The beautiful weather we’ve had recently will have gotten many of you out in your gardens tending to spring blooms and seeds for the coming summer months.

As well as ornamental flowers and shrubs, now is the time to think about what you can grow to eat. Cut down those food miles by harvesting your own veg and taking it on the short journey from yard, garden or allotment to your own kitchen!

If like me you don’t have space for a sizeable vegetable plot there are still ways to produce your own nutritious and seasonal food.

Let’s start with leafy greens. Window boxes and patio tubs are ideal for growing a wide variety of salad leaves and lettuces.

The bitter tangy tasting types like rocket, watercress, mustard greens and mizuna help stimulate the production of digestive enzymes that break down foods in your stomach and small intestines.

Enjoying a salad of mixed bitter leaves with lemon juice and apple cider vinegar dressing as a starter can help you digest your larger main meal and reduce bloating and discomfort after eating.

Growing your own leaves also means you avoid the cocktail of gases used in the Modified Atmospheric Packaging process of salad bags as you only need pick the leaves when you’re ready to eat them.

Potatoes and certain varieties of baby carrots and beetroots can be grown in tubs and sacks in a yard or patio too, just remember to water frequently and thoroughly.

Juicing home grown beetroots is a great food remedy for hypertension. The beets supply nitric oxide, a natural compound that dilates blood vessels and aids blood pressure balance.

Tubs and hanging baskets can be used to grow cherry tomatoes. These are packed with B-vitamins and the powerful antioxidant lycopene; a nutrient linked with protection against prostate cancer. The lycopene is easier to digest and absorb after the tomatoes have been cooked so use your tomatoes to make sauces and soups.

To complement the tomatoes, grow a few basil plants on a sunny windowsill or in a greenhouse. As a member of the mint family basil has similar properties to peppermint, with active compounds that soothe digestion.

If the only space you have to grow food is your kitchen windowsill then herbs and sprouted seeds are ideal. Sprouting seeds is simple and quick: place the seeds in a glass jar (special sprouting jars and seeds are available in local healthstores), rinse daily and watch them grow. Then add to salads, sandwiches or sprinkle over cooked dishes.

The sprouts are bursting with protein, vitamins, minerals and plant enzymes – literally all the energy and nutrients that would be needed to grow a full plant. Alfalfa seeds, mung beans and green lentils are good to start with as they sprout well and taste delicious in summer salads.

With so many options even the smallest of spaces can produce home grown food so I hope you feel inspired to get planting!

Sally Duffin is a nutritional therapist and writer based in Holgate, York.