Taste test

Grow your own You can't beat fresh homegrown produce when it comes to taste. Plus there is the inevitable satisfaction that comes with it. But there's no need for a permanent vegie patch — there are plenty of edible plants you can easily grow in a pot. Try these three as the basis for a great Tuscan-style salad. Extract from Top 50 Edible Plants for Pots by Angie Thomas, published by Harper Collins, RRP $35. Basil

There’s no need to buy bunches of basil from the supermarket when you can easily grow your very own at home and pick fragrant handfuls of tender basil leaves exactly when you need them. Basil also produces pretty beeattracting flowers if left to mature.

How to grow Choose a pot at least 20cm wide that has good drainage holes. Position it outdoors in a warm, sunny spot during cooler seasons or a partly shaded spot in summer. It can also be grown indoors on a brightly lit windowsill. Basil plants are cold-sensitive and need to be protected from frost. Fill pot with a quality potting mix. If growing from seed, scatter a few seeds over the surface of the mix and cover with a 3mm layer of seedraising mix. If growing from seedlings, dig a small hole in the potting mix, plant a seedling and backfill gently with potting mix. Keep potting mix moist and seeds will take 10-12 days to germinate. Thin to the strongest seedling when 3-5cm tall. ✱ Basil can be picked from six weeks after sowing. Regularly harvesting leaves and stems will promote bushier growth and a longer season.

Tomatoes

Growing your own tomatoes means you can leave fruit to develop maximum flavour and sun-ripened sweetness.

How to grow Choose a pot at least 30cm wide with good drainage holes. Position in a sunny spot outdoors that receives at least six hours of direct sunlight daily.

Fill pot with a quality potting mix, firmly insert a tomato stake or cage for tall-growing varieties, and sow 2-3 seeds 3mm deep in one hole in the centre. Keep potting mix moist and feed plants each week with a potassium-rich plant food from the early seedling stage until harvest end. ✱ Tomatoes can be picked from about 12 weeks after sowing.

Cucumbers

Cucumbers are annual climbing plants that are surprisingly quick to produce their crisp, sweet fruit. Being climbers, they take up minimal space and can even be grown up a bare fence or wall.

How to grow Choose a pot at least 30cm wide with good drainage holes and position in a warm, sunny spot outdoors that receives at least six hours of direct sunlight a day.

Firmly insert a tripod or tomato cage into the potting mix for the plant to climb up. Alternatively, place next to a fence that has a supporting wire frame or trellis attached.

Sow 2-3 seeds 12mm deep in one hole in the centre of the pot. Keep potting mix moist. Seeds will germinate in 6-10 days. Cucumber flowers need to be pollinated — by bees, other beneficial insects or by hand — to form fruit. ✱ Cucumbers can be harvested from seven weeks after sowing. Regularly picking can help prolong harvest.

PANZANELLA SERVES 4

● 4 large heirloom tomatoes, cut into 1cm thick slices ● 100g assorted baby tomatoes, cut in half ● 8 baby cucumbers, sliced in half lengthways ● 4 mini capsicums, cut lengthways into quarters ● ½ red onion, thinly sliced ● 3 slices multigrain sourdough, cut into 2cm chunks and toasted ● 40g pitted kalamata olives, sliced in half ● 7 caper berries, sliced in half lengthways ● 2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar ● olive oil, for drizzling BASIL EMULSION ● 1 garlic clove, crushed ● large handful of basil leaves, torn ● ⅓ cup olive oil Arrange all the salad vegetables, sourdough chunks, olives and caper berries on a platter. Place the basil emulsion ingredients in a blender and pulse until you have a smooth sauce. Drizzle the basil emulsion over the salad. Sprinkle with the vinegar and a little more olive oil and season to taste. Serve immediately.

Recipe from Eat Plants, Be Happy! by Caroline Griffi ths & Vicki Valsamis, published by Smith Street Books, RRP $39.99.