Keeping your kitchen stocked with fresh vegetables can be tricky as lockdown continues.

Rather than rely on shop stock levels, you can take matters in to your own hands and have a go at growing your own.

It's also a way to get some much-needed vitamin D, improve your gardening skills and have a rewarding return in the form of the freshest food you'll ever get.

Space is not an issue either, you don't need a huge garden spanning acres to successfully grow your own produce.

Guy Barter, chief horticulturist for the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) tells The Independent how to grow vegetables, even in the smallest of spaces.

1. Indoor space

"Light levels are rather low indoors unless you are fortunate enough to have a conservatory, so although raising windowsill seedlings is feasible, other crops are tricky," says Barter.

But it's not impossible he adds. "Windowsill herbs thrive for a short while and I have seen chilli and other peppers and trailing tomatoes do well enough in a sunny windowsill."

2. Balcony space

If you've got a balcony, there's plenty of vegetables to grow so you can create your very own salad and tasty veggie dishes.

"Sunny balconies are excellent places for potted herbs and sun-loving peppers, tomatoes and indeed all veg, including potatoes," says Barter.

If your balcony doesn't see much sun, your options are a little more limited but Barter explains that salads, chives, chard, mint and leafy beets can still grow well. If you're in a tall building, he advises having some form of shelter to protect them from windy weather.

3. Small gardens

If you have a garden, a world of possibilities opens up and you'll be in a position to grow root vegetables, leafy greens and marrows. And the added beauty of this is you can also create your own menu for a feast, once everything has sprouted.

"Any reasonable soil with good sun (six hours or more in midsummer) supports herbs and all vegetables. In terms of what yields most food per square metre, early potatoes, runner beans and tomatoes do best, followed by carrots, beet, both beetroot and leafy chard, and cabbages," says Barter.

He tells The Independent that RHS members have found that beetroot, chard, lettuces, rocket, spinach and tomatoes give good results for first timers too, which is great news if you're new to gardening.

In Barter's own garden, he decorates his patio with potted aubergines, peppers and tomatoes, which are easy to grow and don't need to be in vegetable patches.

4. Big gardens

If your garden is big enough to fit a greenhouse, Barter recommends growing a bed of asparagus, rhubarb and utilising a fruit cage (where you can grow fruit trees or bushes). You could even start growing winter vegetables that can take up to nine months to grow if you have space.

"Vegetables like potatoes are usually left to farmers and supermarkets, but it is perfectly feasible to raise them yourself," he adds.