Grow your health

Pepper, herbs and greens you can grow at home, even in a pot.

Fresh pepper, scent leaf and spring onion give the pot the flavour people use a second cube for. Greens and garden eggs are the vegetables the food guides ask for. A pot, a sack or a corner of the compound is enough to start.

• PepperKpakpo shito, scotch bonnet, ata rodo, pilipiliEasyPot · Sack · GardenNeeds a warm spot outside Africa›

  On your plate. Heat and flavour without salt. Fresh pepper is the taste people reach for a second cube to get.

  How to start

  1. Dry the seeds from a pepper you bought, or buy seed.
  2. Sow a few seeds in a small pot of soil, just under the surface. Keep it damp.
  3. When the seedlings are a hand tall, move the strongest one to a bigger pot or the garden.
  4. Full sun. Water when the top of the soil is dry.

  When, in Africa. Any time of year if you can water it; otherwise at the start of the rains.

  When, outside Africa. Sow indoors in early spring. Keep it on the sunniest windowsill, or put it outside only in the warm summer months.

  Ready. About 3 to 4 months from seed. One plant keeps giving for months.

  Light soup with fish Okra stew with fish Kontomire stew Groundnut soup with chicken Spice rack
• Scent leafNunum, efirin, nchanwu, daidoya, African basilEasyPot · GardenNeeds a warm spot outside Africa›

  On your plate. Perfumes soups and stews without salt. Add it near the end of cooking.

  How to start

  1. Easiest from a cutting: take a stem from a friend's plant, pull off the bottom leaves and stand it in water.
  2. When roots show, after a week or two, plant it in a pot of soil.
  3. Sun or light shade. Pinch off the tips and flowers so it stays bushy.

  When, in Africa. Any time. It grows all year.

  When, outside Africa. Grow it in a pot on a sunny windowsill. It can go outside in summer but must come in before the cold.

  Ready. Leaves to pick in about 6 to 8 weeks from a cutting.

  Spice rack
• BasilEasyWindowsill · PotGrows outside Africa›

  On your plate. Close to scent leaf where scent leaf is hard to find. Flavour without salt.

  How to start

  1. Sow seed in a small pot, or keep a supermarket basil plant alive: split it into three pots.
  2. Sun and warmth. Water from below if you can.
  3. Pick the top leaves first so it branches.

  When, in Africa. Any time if you can water it.

  When, outside Africa. On a sunny windowsill all year, or outside in summer.

  Ready. About 4 to 6 weeks.

  Spice rack
• Spring onionGreen onion, scallionEasyWindowsill · PotGrows outside Africa›

  On your plate. Onion flavour for stews, eggs and rice, so the pot needs less cube.

  How to start

  1. Keep the white root ends of spring onions you bought, about two fingers long.
  2. Stand them in a little water for a few days, then plant them in a pot.
  3. Cut the green tops when you need them. They grow back.

  When, in Africa. Any time.

  When, outside Africa. Indoors on a windowsill all year, or outside from spring to autumn.

  Ready. New green tops in 2 to 3 weeks.

  Spice rack
• LemongrassFever grassEasyPot · GardenNeeds a warm spot outside Africa›

  On your plate. A warm drink without sugar, instead of a fizzy drink or sweet tea.

  How to start

  1. Stand a few stalks from the market in water until roots grow.
  2. Plant them in a big pot or the ground. Full sun.
  3. Cut stalks from the outside of the clump.

  When, in Africa. Any time. It grows all year.

  When, outside Africa. In a pot on a sunny windowsill, or outside in summer. Bring it in before the cold.

  Ready. About 3 to 4 months.

• Green leaves (amaranth)Aleefu, efo tete, mchicha, callalooEasyPot · Sack · GardenGrows outside Africa›

  On your plate. Leafy greens for stew. More vegetables in the pot, and a filling plate with less starch.

  How to start

  1. Scatter the tiny seeds on damp soil and press them in lightly.
  2. Water every day while small. Sun.
  3. Cut the leaves and tips; it grows back for weeks.

  When, in Africa. Any time if you can water it; best in the rains.

  When, outside Africa. Outside in summer, or in a sunny window. Seed from African and Caribbean shops.

  Ready. Fast: about 4 to 6 weeks.

• Kontomire (cocoyam leaves)EasySack · GardenHard outside the tropics›

  On your plate. The green in kontomire stew. Cook it well: raw cocoyam leaves sting the mouth.

  How to start

  1. Plant a small cocoyam, or the top of one, in damp soil.
  2. Light shade and plenty of water. It likes a wet corner.
  3. Pick young leaves. Always cook them well.

  When, in Africa. At the start of the rains, in a damp, shady corner.

  When, outside Africa. Hard outside the tropics. Spinach or kale give the same green stew.

  Ready. Young leaves in about 2 to 3 months.

  Kontomire stew
• Kale, collards or spinachSukuma wikiEasyPot · GardenGrows outside Africa›

  On your plate. Greens for stew where kontomire or aleefu are hard to find.

  How to start

  1. Sow seed in a pot or bed, a finger apart. Thin them to a hand apart.
  2. Sun or light shade. Water often.
  3. Pick the outer leaves; the middle keeps growing.

