You don’t need a huge garden to grow your own food, as you can grow vegetables in containers and flower borders. There are so many health benefits to growing your own fruit and vegetables, not forgetting that gardening alone can burn hundreds of calories!
The national guideline is 5 portions of fruit and veg a day, but we all know how expensive that can be when buying from a supermarket. So why not try growing your own fruit and vegetables for less money and maximise the potential health benefits?
You can grow great varieties in a wide range of colours, and if the crop is harvested just before consumption, it will be as fresh as possible and full of nutrients and vitamins. Plus, you can’t beat the wonderful taste and flavour of home grown produce eaten fresh from the garden. And what satisfaction – eating the fruits of your own labour. Here are just some of our healthy eating hints and tips.
You can absorb more beta-carotene from a cooked carrot than by eating it raw, but get more vitamin C from raw broccoli than sautéed.
- Steaming helps retain more nutrients when cooking compared to boiling.
- There is a general rule that the greater the richness of colour of a fruit or vegetable, the more powerful its potential effect on health.
- The leaves of beetroot are as nutritious as spinach
- Celery is low in calories and a tasty addition to the diet for those of us trying to control our weight.
- To get the maximum health benefits from your tomatoes serve them with an olive oil dressing.
It is never too late to start growing your own vegetable plot so take a look at our range of products that you can sow now (August – September). Head over to our beetroot and chard hub page to pick up growing guides and advice for these colourful veg. Do you have any hints and tips for making the most of your vegetable plot? Share your advice below, we would love to share them on our social media pages.
Terri works in the e-commerce marketing department assisting the busy web team. Terri manages our blog and social media pages here at Thompson & Morgan and is dedicated to providing useful advice to our gardeners. Terri is new to gardening and keen to develop her horticultural knowledge.