There’s something so wholesomely satisfying about gardening: it’s good for the soul, improves health and wellbeing and can lift the greyest of moods.

During self-isolation the garden can be a welcome haven of tranquillity or a busy hive of activity where seeds can be sown and fresh produce harvested.

Since lockdown began thousands of householders have harvested an appetite for growing their own fruit and veg. A third of a million people have visited the Royal Horticultural Society’s Grow Your Own website pages for advice on how to grow potatoes, tomatoes and strawberries.

The good news is you don’t need lots of space to create a veg patch; salad and vegetables are easy to grow in the garden, on a balcony or indoors on a sunny windowsill. With a bit of careful tlc you will soon be reaping the rewards and enjoying the fruits of your labour.

Now is the perfect time to grow vegetables such as carrots, leeks, lettuce, beetroot and spinach or to plant herbs to use in the kitchen (chives, mint, parsley and coriander are quick to grow). Seeds can be ordered online and some local nurseries are running a plant delivery service.

As a trip to the garden centre is off limits at the moment, you can upcycle everyday household items to use as plant pots and seed trays. Cardboard toilet roll tubes are great to sow peas in, old plastic tubs or yoghurt pots are good to use for plant pots (make sure you make a few holes in the bottom for drainage) and egg boxes make perfect seed trays. You can also make cloches out of plastic bottles by cutting them in half to protect plants from the cold and wind whilst they are growing.

Cotswold veg patch newbie Daisy Payne, who’s sharing her veg growing journey on Instagram and YouTube, says anyone can create an edible garden no matter how much space they have.

“Even if you don’t have a garden you can grow a range of things in small pots, or if you have a garden get digging a vegetable patch!” she says.

“To get started you’ll need seeds, a pot, some peat-free compost (ideally for seeds and cuttings, but it doesn’t matter if not), a sunny window spot and some water. That’s literally it!

“I would recommend growing simple salad first, such as spinach or little gem lettuce, as well as easy root vegetables like carrots and parsnips. If you have some pots you can plant tomatoes and peppers in them.

“This week I have sown my lettuce. It’ll take around five to seven days to germinate and then it’ll go into the cold frame before the vegetable patch. I have sprouts and leeks in the patch already, together with parsnips and carrots. In pots, I have young tomato plants that I grew from seed, as well as baby peppers and courgettes.”

Daisy’s guide to sowing lettuce:

1. Start with an old egg box, put a hole in each egg compartment using a screwdriver

2. Add some compost (either multipurpose or seed and cutting compost), leaving a little space at the top

3. Pat the compost down with your hand

4. Sprinkle the seeds gently into each compartment

5. Cover the seeds with a layer of compost and some vermiculite if you have it (but it’s not essential)

6. Pat the compost down gently and water

7. Place the egg box somewhere warm (a sunny windowsill is perfect)

8. The seeds should germinate within 7 days

For more veg patch tips take a look at Daisy’s Instagram @gardentogarnish or tune in to her YouTube tutorials.

Stay at home (and garden)