How to Start a Vegetable Garden (Even in Small Spaces or Pots) [VIDEO]

by Andrea Holwegner | May 9, 2022

Try Growing Your Own Vegetables!

Growing vegetables in a garden or pots are one of the best ways to boost your nutrition this spring and summer. The good news is that it is simple, you don’t need as much space as you think and there are plenty of local resources to help you succeed.

What are the 3 key things in vegetables that make them so nutritious for us?

1. Fiber

Fibre promotes good digestive health but also lowers cholesterol, stabilizes blood sugar, protects against diabetes, and can help you keep full to help you move towards your personal best weight.

2. Vitamins and Minerals

Fresh veggies contain more vitamins and minerals per calorie than any other food group. Variety is the spice of life, and the best way to get a wide variety of all the vitamins and minerals you need for good health.

3. Phytochemicals

Phytochemicals are protective compounds in plant-based foods that have health-promoting and disease preventative effects. Since there are hundreds of phytochemicals in vegetables and these can’t be consumed in a supplement, be sure to eat a variety of veggies each day to maximize your health.

What can you do if you don’t have a large amount of space to grow a vegetable garden?

There are three ways to grow a vegetable garden:

Plant one in your yard if you have space and plenty of sun.
Plant container gardens by placing in planters/pots on sunny decks.
Join a community garden and rent a plot.

Another option is to consider a U-pick farm or visit your local farmers market (such as these ones in Calgary where I live here: local YYC Farmers Markets) if you want the benefits of a garden but don’t have the space or time to do it yourself. You can also go with a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program such as this local one where I live in the Calgary area by YYC Growers & Distributors.

Growing vegetables: What should I plant?

If you don’t have much space consider lettuce, kale, swiss chard, arugula, spinach, herbs and tomatoes in containers and planters. Cut salad greens as they are ready and reseed once the plant goes to seed or becomes bitter in taste. If you have additional space and/or a plot consider adding carrots, beets, radishes, potatoes, onion, garlic and squash. Other great perennial options that take some time to establish include asparagus, raspberries, strawberries and rhubarb.

WATCH this archived video from my previous Global Calgary TV interview here:

What are the key nutrients in your garden?

Root Vegetables (carrots, potatoes, beets, sweet potatoes, yams, turnips, parsnips etc.)

Potassium, fibre, vitamin C, carbohydrates
Orange, yellow, and red roots have high concentrations of beta carotene and other antioxidants associated with a decrease in cancer and heart disease.

Allium vegetables (onion, garlic)

Organosulfur compounds (allylic sulfides) inhibit blood clotting, reduce blood cholesterol levels, and lower the risk of some cancers.
Vitamin C, potassium, and trace minerals.

Cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, radishes, turnips etc.)

Carotenoids – cancer preventative compound found in deep green and red varieties
Vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, vitamin K, fibre
Indoles – lower cholesterol levels and protect against cancer – especially breast cancer

Squash (zucchini, yellow/acorn/spaghetti/butternut, pumpkin)

Deep yellow and orange varieties like pumpkin, butternut, and acorn squash are rich in carotenoids.
Potassium, B-vitamins, vitamin C, folic acid, fibre, and carbohydrates.

Peppers (sweet bell peppers and hot peppers)

Vitamin C, minerals, fibre
Red and green peppers contain carotenoids
Hot peppers contain capsaicin – lowers cholesterol etc.
In general the riper (redder) varieties are higher in nutrients than the unripe (greener) varieties.

Greens (Romaine Lettuce, leaf lettuce, spinach, kale, arugula, dandelion greens etc.)

The deeper the green the better nutrient density!
Beta-carotene, fibre, calcium, iron, vitamin C, vitamin K
Folic acid – reduces the risk of heart disease and neural tube birth defects
Spinach is high in lutein – slows macular degeneration of the eye

Fruits (tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, saskatoons etc.)

Tomatoes and tomato based products (bruschetta, salsa, canned stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce) contain lycopene which reduces the risk of prostate, lung, stomach, breast and colon cancer.
Berries are especially high in phytochemicals including cancer preventative carotenoids and are some of the highest fibre fruits around. Soluble fibre in berries help to reduce cholesterol.

Helpful Home Garden Resources

Creating Your Own Edible Small Space Garden by Food Bloggers of Canada

Growing Vegetables by Green Gate Garden Center

Planning Your First Edible Garden from Truc Nguyen, CBC

How to Start a Vegetable Garden from Canadian Living

How to Start a Vegetable Garden from Canadian Food Focus

Want to start eating healthy but don’t know where to start?

If you are seeking support to help to make meal planning simple if you are cooking for one, don’t want to spend oodles of time in the kitchen or find yourself eating out often, we can help. We specialize in health without guilt or complexity.

Our Dietitian Calgary / Online Nutritionist team can work with you in person at our Calgary office or online through our virtual private and secure video conferencing services. Contact Us.

Looking for more info on nutrition and gardening? Check out these articles!

