Only the most robust lettuce varieties make it into those mixed bags from the supermarket, having been washed, prepared and packed before transporting. By the time they reach us, they are less than fresh. Why not try your hand at growing the most flavoursome varieties, then all you have to do is walk them from your plot to your plate, or bowl. I often eat my lunch on the go in the garden as I weed or work. Here’s how to get started …

LETTUCE

Lettuces are broken down into two broad categories: they either heart up or they don’t, though there are a few that want to keep a foot in both camps. Hearting types include cos (called romaine in the US), semi-cos, (Little Gem, for instance) and the flat or cabbage type, which are subdivided into butterheads or crispheads. Non-hearting types include loose-leaf and stem lettuces. Loose-leaf types are best for long-picking production because without a heart you can pick individual leaves as you require. My favourites are the oak leaf varieties that have deeply lobed leaves and the “Lollo” types which are deeply curled. They have very tender leaves that are easily damaged by hail, wind and rain and wilt like wet handkerchiefs soon after picking, so do so at the last minute. Varieties include “Mascara”, “Freckles”, “Lollo Rosso”, “Salad Bowl” (green and red), “Frisby”, “Catalogna” (oakleaf). 

For space, efficiency and best use of seeds, I start nearly all my lettuce off in seed trays and then prick out into modules. If planting in early spring, I raise all my seed indoors to transplant to modules outdoors. By May, I start planting outside. I plant 15cm (6in) apart for small plants, 25cm (10in) for large butterheads, Batavian and large cos. Lettuces germinate at quite low temperatures and very poorly at temperatures over 25oC (77oF) so if you are sowing at peak summer temperatures you need to sow in early afternoon so that the most critical period of germination (a couple of hours after sowing) takes place in cooler evening temperatures.

Once a basil plant flowers, the leaves become less sweet, the stem becomes woody and the plant loses interest in producing more leaves, sending all its energy into creating the next generation. But don’t pull up flowering basil unless you are very short on space as the flower spikes will attract pollinators if grown outside, and the leaves are a lovely addition to cocktails.

There are numerous basil cultivars: huge-leaved forms for salads, lemon and lime-scented leaves, red, yellow and sweet green ones. You can amass quite a collection. I couldn’t live without “Sweet Genovese”, a compact, very aromatic Italian form that’s perfect for pesto. “Piccolino,” sometimes sold as Greek basil, is a lovely, dwarf basil that makes a neat mound of leaves. You’ll need at least four plants for regular kitchen use, but it’s the only one I’ve found that is suitable for growing outside.

The lettuce-leaved Italian variety “Foglia di Lattuga” has huge leaves the size of your hand, perfect for wrapping round a warm, vine-ripened tomato. You need to grow a single plant in a 30cm (12in) pot. If you overcrowd, you just get small leaves and slug fodder, so you need to keep on top of that, but when you finally get there, it’s quite something.

CHILLIES

Chillies are grown in a very similar manner to tomatoes. If I had to choose for space between chillies and toms, I would favour chillies because you can just grow more of them and they store so well over winter. Chillies germinate at roughly the same temperatures as toms, but take a lot longer. They do however need to be sown early to get a good crop.

I sow mine in mid-to-late winter, though you can continue to sow in spring. They can take over two weeks to germinate, so stay patient, and they germinate much better with a propagation lid as germination is hindered if the soil surface dries out. Once up, the seedlings needs to stay a bit warmer than toms, doing best around 18–25oC (64–77oF). They are also very hungry, so will need potting on every time the roots poke out the bottom of the drainage holes.

You can grow chillies in pots or in the ground in a greenhouse or very sheltered spot outside. You certainly get very good heat in chillies that grow in the ground, but it does need to be very warm outside to keep most happy, though there are a few reliable outdoor cropping varieties.

Prune young plants by nipping out the growing tip to promote bushy growth and more flowers. Some varieties produce something called the king chilli, which is the first fruit that appears at the first axis in the plant. If you leave this one to develop, it inhibits further flowering by concentrating a lot of the growth into this single fruit, so take it off. Once flowers appear, feed plants weekly. The size of the plant will determine the size of pot. Dwarf ones can be grown in pots as small as 15cm (6in), but I’d choose the largest pot you have to hand, otherwise you will be watering like mad. Chillies need to dry out between watering. Oh, and they hate draughts at all stages of life.

Capsicum pubescens “Rocoto Red” (also known as “Manzano”) is a mindblowingly hot but brilliantly flavoured chilli that resembles a miniature bell pepper with distinct black seeds. Fruits start off green and mature deep red; there’s also a deep purple form. It’s a huge plant so needs a big 15-litre pot. “Early Green Jalapeño” is one jalapeño that will ripen in short seasons. It has the distinct corky marks on the skin, great flavour and is perfect for pickling. “Lemon Drop” is a lovely, tasty yellow chilli with lemon scent and flavour and the chilies dry well too. It is a big, vigorous plant, so give it a 15-litre pot and you’ll get loads of fruit, ripening in early autumn.

“Prairie Fire” is a dwarf variety that is super-spicy, but so beautiful. The chillies start off yellow and ripen to bright red. If you don’t have a greenhouse, a plant is happy on a windowsill. “Numex Twilight” is another dwarf variety that’s good for pots and highly ornamental. The fruit are upright, small and spicy. They start off purple, then turn yellow, orange and eventually, red.

Eat What You Grow by Alys Fowler, with photography by Roo Lewis, Kyle Books, is out now.