Are you a meat and three vege family whose tastebuds are in need of a flavour knock-out? Look no further! Spice up your garden (and dinner menu) this summer with three Mediterranean favourites guaranteed to add 'heat' to any dish.

Now is the perfect time to plant tomatoes, capsicums and chillis and nothing beats making your own chutney - this bright red condiment is the perfect compliment to any summer dinner, BBQ or platter.

To get started, grab some Awapuni Nurseries tomato, capsicum red chilli and capsicum sweet bell pepper seedlings from your local supermarket, Warehouse or Bunnings store.

All three plants must be positioned in a sunny, well drained area that is sheltered from strong winds. If you've grown tomatoes before you'll need to plant them in a different area to where you planted them last. This will decrease the chances of your tomatoes developing nasty diseases such as blight.

Once you've found the perfect spot for planting, increase the quality of your soil by mixing in compost.

And if you want to give your seedlings a really good head start, mix a general fertiliser, such as nitrophoska blue, into the soil prior to planting. This will encourage growth and ensure bountiful tomatoes, capsicums and chillis come harvest.

Once you've prepared the soil, dig a hole approximately 3cms deep, spacing each seedling 10cms apart. Place your seedling inside and cover the roots with soil.

Alternatively, if you don't have room in your garden, plant your seedlings in a pot. Plant your tomato in the middle and your capsicums and chillis around the outside.

All three plants are not fans of overhead watering because it can leave them more susceptible to diseases. So, layer newspaper around your plants, and then cover the newspaper with peastraw. This mulch will help keep weeds away and lock moisture in between watering sessions.

Capsicums and chillis are 'plant-and-leave' vegetables. They require little work and are very low maintenance.

Tomatoes on the other hand require a bit of extra care. Once your antioxidant-rich tomato seedlings grow a bit taller they will need staking to help stabilise the plants and protect them from strong winds. I prefer to do this in the form of a teepee.

Take three stakes and place them in the ground with the tomato plant in the middle and tie the stakes together at the top with rope or string. As your tomato plant grows tie the main stem to the stake.

This is where the kids can get creative by painting the stakes and tying bright coloured ribbon or tinsel to the top. It makes for a pretty 'creative' looking vege garden... and scares away the birds!

Depending on how warm it is where you live, your capsicums and chillis should be ready to harvest in approximately six to eight weeks. Tomatoes take a little bit longer to mature. So if patience isn't your greatest virtue, plant cherry tomatoes as they ripen faster than larger varieties.

In a few months you'll have all the ingredients you need to make homemade chutney that champions the rest.

Add 1 tsp of salt, 2 tsp of white pepper, 1 cup of white sugar and 1 ¼ cup of red wine to a pot. Chop and core three green apples. Roughly chop one kilogram of tomatoes, three red capsicums, six red chillis and place in the pot.

Bring to the boil and simmer on low heat until the chutney thickens. This should take approximately 55 minutes.

Pour into jars, place the lids on tightly and leave for up to six seeks before eating.

Tomato, capsicum and chilli chutney makes a great gift and what better way for people to taste and enjoy the fruits of your labour!