Get the most from your soil

Even the smallest spaces have lots of potentials, says Ruth Hayes

- Ruth Hayes

1 Small is bountiful: Many things can be grown indoors. Microgreens and herbs can be sown and grown on a windowsill and chilies are happy in a warm, well-lit kitchen.

2 Buy the right plants: Test your soil so you know its pH and don’t waste money on ‘wrong’ plants. Blueberries, for example, hate alkaline soil, while the cabbage family does well in it.

3 Grow prolific crops: Grow crops that you enjoy eating and produce generously, such as potatoes, beans, raspberries, and strawberries. Tomatoes too, though they do need lots of care.

4 Grow up! Think vertically. Plant trailing toms, salads, and herbs in hanging baskets, canes of dwarf peas and beans in containers and espalier fruit trees along a wall.