Turn your small spaces into an oasis of fresh food and herbs - Gayton gardener Jamie Marsh tells you how

In his weekly Jamie’s Little Allotment column, Gayton gardener Jamie Marsh takes us to his ‘happy place’ and explains how to grow your own…

Most of you will know how I love to be out on the allotment, and I try to grow as many fruit and vegetables as I possibly can for my family and friends. But if you’re new to my column, let me fill you in.

I’m very lucky to have a beautiful allotment/vegetable patch right behind my back garden. I’ve had it for five years and it really is my happy place. It’s where I spend most of my spare time, pottering about, getting my hands dirty, and growing delicious, chemical-free vegetables.

I know I’m fortunate to have my plot. But here’s the thing – you really don’t need a large space to grow your own fresh food. Over the past year or two, I’ve seen more and more people turning patios, balconies and even kitchen windowsills into little edible oases. And trust me, it doesn’t take much.

With a few pots, some imagination, and a bit of recycled magic, you can grow a surprising amount of produce. I’ve seen tomatoes thriving in old buckets, strawberries tumbling down from hanging baskets rescued from a car boot sale, and potatoes doing just fine in reused compost sacks.

One of the simplest and most satisfying things to grow – especially for beginners – is pea shoots. They’re brilliant in salads or in a sandwich. And best of all, they’ll grow just about anywhere. I’ve sprouted them in everything from takeaway tubs to big paper cups.

Once you’ve chosen your container fill it with peat-free compost. Sprinkle over some dried supermarket peas (yes, the ones from the bags in the aisle), cover with a thin layer of compost, give it a water and wait.

Within a few days, you’ll see them start to sprout. Once they’re about three-four inches tall, give them a trim and enjoy. The beauty is, they’ll grow back at least twice more from the same sowing.

If you’ve got a bit more space, the options widen. Tomatoes, courgettes, radishes, lettuce, chillies – they all do brilliantly in containers. Carrots are another great one, though they do, however, prefer a deeper container. One of my favourite container carrot stories comes from a friend who lives in the middle of town.

No garden, just a small concrete backyard. But that didn’t stop her. She found a couple of tall home-brewing buckets in a skip, drilled holes in the bottom, filled them with compost and sowed carrot seeds. A few weeks later, she had tops poking through, and not long after that, she was pulling up sweet homegrown carrots.

One of my own proudest projects was turning an old pallet into a fantastic planter. With just a few cuts with the saw, and several long screws, the pallet was transformed. I lined the inside with old compost bags then filled it with a 50/50 mix of compost and garden soil.

I’ve grown tomatoes in it and they did really well. But this year I’ve decided to turn it into a dedicated herb garden. I’m imagining it bursting with basil, parsley, thyme and maybe a bit of mint, nothing better than snipping some fresh herbs for dinner.

There’s something special about taking something destined for the bin and turning it into a food-producing pot. It saves money, reduces waste and there’s a real satisfaction in seeing plants grow in something you’ve rescued and reused.

So if you’ve ever thought you didn’t have the space or the kit to grow your own, I hope this gives you a bit of encouragement. All it takes is a container or something that can be turned into one, some compost, a packet of seeds and a little bit of patience.

There’s still plenty of time to get grow veg in containers this year so why not give it a go? I’d love to hear how you get on, here’s my email: Jamieslittleallotment@gmail.com