If you have little or no space to garden, go potty suggests Gillian Vine.
As gardens began to shrink some 30 years ago, alongside a push for low-maintenance sections, home-grown vegetables and fruit were the first casualties.
Suddenly vegetables are back, with everyone from Jamie Oliver to American First Lady Michelle Obama proclaiming their virtues.
Don't worry if you have downsized: a lot of edibles can be grown in pots or recycled containers from old laundry baskets to tatty office in-trays.
Op shops, white elephant stalls at school fairs and church jumble sales are a good place to look for suitable containers.
At this time of year, the number of vegetables to be grown in pots is limited, but silverbeet is perfect for pots and the Bright Lights type is so decorative it can be put alongside flowers.
Pick leaves from the outside so new leaves can continue to develop.
Mustard Streaks are happy growing through the winter and add a piquant touch to stir-fried dishes.
Perennial herbs can be planted now.
Grow horseradish, mint, oregano and marjoram in big pots or an old laundry tub to stop these potentially invasive herbs misbehaving and taking over the entire garden.
Thyme, parsley and sage are good subjects for container growing, and if you retrieve that old in-tray from the office rubbish bin, it will be perfect for mustard and cress.
Some fruit trees are happy in pots and can be highly decorative, especially when in bloom.
Order them now for winter planting.
Worth considering are small figs, such as Ventura, lemons and kaffir limes.
Most citrus need winter protection, so be like the Italians and have them in large pots, outside in summer and under cover in winter.
Dwarf stonefruit trees include nectarines, peaches and apricots, all suitable for pot culture and very hardy, while the adventurous gardener with plenty of space for indoor plants may like to try growing coffee.
The appeal is not the beans - in a good year you may harvest enough for half a cup of coffee - but the white flowers, which have a lovely perfume.
With most potted plants, the biggest cause of crop failure is inadequate watering.
Poor drainage can be an issue, too, but is readily overcome by sitting pots on decorative feet or on pieces of wood or bricks so the drainage holes are not blocked.
Spring is the time to get into container-grown veges, but it is worth deciding now what you want to grow and buy the seed as soon as the new seasons stock appears in garden centres.
Lettuce, baby beets (Bonny Baby is recommended) and radishes do well in pots, provided their roots are kept cool, and for something different, try some tiny, round-rooted Parmex carrots if you can assure them of potting mix or fine soil to a depth of at least 10cm.
Growing a potato in a bucket is a popular competition for garden clubs and is a practical way for those with little or no garden of having their own new potatoes.
By using several buckets and staggering planting, crops can be harvested over several weeks.
Taste your own produce and you'll be hooked.
