It’s been big news over the past few days that many people have fallen ill due to a salmonella outbreak which has been traced to packaged lettuce sold in one of the major supermarkets here in Australia.

I don’t see these types of scares as necessarily a bad thing (although I’m sure those affected wouldn’t agree).  It might just get more people thinking about how their food is produced and where it’s coming from.  Lettuce is such an easy thing to grow and I love walking out to the garden and picking a few leaves to make a salad.

When I’m away from High-Water and working in the city, I live in a small city apartment.  Even though the apartment doesn’t have the space and luxury of a big garden, it’s still possible to grow food on a small balcony.

I use these self watering pots from GreenSmartPots.com at the city apartment and always have a ready supply of fresh greens for meals.

I like them because they are a tidy, off the shelf product that work and require very little maintenance.  They are also easy to relocate and ideal for people who are renting and don’t want a permanent garden. A purpose built stand can also be purchased for them which raises the pots up to bench height.

There are so many ready made and easy options available these days for busy people to grow food in small spaces.

and a soft option.

If people are really so time poor that they have to buy their lettuce already prepared in plastic bags one option is to buy a ready planted pot or vertical garden from someone like Tegan McBride who runs GardenofTegan.com.  Tegan can supply these time poor individuals with a fully functioning and productive garden that can sit on a balcony. Salmonella not included!