Today’s society is a fast-moving one. Sometimes people will go as far as to say that they do not have time to sleep. So when it comes to things like food, all too often we will simply settle for whatever the supermarket has left when we get there or worse, we will get a takeaway and ignore the consequences. But if you plan in advance, you can make changes that will benefit you in more ways than just in the pocket. By growing your own vegetables you can get nutrients that are missing from your diet when you get most meals from the convenience store or takeaway. You will also find that you’re spending less time going to and from shops.

Check out your local garden centre to see what kind of veg can be grown in your local area. Hotter climates mean more exotic vegetables, but most people no matter their geographical location can grow things like carrots, parsnips and other root vegetables. These can all go into the pot any evening of the week to bring texture, colour and taste to a meal and allow you the best intake of nutrients you could hope for. Grow some broccoli – a good cool-weather crop – too and you will get enough vitamins and minerals to allow you to fight off infections, as well as getting a mix of tastes on your plate that you will love.

One thing is certain – bananas are out unless you live in tropical climes. So, unsurprisingly, are things such as mango, pineapple and guava fruits. For these you will need to go to the supermarket if you live anywhere that requires you to wear a jacket most days. But this still leaves a lot of other options, many of which are going to be equally important in a healthy diet. What you can and cannot grow will depend on climate to some extent, but just as importantly on the size of your garden. You may not even have considered this question before, but would you be prepared to plant a tree?

If you have a big enough garden, planting a fruit tree is an idea that has a lot of upsides and few downsides. It will of course take some time to take hold, but once it does and begins to produce fruit, you will have a pretty constant supply of the fruit you love. Obviously citrus fruits like oranges and lemons will grow better in summer months, but if you get the correct rotation going you can have fresh fruit for years with a smaller initial outlay than you would think. Also think about fruits that grow closer to the ground – strawberries are just one fruit that does not depend on high temperatures to grow well. And if you grow strawberries, it’s not just at the greengrocer section you will save money – you can make your own jam too.

You don’t need to have a big garden to grow things that will benefit you for a long time to come. You don’t even need to have a garden at all if you go about things in the correct manner. What you will need is a little bit of spare time, the patience to wait things out and not get flustered when things don’t bloom as you had planned straight away, and the knowledge that it really is worthwhile. Without a doubt, you will benefit from sticking to these, and you could even find yourself a lucrative little sideline if you are clever about it. People will pay for fresh fruit and veg. They will also pay for flowering blooms, so if you go about things in the right way you will find that your work can actually make you money.

Of course, the lack of money means some scaling down in terms of ambition. But this does not need to be permanent or even long term. Starting small does not mean you have to keep thinking small. Once you start gardening you will get ideas for other things you can do, ways that you can make your plans come to life. And the best thing of all is that you can grow things which you will end up actually using – a casserole always tastes better when you have grown the veg yourself and you know there is more growing outside.

The type of tools that you will need will depend hugely on what kind of gardening you are looking to do, and what size of garden you have – or are looking to create. If you live in an apartment block and are just using a window box, then it makes very little sense to buy a large fork, spade and garden shears, for example. Every gardener at one time or another will need a trowel, though. Small or large as your garden may be, in order to make a hole for the seed, seedling or any other infant plant you will require one. A watering can is also pretty much essential in any gardening situation – without moisture in the soil a plant will wither.

For a larger garden, there is a definite benefit to having larger artillery, as it were. You may need to dig up quite a large area of soil depending on what you plant. If you are growing something quite delicate it is also worth investing in a net to put over it. As much as you may love your pets – or next door’s cat – they do have an insatiable curiosity which often manifests itself in trampling all over your delicate blooms. This is no help whatsoever when you are trying to coax them through their early days.

As with bringing together a dramatic cast, the vital element in creating a fantastic garden is variety. You don’t want everybody in your epic to look the same, or have similar lines. It is essential that you have interaction, light and shade (although this is gardening, so a bit more light than shade would be preferable). The colors need to contrast. A little bit of white here, a splash of red there – these are the actors who have done their time in the theater, have seen it all and done it all, and are essential to putting on a first rate show. They will bring everything together and stop it from getting too busy and chaotic.

Then you want your exciting young ingenues – splashes of color that might be a little bit risky but are essential to the energy of the piece. Vibrant yellows are particularly good – they bring a real boost in the vitality of any garden and really brighten it up. If you want to even out the contrast, then a deeper shade like purple can make a real impact. Orchids are good for the latter, while anything from daffodils to roses – even a sunflower or two if you are feeling brave. It all adds up, and the way you the director put it together is the difference between a Broadway hit and a complete stinker.

