Since moving to the UK, I finally decided to take the plunge and try growing my own vegetables at home while I have some extra time on my hands. We don’t have a big garden, but we do have a conservatory — and it turns out, it’s the perfect place to start my little indoor growing adventure.
I chose a simple selection of plants to start with:
- Lettuce 🥬
- Spring onions 🌱
- Sweet peppers 🫑
- Tomatoes 🍅
Planting the First Seeds
It all started with a good potting mix, a little compost and some tiny seeds in pots lined up on the conservatory ledge. The sunlight streaming through the glass created a mini-greenhouse effect, and before long, I saw those first little green shoots appear. Even the smallest sprout felt like a huge success!
Watching Them Grow
Every day, I’d peek into the conservatory to see what had changed overnight. Most days also meant watering — sometimes almost daily depending on how warm it got outside — and every week or two I gave each plant a little boost of fertilizer, adjusting depending on what they needed.
The lettuce and spring onions were fairly straightforward, growing steadily without much fuss. The sweet peppers were slower and more patient, taking their time to put on growth.
The tomatoes, though, were a real challenge. They shot up so quickly that it felt like every time I checked, they had stretched another few inches. With that rapid growth came problems — stems folding, branches snapping, and even one plant where the main stem broke under its own weight. I soon learned that supports were essential, and I started with easy-to-build, plastic supports to keep them upright.
Another lesson was pruning. Some days I’d come out to find branches bent or broken, so I began trimming and shaping them regularly to encourage healthier growth. 📸 above shows the rough state my tomatoes were in before pruning took place.
It wasn’t always smooth sailing, but each challenge taught me something new about how to care for them — and that made the process even more rewarding.
First Harvest: Lettuce!
The very first harvest was lettuce, and it felt amazing to pick something grown right inside my own home. Eating a fresh salad made from leaves I’d grown myself was such a rewarding moment. Nothing from the supermarket compares to the crispness and freshness of homegrown!
Looking Ahead
For now, I’m still waiting on the spring onions, sweet peppers, and tomatoes, but watching them develop is part of the fun. The conservatory has truly become a little sanctuary of green, and I can’t wait to see what the next harvest brings. 📸 below is the current state of my little greenhouse. 💚
This is only the beginning of my indoor growing journey, and I’m excited to share more updates as everything continues to flourish. 🌿
If you have any helpful tips or suggestions, questions about the journey or want to share your own successes, I would love to hear every single one!
Plates n Places 