For a few years now we have been inspired to grow a few simple things ourselves. Although we have a moderate garden for a modern house it is not ready to grow a full assortment of vegetables. However, after seeing Gardener's World (I must be getting really old) we have tried growing potatoes in a plastic dustbin. We just drilled a few holes in the bottom to make sure the water can escape then filled the inside bottom 2" with stones and broken pots to act as drainage.

The soil this year was a mix of the garden soil which is Weald Clay and our own compost from a couple of bins that have been on the go for about a year. The seed potatoes came from Thompson & Morgan (sorry can't remember the variety) and were planted by Christopher in March.

As you can see the 4 seed potatoes have produced quite a good yield with minimal maintenance. It is hugely satisfying to grow your own vegetables, nuture the plants and then expectantly tip them out to see what you have produced. It is still a wonderful surprise to see golden yellow objects in the soil and to dig around to see how many have been produced.

 Ultimately we want to grow more food for ourselves from a couple of beds. But I have to slightly terrace the back of the garden and also add space for a swing chair for the late summer evenings (glad I didn't get round to it this year!). But it does show that you can grow just about anything yourself with a minimum amount of space. The children still get very excited at planting and then seeing the results. The crops also tested good and it is very rewarding to know what you are eating is what you have grown.