Starting a vegetable garden doesn’t necessarily mean rushing out and buying new window boxes and expensive equipment.

There are a surprising number of things that could be lying around the house which make perfect containers for growing vegetables, and don't forget that you can still grow food even if you don’t have a garden!

© NTPL / David Levenson

With a little help from Giles Palmer - Head Gardener at Chartwell, Kent - we have come up with some creative solutions to container vegetable growing:

Goldfish bowls and tanks look wonderful planted with herbs – think greenery in glass. They also make fantastic wormeries!

Old car tyres are great for growing potatoes - stack them up and paint in bright colours one Sunday afternoon

Plant tumbling tomatoes or strawberries in a watering can and wind the creepers round the handle as they grow

Keep an eye out for unusual teapots. When you find one, take the top off, fill with soil and plant mint - which you can boil for delicious tea later on

From colourful clogs to an old leather boot, punch holes in old shoe soles for funky, creative plant containers. Wellington boots are great for leeks!

Fill toilet roll tubes with compost and seeds and you can start off many kinds of vegetables - including beans, carrots and parsnips - inside. Transplant them into the soil after a few weeks without disturbing the roots, where the biodegradable cardboard will just rot away

Buckets are ideal for all kinds of root vegetables – they are just the right depth and ensure your lovely parsnips won’t take over the whole garden

Scour charity shops for earthenware pots - they come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can be very cheap

Fill old shoeboxes with compost for growing lettuces - remember not to over-water!

If your child grows out of their lunchbox, don’t just throw it away. Help them plant some herbs in it for an eccentric addition to the window sill or garden