Nutrition From Your Garden

Getting More Veggies & Fruit: 3 Great Local Initiatives You Need to Know About

Garden Geek & Farmer’s Market Fanatic

Andrea Holwegner

About Andrea Holwegner

CEO, Registered Dietitian, Counseling Practice Director & Professional Speaker

Andrea the «Chocoholic Nutritionist» is founder and CEO of Health Stand Nutrition Consulting Inc. since 2000. She is an online nutrition course creator, professional speaker and regular guest in the media. Andrea is the recipient of an award by the Dietitians of Canada: The Speaking of Food & Healthy Living Award for Excellence in Consumer Education....Read more

Success stories

"I am a psychologist in private practice and it is very important to me that my clients have the best care with other health care professionals. For that reason Health Stand Nutrition is my only source for exceptional Dietitians. Andrea and her team provide highly knowledgeable, compassionate, and real world support to my clients who require assistance with food lifestyle. I trust my clients to them and you would be in excellent hands making them part of your health care team."

Adele Fox, Psychologist

“This is the first time I feel satisfied; my cravings have diminished dramatically and I have a whole new relationship with food. I am eating guilt-free for the first time in my life. My energy has also dramatically increased and I feel great!”

Rhonda Jenkins, Nutrition Counseling Client

“The Dieticians at Health Stand Nutrition help you to take action on the science behind eating well by making it practical, understandable, and fun. Their office is cozy and not at all clinical or intimidating. I felt like I was sitting down with a really smart, caring friend who wanted to help me make the best choices for my lifestyle and food preferences. They really are the best in the business.”

Marty Avery, Nutrition Counseling Client

“I have come to think of the program as a one stop shopping excursion for everything one needs to know about creating a joyous relationship with food and our bodies. In a single word, the course has gifted me with freedom from the punishing rigidity of disordered eating, old stories that never were true, and body dysmorphia that did nothing but make me lose sight of a body that has done everything I've asked, despite my careless dismissal of her needs. Now when I look in the mirror I find myself shifting from harsh criticism to gentle gratitude.”

Lynn Haley, Pursuit of Healthiness Online Course Participant

“I spent 3 hours when first diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I learned more from my Dietitian about food in those 3 hours than I had learned in all the years of my life. I also love the newsletter, there is always something to learn.”

Peter Whitehead, Nutrition Counseling Client

“I didn’t realize how strong my “diet mentality” was, and all the rules I had in my head about food. I was in a cycle of reward/punish/binge/cringe. I booked with your business very reluctantly, on the repeated advice of my doctor, to get my slowly rising cholesterol levels in check. I thought I knew everything about food, and my behaviour with food, but I was definitely re-schooled. My weight is creeping down, I feel good about my diet, exercise, body image, and lifestyle.”

Amy Floyd, Nutrition Counseling Client

“Thanks Andrea for an amazing presentation, I have heard all positive remarks from attendees and the evaluations show the same sentiment. It is really gratifying when a speaker does their “homework” and weaves in our profession’s day to day challenges within their content, you did an awesome job of this! You truly took the “die” out of Dietician! Your information on healthy eating and simplifying how we can work towards this as we are all so busy really hit the mark. Andrea connects very well with her audience; she is energetic, funny, and very approachable.”

Carole Ann LaGrange, Transfusion Medicine Safety Officer

Event Planner for Laboratory Diagnostic Imaging Annual Event

“I am a family physician who sees patients with a myriad of eating concerns – from wanting to know how to plan healthy meals for active families, to weight loss, to eating disorders, and so on. I cannot recommend the Health Stand team highly enough. I have worked with (and been to!) other Dieticians in the past and too often find that they just ask for food logs and make suggestions that are easily obtained online or in books. The Dieticians at Health Stand offer much more than just telling clients what they “should be eating.” In contrast, the team really does more of a counselling practice, and they work hard to help their clients learn more about why their eating habits may be off track and not optimal for them, as well as helping people to effect change at a deep level that, most importantly, is sustainable for lifetime health.”

Dr. Deb Putnam, Family Physician

Nutrition Counseling Client & Referring Physician

“I am a busy mom, with kids in high level sports, working full-time downtown, and running our home acreage outside the City. I now have the knowledge and tools I need to plan for and manage the chaos of meal planning.”

Gillian Gray, Pursuit of Healthiness Online Course Participant

“As a construction company, we select speakers who can relate to our industry and its employees. Andrea’s message was delivered with humor and empathy. She makes people feel as though they can make changes without leaving behind every favorite food. Andrea focused her presentation on healthy eating as a way to keep energy high throughout the day. This message and the way it was delivered resonated with our predominantly male, blue collar culture. I would highly recommend Andrea as a speaker for groups such as ours. She will get your message across without alienating anyone in your audience – which is a huge hurdle when trying to introduce a wellness program in the workplace!”

Stephanie Wood, HR and Safety Manager

Fisher Construction Group, Burlington, WA

“I found my Dietitian warm, funny, and skilled at teaching nutrition concepts without the overwhelm. The general approach of each session was to mix science with emotion, which was exceedingly effective in helping me shift my perspective on food from one of anxiety to one of joy and curiosity.”

Erin Kronstedt, Nutrition Counseling Client

“Excellent presentation! What a refreshing change to have a speaker inspire rather than “lecture” about nutrition. Your captivating stories, tips and overall approach to healthy eating uplifts and puts people at ease. It was great to hear we don’t need to strive to be perfect eaters, and that small changes really can make a difference in how we feel and in our health. Thanks to Andrea, we have solutions to our everyday nutrition challenges that can actually work in real life!”

Tina Tamagi, Human Resources

ARC Resources Ltd.

“Had I not joined this course I would have struggled with no focus, low energy, and mindless eating. Excellent teaching and motivation. This is not just a course, it is a nutrition club with mentorship, support, and connections with other people with similar situations.”

Lorri Lawrence, Pursuit of Healthiness online course participant