  When, in Africa. Best in cooler places and the cooler months.

  When, outside Africa. Sow in spring or late summer. Kale stands the cold well.

  Ready. About 6 to 8 weeks.

  Kontomire stew
• Garden eggsNyadowa, anara, African eggplantEasyPot · Sack · GardenNeeds a warm spot outside Africa›

  On your plate. Makes stews and light soup fuller, so a smaller ball of fufu or banku is enough.

  How to start

  1. Take seeds from a ripe garden egg or buy seed. Sow in a small pot.
  2. Move the best seedling to a big pot or the garden after about 5 weeks.
  3. Full sun. Water when the soil is dry.

  When, in Africa. At the start of the rains, or any time if you can water.

  When, outside Africa. Start indoors in spring. Needs a greenhouse, a sunny conservatory or a hot summer.

  Ready. About 3 to 4 months from seed.

  Light soup with fish Groundnut soup with chicken
• OkraNkruma, ila, bamiaEasySack · GardenNeeds a warm spot outside Africa›

  On your plate. A vegetable that thickens soup, so it needs less oil and less meat to feel rich.

  How to start

  1. Soak the seeds overnight, then sow them a finger deep.
  2. Full sun and heat.
  3. Pick the pods young and small, every two days.

  When, in Africa. At the start of the rains.

  When, outside Africa. Needs heat: a greenhouse, or outside only where summers are hot.

  Ready. About 2 months from seed.

  Okra stew with fish
• TomatoesEasyPot · Sack · GardenGrows outside Africa›

  On your plate. Fresh tomatoes in place of tin tomatoes or paste, which often carry added salt.

  How to start

  1. Sow seed in a small pot, then move each plant to its own big pot or sack.
  2. Full sun. Tie it to a stick as it grows.
  3. Water often and evenly, at the soil, not the leaves.

  When, in Africa. In the cooler, drier months, or with water at any time.

  When, outside Africa. Sow indoors in spring and put them outside once the nights are warm.

  Ready. About 3 to 4 months from seed.

  Light soup with fish Lighter jollof rice Okra stew with fish Spice rack
• Beans (cowpeas)Black-eyed beans, ewaEasySack · GardenNeeds a warm spot outside Africa›

  On your plate. Beans fill you up for longer than starch alone, and help keep blood sugar steadier.

  How to start

  1. Sow dry beans from the market, two fingers deep.
  2. Sun. Not too much water once they are growing.
  3. The young leaves can be cooked as greens. Pick the pods when dry.

  When, in Africa. At the start of the rains.

  When, outside Africa. Outside after the last frost, in a warm sunny spot.

  Ready. Young leaves in about 4 weeks; dry beans in about 3 months.

  Red red with grilled plantain
• Sobolo leaves (roselle)Bissap, zobo, sorrelEasySack · GardenHard outside the tropics›

  On your plate. Your own sobolo, made with less sugar than the bought kind.

  How to start

  1. Sow seed at the start of the rains, a finger deep.
  2. Full sun. Thin to one plant every arm's length.
  3. Pick the red cups around the seed pods when they are fat.

  When, in Africa. At the start of the rains.

  When, outside Africa. Needs a long hot season. Only in a greenhouse outside the tropics.

  Ready. The red cups in about 5 to 6 months. The young leaves can be cooked sooner.

  Sobolo with less sugar
• MoringaDrumstick tree, zogaleEasySack · GardenHard outside the tropics›

  On your plate. A leafy green for soup. Eat it as a vegetable; it does not replace your tablets.

  How to start

  1. Sow seed, or plant a thick cutting, in a sunny spot.
  2. It grows into a tree fast. Cut the top to keep it low.
  3. Pick the small leaves and add them to soup near the end.

  When, in Africa. Any time. It stands dry weather.

  When, outside Africa. Only as an indoor pot plant outside the tropics.

  Ready. Leaves in about 2 to 3 months.

• GingerPot · GardenNeeds a warm spot outside Africa›

  On your plate. Flavour for soups, stews, sobolo and tea, without salt or sugar.

  How to start

  1. Buy a fat piece of fresh ginger with small bumps (buds) on it.
  2. Plant it just under the soil in a wide pot, buds up.
  3. Light shade, and keep it damp but not wet.

  When, in Africa. At the start of the rains.

  When, outside Africa. Start indoors in spring in a warm spot. Keep it indoors or in a greenhouse.

  Ready. Slow: about 8 to 10 months. You can take a small piece from the side earlier.

  Light soup with fish Red red with grilled plantain Groundnut soup with chicken Sobolo with less sugar Spice rack
• GarlicPot · GardenGrows outside Africa›

  On your plate. Flavour for the pot without salt.

  How to start

  1. Split a bulb into cloves. Plant each clove pointed end up, a finger deep.
  2. Sun, and not too much water.
  3. Lift the bulbs when the leaves turn yellow.

  When, in Africa. Grows best in cooler places and the cool, dry season. It struggles in hot lowlands.

  When, outside Africa. Plant cloves in autumn and lift them the next summer.

  Ready. Slow: about 6 to 9 months.

  Spice rack

Growing food is a way to cook with less salt and more vegetables. It does not replace your medicines. Times are rough and depend on where you live.