetables that you can grow in pots for the small garden or balcony. Runner beans grow very well in large pots, just make sure you keep them watered, you can make use of the extra room in the pots by adding extra vegetables such as carrots (you can grow carrots almost anywhere, if you have an old pair of boots, fill them with compost and sew some carrot seeds!), or parsnips, in fact, any root vegetable is good to fill any spare space in pots.
Don't be afraid to grow flowers and vegetables together, many if grown correctly will act as natural pest repellents.
If you're unsure about the vegetables you can grow, look specifically for container vegetables. There are plenty of varieties of tomatoes, beans, lettuce, etc that are either dwarf vegetables or container plants, these are ideal for houses with little space, and they are normally very prolific in their vegetable production to make up for their lack of size.
If you are short of money to buy large pots to grow your vegetables, look around your house for things you could use. If you have old pots and pans, you could grow your herbs in those, or an old draw from a desk could double as a plot for beetroot.
Don't let the lack of space stop you from exploring the wonderful world of growing your own vegetables.