Whenever you are in the garden it is important to make sure that you are not putting an excess of strain on the body parts that are most used in gardening. While the process inevitably involves a lot of crouching and bending, it is utterly essential that you follow the old maxim “bend with the knees and not with the back”. It would be bitterly ironic if you took up gardening to have a little bit of rest and relaxation, only to throw out your back early on. Yet this is something that happens to a lot of us, because an inexperienced gardener will not be as aware of the pitfalls as a green-fingered old hand.

Your garden is for relaxing in, more than anything else. So when you are out doing a bit of work, make sure that you do not forget to take a rest every once in a while. Putting strain on your back or your knees for a prolonged period will not strengthen them – it could lead to quite a nasty injury if you are not careful. Having a cold drink every so often will refresh you and give you the energy to take on the longer jobs – and will take the strain of the parts that need resting. After all, you don’t want someone to ask how you got your injury and you have to tell them “gardening injury”.

Have you got a window? Yes? There you go, that is all you need in order to start. You will need to add a window box, but they are far from expensive and you can even make one yourself with some wood, some soil and a few rudimentary tools. Then you just need some seeds or seedlings, and you’re away. Natural light is not a problem, so all you need to do is water your plants regularly and make sure the soil has all the nutrients it needs. If that is not naturally the case – and good soil is usually available cheaply from any good garden centre – then you can buy plant food to give it that extra boost. No problem.

If you want to take things further, there are many areas of land given over to allotments. An allotment is a small spot of land that can be used to cultivate plants. As long as you are not using them for the growing of anything illegal, you are generally free to use them for any purpose that you see fit. They are generally quite affordable, and they allow more freedom and space than a window box or something similar. They allow you to learn the principles of gardening without having to move heaven and earth, and they are also a relaxing haven away from the cut and thrust of everyday life. See? Anyone can garden.

One solution that is certain to work is a greenhouse. OK, greenhouses are not cheap. So they are pretty much out of the question if you do not feel that you have the money to spend on getting perfect conditions for your gardening. But they are also not hideously expensive, particularly as there are so many different sizes of greenhouse. Are you a gardening fanatic with money to spend? Go for a big greenhouse and fill it with all sorts of different things? Do you specialise in a few things which are dependent on the correct elements? A smaller greenhouse will suffice perfectly. It won’t cost the earth, and it makes gardening a heck of a lot less hassle.

The advantage that a greenhouse has is that inside one, you control the elements. If you need it to be a certain temperature, then you set it to that temperature. If you need a certain amount of light, you can hook up artificial lights. Although they may not be the perfect substitute for direct sunlight, they are a whole lot better than no light at all. If you have a variety of plants which all need different levels of light and heat, then you can partition areas off for each separate section of your gardening repertoire. The great thing about having a greenhouse is that they give you an element of control that you cannot have over the outdoor climate, unless you are Mother Nature. And if you are, you don’t need this advice anyway.

Decent gardening equipment is very affordable these days and, if taken care of, is also very durable. As long as it is fit for purpose – and a quick trawl of the Internet will give you some idea of which brand names to look out for – then you have that covered as well. Then it becomes a matter of how you can control conditions. Now, you cannot control the weather and you cannot move your garden around to catch the light. But what you certainly can do is see to it that your plants have the best soil in which to thrive. What you will need in order to bring this about is good fertilizer. This can be bought, or it can be made. As different plants need nutrients in different amounts, you will be well served by researching fertilizers.

Lots of things that you will generaly just throw away without giving a second thought work very well in order to fertilize your plants. Depending on what you are growing, you may find that something you have been disposing of in your weekly garbage collection would actually work as well as – or better than – expensively purchased fertiliser. If you have a spare garbage can or similar, it may even be worth making your own compost. Just make sure that it is covered when not in use, because compost does have a tendency to smell a little bit ripe. Whatever you are growing, though, compost may just be the very thing you need to make it grow bigger, better and stronger.

Brussel Sprouts do particularly well in the first three months of the year, for example. Although unpopular with almost every child in the world, they are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals. And in some countries they are part of the traditional Christmas dinner. This is more the case in colder climates, when temperatures get lower earlier. Some veg, however, thrives a lot better in the summer months. If you want to grow peppers, the best time is from July onwards. They will still grow as late as December, but they will get the start they need if planted in summer. For green peppers, start in July, and for chili peppers it is fine to start a month later.

With the correct information to hand – and it is easy to find it on the Internet – you will find that along with the all-year-round standby veg you can grow, there are seasonable vegetables that reach their peak time in each season – meaning that you can have an excellent variety of fruit and veg all the year around, eating it when it is at its finest and getting a balanced, varied diet packed with the nutrients you need for energy, vitality and happiness. It really is worth the effort, and you will get a real sense of achievement from dishing up – and eating – a meal that you have grown and cooked yourself.