Melbourne

I’ll chime in. Try container gardening! You can do a few things in pots.

I’m very much an amateur that’s dabbled with simple herbs my entire life but a few years ago I was growing spinach. Because there wasn’t room in the pot to let the plants get full size I harvested the leaves early as baby spinach.

There are guides but basically I put potting mix in a standard window box, mixed in some slow release fertiliser (Osmocote or whatever brand of granules) and planted some of the spinach seeds. Then I kept planting more seeds at intervals so more would keep coming, while gently picking the bigger leaves so the existing plants would keep producing more. (This may not get you a whole big crop but is very good to constantly get a small amount of fresh leaves ie. for a sandwich.)

This is called a few things like continuous sowing, succession planting etc. The plants ended up a little crowded but they really didn’t mind. The roots are shallow so they’re good for containers.

Some things to remember - spinach seeds need darkness to sprout, and then the seedlings need light to thrive. They tend to be a cooler weather crop. Some types are more heat resistant and resistant to bolting (going to seed) but they will bolt fast if they get too hot or dry. Don’t worry, they do that. They’re temporary plants.

Once planted they hate being moved - mix in fertiliser to the soil first before planting or use liquid, or water it in. Then sow seed straight into where you want them. If you don’t use slow release fertiliser they might want a little more when they start growing to a certain stage (was it when they get their second set of leaves?) They’re hungry bois.

Another option is to get a cutting of rosemary, strip the leaves off the bottom half, and sit it in a glass of water until roots appear. You remove the leaves from where the stem sits in water so they don’t go rotten. If you remember to water it you can plant it in an old yogurt pot. Putting it in gradually bigger pots as it outgrows them means the rosemary will get bigger and start to bush out. Pinch off the very tips sometimes so it gets nice and bushy.

If you see mint you can get a sprig and put it in a pot. It goes wild. DO NOT plant it in the ground, even if the roots are in a pot. It grows tendrils above ground and spreads like crazy. Consider a hanging pot even.

Another choice is radishes. They grow incredibly fast.