How to grow your own vegetables

Growing your own veg is healthy, cost-effective and above all, rewarding. Obviously, it helps to grow the things you like to eat, but some are some things to consider before you start planting.

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Find the right spot

You need the right conditions to get the best results. Look for a sunny spot with plenty of shelter.
You can only grow what you have space for, so don’t grow plants too closely together and follow the spacing suggestions on the seed packet.
Prepare the soil beforehand by removing any weeds and adding some well-rotted compost or manure.

Start at the right time

When spring comes around, have your seed packets ready and check them to see what their sowing guides say.
Here you will find the information on when you should start. Most of them will only need to be sown once, but some crops that mature quicker can be sown every four to six weeks from spring until late into summer.

Protect your plants

Physical barriers such as copper tape are great for deterring slugs and snails.
Vulnerable plants such as salad leaves and courgettes can be started indoors before being planted outdoors when they’re big enough to withstand some attack from pests.
As a last resort, try using wildlife-friendly slug pellets.

Good vegetables for beginners

Salad leaves like rocket and oak leaf lettuce can be sown in pots and harvested on a cut-and-come-again basis, so you don't need to tend the plants for long.
Potatoes can simply be planted in the ground or an old compost bag. Just cover the leaves with soil when you start to see them pop up and they’ll be ready for harvest a few weeks later.
Radish seeds are fairly large, so they are easy to sow and don't need thinning out. They're ready to harvest within just a few weeks.
Courgettes are one of the easiest vegetables to grow from seed. Just one plant can easily supply you with enough harvest.
Runner beans are climbing plants, so they will need some support – garden canes made into a wigwam shape are perfect – but they don’t take up too much space. You can easily tuck them in amongst a garden border, and they’re easy vegetables to grow in pots if you’re really tight on space.
Bush tomatoes won’t need supports and don’t need to have side shoots removed regularly, which means they’re fairly low maintenance in comparison to other types of tomatoes.

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