You don’t need a full on allotment to gain that grow your own satisfaction. By choosing plants that don’t require a lot of space and give a good yield, you can have great results. If you’re anything like me, high maintenance plants are also a no no, so here are my top 4 easy plants to grow at home:

Courgettes
Growing most veg at home is not very cost effective for the urban gardener, by the time you’ve got your compost, seedlings, planter etc. the fruit from a plant becomes way more expensive than supermarket prices. A decent courgette plant on the other hand, will give you 2 or 3 courgettes a week, all summer, and will grow in pretty much anything. You’ll also get the courgette flowers which are delicious, and rarely seen in the shops because they are too fragile to transport.

Chillies
Many varieties of chilli are ornamental as well as highly fruitful, making them excellent plants for those without a lot of space. Chillies are also amazingly versatile, so if the plant has more chillies than you can eat, you can make chutney, jam, flavoured oil, or you could dry the chillies to use throughout the winter.

Herbs
Most dry herbs are rubbish, and should be avoided at all costs. Especially dried basil, which would be evil if it wasn’t so pointless. You can grow a decent amount of herbs in a simple window box, and as long as you can remember to water them, they don’t take much maintenance.

Leaves
Buying bags of salad can get expensive, and they always go off before you finish the packet. The best leaves to grow at home are cut and come again varieties, because they don’t take up much room, and can be enjoyed throughout their lifetime, rather than providing a one off harvest like say an iceberg would.