Sprouts
Microgreens
Various species
Ten-day salad upgrade — flavour-packed first-leaf seedlings on a windowsill.
Bright indoor light
Regular mist
Shallow compost or pad
Very easy
Yes
Tiny leaves
Annual
Indoor
1 L
5 cm
No specific companions — keep this one in its own pot.
Situations where this plant is a reliable fit — from someone's kitchen sill to a wind-blown rooftop.
Windowsill
Bright indoor light, small pot, no outdoor access — the classic kitchen sill.
Workplace desk
Office corner, moderate light, forgiving of weekends away.
Balcony
A few pots on a flat outdoor perch — some sun, some wind.
Ladder planter
A tilted step-ladder with a shallow tray on each rung — sun-facing, five tiers of herbs, salad and strawberries in the footprint of one pot.
Pallet wall garden
A wooden pallet stood upright and lined with landscape fabric — every slat becomes a shallow salad-or-herb pocket. Cheap, huge productive area, needs frequent watering.
Gutter garden
Lengths of plastic rain gutter stacked on a wall or fence — only 10 cm deep, but perfect for cut-and-come-again salad, spring onions and shallow-rooted herbs.
Pocket planter
A canvas or felt panel of sewn-in pockets, hung on a sunny wall — instant vertical garden, works well on a balcony rail too.
Wooden crate
A shallow wine or veg crate lined with hessian — perfect for salad and shallow-rooted herbs.
Water jar
A jam jar of water on the sill — no soil at all. Regrow from kitchen scraps.
Where to source
Get growing in United Kingdom
Shop local first
The best plants come from a real nursery, and the best trowel comes from the old-fashioned ironmonger down the road — people who know their stock and can advise. Try local first, both for the plant and the kit. It keeps small growers and small hardware shops alive.
Searching near London
For pots, compost, seed trays, twine and other kit — Amazon has the essentials if the local option isn't right. Not a plant nursery; use the local map above for the plant itself.
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