Spring into Action

Growing your own fruit and vegetables is becoming very popular - especially encouraging children to be involved with growing produce and gaining an understanding of the importance of eating seasonally and healthily. Spring is the ideal time to give it a go - it doesn’t have to be complicated! 

If you have an area of the garden where you can dedicate to growing, start with a few seed potatoes and onion sets. Alternatively, these can be planted in tubs and troughs if space is an issue. 

Choose some early sowing vegetable seed to start off in seed trays on the windowsill where children can watch them grow and hopefully inspire them to enjoy growing. For the experienced gardener, the growing season will have already started. Preparation of the allotment or vegetable patch will no doubt be complete and some seeds sown and plants may well be growing too. March/April is the time to start planting seed potatoes. There are plenty of varieties to choose from- depending on your choice of first earlies, salad, second earlies and maincrop. Allow them to ‘chit’ to produce shoots before planting. 

If you miss out on sowing vegetable seeds, small plug plants are available for most varieties, but you’ll have to wait until the end of the month or early April, depending on the weather! Don’t be too keen with some of the tender varieties, it’s safer to wait until the frosts are behind us. 

Why not consider fruit growing this year?

Fresh berries and currants are delicious and some (redcurrants, blackcurrants, blueberries, gooseberries etc) are often hard to find and expensive for small punnets in the supermarkets. Choose a sunny position in the garden or grow in large planters which can be moved as required. Try planting strawberries in a garden patch or hanging baskets and tubs- they will produce an abundance of fruit during the season. It’s very rewarding to grow your own produce, even if you choose to start with a few lettuce leaves and a tomato plant or two, you will enjoy the fresh, tasty flavours that homegrown food offers.

Happy gardening!