The perfect guide—with delicious recipes for everyday eating—for anyone who wants their garden to provide what the grocery store cannot and do so as simply as possible in any size space.

Most gardening books for small spaces focus on how you can get the greatest volume of produce out of your garden. In Grow Your Own Lunch, Martha Swales takes a different approach.

No matter the size of your growing space—from windowsills to raised beds and medium veg patches—this book teaches readers which varieties of herbs, fruits, and vegetables are both easiest to grow and most flavorful. And not just that, she has also provided more than 30 recipes with her favorite ways to make these special, intriguing varieties.

With her signature approachable voice and decades of expertise, Martha encourages readers to focus on ease and flavor, transforming not just their garden spaces but their everyday meals into something different and exciting. Readers will dig into questions such as: why grow regular basil (which you can find at the grocery store) when you can grow Thai basil, cinnamon basil, lemon basil, and so many other unique varieties instead? Why grow potatoes when you can grow sweet potatoes and eat the leaves too? Martha provides the practical information needed to answer those questions and transform your growing space with projects like setting up an indoor grow-light garden, growing in pots, planning four successional garden squares for your small garden, using cold frames to extend the growing season, and a chapter on perennials. 

Recipes include:

• Homemade chili salt 

• Windowsill pesto 

• Mustard greens crispy pancakes 

• Tomato summer puddings 

About The Author

Martha Swales is an avid urban gardener who has been growing her own food since her early twenties and now has well over a decade of experience. She has amassed over a million followers on Instagram with her simple down to earth how-to gardening guides on social media. Largely focusing on growing food in small spaces, she is also passionate about gardening for wildlife and growing an abundance of flowers. Her goal is to demystify gardening and make it accessible to as many people as possible, so they can have the confidence to take advantage of whatever space they have. 

Alongside her love of gardening, Martha is a TV Producer and Director with a passion for cooking and has worked with some of the best loved foodies in the UK, including Nigella Lawson, Michel Roux, Ainsley Harriot, Grace Dent and John Torode.

Under the handle @marfskitchengarden, she has a thriving social media presence of 1.1 million Instagram followers.  

She also co-hosts a podcast, "Home Grown with Martha and Jamie", with fellow grower and social media star Jamie Walton aka Nettles + Petals.