A Simple Beginners Guide to the Most Useful Foods to Grow in British Gardens

Potatoes

Potatoes are everyone's starchy friend. If you want to keep your energy up, having starchy foods such as Potato in your meal plan is ideal. This root vegetable can be grown all year round and served as the main act on your dinner plate ensemble, or as a simple side dish, such as Britain's much loved chips.

Onions

Those of you who cook from scratch, will know Onions form the basis of a huge number of dishes, specifically in English and French cuisine. The humble Onion transforms as it is cooked and it can make or break a dish. However, Onions aren't always just a simple, supporting ingredient that’s hidden beneath some other of the more applauded ingredients in a classic dish. If you've never tried Onion soup, make it your next recipe to try out. This French recipe makes the Onion the main ingredient and goes deliciously well with Camembert cheese and a baguette.

Garlic

If you’ve ever ventured into any of the British woodland expanses, you’ll be familiar with the smell of wild Garlic that lingers around, so it’s no wonder that this deliciously tasting ingredient features prominently in a wide variety of British recipes. The Royal Horticultural Society advises that Garlic needs a ‘chilling period’, so the best time to plant it is in the late Autumn or early Winter. Make sure you have your Garlic planted and ready to harvest in order to liven up what might otherwise be a bland dish.

Leafy Greens and Cruciferous Vegetables

As a kid you were told to eat up your greens right? Well that was great advice, because leafy green vegetables contain iron and that’s something we all need on a daily basis to keep us healthy and avoid unwanted lethargy. There’s quite a few different varieties of greens and cruciferous vegetables. Here’s a list of some of them.

The list could go on for much longer. However, this shows just some of the most popular items that feature in a large number of recipes.

Root Vegetables

Like the world famous Potato that’s served to us in all sorts of shapes, sizes, styles and flavours, other root vegetables can be just as versatile. The humble Carrot often features heavily in British casseroles and stews. The often orange coloured (but not always) vegetable has been popular with the British public for many decades. It once featured in a World War 2 propaganda campaign, in which the British government released a statement to their enemy about how they could see the Luftwaffe flying over Britain so well in the pitch dark, because the the British people had eaten so many Carrots.

It’s not all about the Carrots though. You could also choose to grow Parsnips, Beetroots, Radishes, Turnips, Sweet Potatoes and many more root vegetables.

Be Prepared

If you really want to think long term about a self-sufficient lifestyle, you’ll need to be prepared. As well as your veg patch, you’ll probably want a greenhouse to grow some extra fruit and veg that requires a humid climate to develop in. More importantly you’ll need somewhere safe and secure to keep all the tools of your sustainable veg growing trade and for this you’ll need something like one of Asgard’s Metal Garden sheds. There’s a whole range to choose from, whatever the size of your garden. If you need help choosing a new garden shed, our customer services representatives are on hand to help you make the right decision.