People have been growing food plants for thousands of years and have done so — until recently — without the aid of chemicals such as fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides, or even gardening books to help them along.

They simply planted the seeds in prepared ground, sometimes with manure dug in and sometimes not, watered as necessary, gave protection if needed and harvested good, naturally-grown, organic produce. However, these days, the majority of new gardeners are under the impression that cultivating edible plants is an insurmountable challenge.

The reason for this may well be a complete overload of ‘essential’ information via the internet and television. Ignore all the guides and tips on the net, and just remember one thing: the ‘trick’ in cultivating food plants for the very first time is to stick to tried-and-tested varieties of fruits, vegetables, herbs and edible flowers that have been traditionally grown (with success) in your location for generations.

Tips on how to grow food plants without a garden

Vegetables such as turnips, cabbage, mooli, potatoes, tomatoes and beans may not be exactly what you envisage growing — broccoli, strawberries and celery sound far more exciting — but it is best to start out with climate-tolerant and robust species.

Learn as you go along and grow specialty crops when you have some experience. Starting with ‘exotic’ imported varieties can result in failure and if the first growing attempts end in disaster, many people decide not to try again.

What and where to grow if you don’t have a garden at your home

Balconies, verandas and rooftops are ideal places to grow a wide range of edibles in clay pots or containers all year round along as both wind and shade protection is given as needed. Windowsills are also great places to plant if you have no other open spaces in your house (more on that later).

In selecting clay pots and other containers for indoor or outdoor use, remember to ensure that they have adequate drainage and can be placed in trays to prevent excess water from staining windowsills and other surfaces.

Your pots can also add a dash of cheerful decor to your outdoor space. Choose containers with vibrant colours and attractive designs, and plant brightly-coloured edible flowers — calendulas and nasturtiums are ideal — amongst the vegetables and herbs to add a splash of colour.

It is easy to sow seeds too close together so be careful to space them out as required. Overcrowded seedlings develop too fast, becoming too tall and weak to give healthy crops.

Large, round, clay pots are an excellent option to grow vegetables such as mixed salad leaves of the cut-‘n’-come-again variety, spinach, Swiss chard, giant red mustard, French radish, stump-rooted carrots, cylindrical beetroot, trailing tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, aubergines, capsicums, tarragon and plectranthus.

If the soil is rich enough, courgettes are another wonderful vegetable to grow and, if well cared for, you will be rewarded with far more fruit than you can possibly eat.

Large clay pots are suitable for growing miniature orange and lemon trees, dwarf papayas, dwarf guavas and a wide variety of edible climbers, including Kiwi fruit, passion fruit and grapes (although these will need a strong frame to climb up and ramble over).

Nature outside your window

Windowsills, both inside and out, are excellent places to grow, provided you select suitable clay pots as they retain moisture longer than plastic ones. If you’re willing to splurge a bit, building made-to-fit window boxes is worth it, especially for outdoor use.

Remember, however, that a sunny windowsill in Pakistan in the summers does not equate with one in a much cooler climate country such as England. However, a windowsill is still an ideal place to grow plants, especially herbs, here in the winter.

Herbs flourish in our winter weather but require plenty of exposure to direct sunlight. The most suitable ones for indoor winter windowsill cultivation are thyme, oregano, marjoram, basil and chives. However, please pay attention when selecting seeds or nursery-grown plants as it is best to stick to low-growing varieties which won’t block the window.

Sunny outdoor windowsills are great for growing exactly the same species as for indoor ones, as well as for plants such as trailing tomatoes, trailing nasturtiums and trailing beans.

Shady windowsills (located inside or out) are ideal for growing arugula, mint, chives, sorrel and Swiss chard although the aforementioned is better grown outside as its ornamental, very tasty, orange, red, yellow or white ribbed leaves can grow to a large size.

If you have limited windowsill space at your disposal, then instead of growing a lot of one species go for small amounts of many plants.

Slowly, taking one sure step at a time, anyone, no matter how inexperienced, can create a magnificent edible urban garden, indoors or out, all of their very own.

Please continue sending your gardening queries to zahrahnasir@hotmail.com. Remember to include your location. The writer does not respond directly by email. Emails with attachments will not be opened.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, December 18th, 2016