Gone are the days when you needed to rely on supermarkets for your supply of fruit and vegetables; you can now grow your own produce at, or near your home. Growing your own fruit and vegetables is a great way to help save the environment, while at the same time being a fun activity for you, your friends, and your family.

There are more benefits too. Growing your own fruit and veg can lead to cheaper shopping bills, more time spent outdoors in the fresh air, gentle exercise and a deeper understanding of nature. In terms of the places available to you to get started; you have the option of growing in your home, the garden or on a plot of land or allotment.

In the home If you don’t have a big (or any) garden, you can start a herb garden on your windowsill. This can be done with as little as an empty yoghurt pot with some earth and seeds. Of course, you may want to opt for the window box option instead; if you do this you could grow your own lettuces. If you have a balcony, you have plenty of space to grow tomatoes!

In the garden If you are lucky enough to have your own garden, you could dedicate a portion of it to your new green fingers for barrels of fruit and veg. With this you can grow anything from potatoes to runner beans to rhubarb and strawberries. It’s a good idea to place pegs labelling where each variety is planted so that you can keep track of where everything is!

Need more space? If the first two options aren’t for you, you could think about getting some allotment space instead. There may be a scheme nearby that you could get involved with or your local town or city may have a community garden scheme. Landshare is another scheme which matches up land with growers, and the National Trust also offers allotment space on their land.

If you’re keen on doing even more for the environment, try keeping you water, gas and electricity usage as low as possible. This should also lead to you getting a cheap gas or other utility bill. Always remember to carry plastic bags with you when shopping and recycle all that you can, to reduce the amount of waste being sent the landfill sites.

Philip Youngwoodwrites on number of energy related topics including how to get cheap gas bills.