How to start your own vegetable garden
As we continue to stay indoors to combat the spread of coronavirus, this a hobby anybody can do and enjoy, and spring is one of the best times to begin work.
Pictures: Places where you can see blooming flowers
If you've been wanting to start your own veg patch but aren't quite sure where to begin, we've enlisted the help of experts to create a comprehensive guide for you below.
© Getty Images gardening tools What tools do Ineed?Chief Horticulturist at the Royal Horticultural Society Guy Barter says that a shovel is enough, but fork, rake, hoe, trowel, watering can and wheelbarrow can make all the difference.
John Lewis has a garden tool set consisting of fork and hand shovel to get you started. The tools have leather loops for easy storage.
© Getty Images seeds How do I begin planting? Horticulturist Guy says any container can be used to grow vegetables. Boxes, tubs, even plastic sacks can be used especially if they have been used pack foodstuffs - the polystyrene boxes used for broccoli or fish for example. However, he warns that those used to hold petroleum products, paints, wood preservatives and other industrial materials should be avoided.
Jess Gotham at the Social Association adds that old takeaway cartons with holes punched in the bottom for drainage make excellent seed trays, and recommends putting the lid underneath to catch any drips, or on top to keep the compost moist. Jess says the cardboard insides of loo rolls make a biodegradable container which you can then plant directly into the ground later. They will add organic matter to your soil and be beneficial in the long run.
© Getty Hands of a girl putting freshly harvested vegetable in a basket What are the best vegetables to grow indoors? For an indoor veg patch, Head Gardener at Gardening Organic Emma O'Neill recommends cut and come again salad leaves, micro greens and radish for growing indoors in a container or window box. These all germinate quickly and easily with just a little water and light. Emma suggests that if you don't have access to seed trays, you can even recycle household waste to use as growing containers - plastic fruit or vegetable trays, yogurt pots and ice cream tubs work really well too.
Similarly, Horticulturist Guy recommends raising peas shoots, mustard and cress-like micro greens, fenugreek, rocket, lambs lettuce, and cut and come again seedling leaf salads, not dissimilar to the supermarket 'pillow packs'. These can be raised on windowsills so even those without gardens have scope to grow incomparably fresh food.
© Getty Woman planting seedlings in bed in the garden at summer sunny day. Gardener hands with young plant. Garden tools, gloves and sprouts close-up Make sure the soil is dampMake sure the soil you're using is damp, but not too wet, the Soil Association advises. Test the soil with your finger, making sure to wiggle it under the surface slightly to check moisture levels there. If it feels a bit dry, water gently until it feels just damp.
The association also recommends keeping the seeds warm until they germinate. Most seeds like a temperature of between 15-20 °C to sprout and covering the trays or pots with a sheet of glass will create a mini greenhouse effect and keep them warm until they've got started.
© Getty Senior Woman Potting Plant In Garden At Home For outdoor growingGarden Organic expert Emma says spring is the perfect time to sow many different vegetables such as beetroot, carrot, spinach and spring onions.
Start by preparing your veg patch soil - ensure it's weed-free and raked to a fine consistency and then sow directly outdoors, following the instructions on the seed packet. Water well, label and check regularly for weeds, which can be removed by hand as they appear. You should start to see signs of life within a few weeks.
There are also plenty of vegetables that can be started indoors and moved outside after a few weeks once they are large enough to handle and have at least two true leaves. Tomatoes, squash, cucumber and courgette are all great examples. Tumbling tomatoes are great in a hanging basket.
Placed in a warm, sheltered sunny spot container crops can race ahead and mature a fortnight before those in cooler open ground. If you're feeling creative, you can make cloches, cold frames or other protective devices to boost crops –typically also advancing harvest by a fortnight.
Raised beds are convenient and make a big difference on clay soils but growing on the flat, perhaps with level unraised beds, is just as good in most cases.
© Michelle Arnold / EyeEm - Getty Images Close-Up Of Fennel Seed In Spoon On Wooden Table Check your cupboardsRHS horticulturist Guy says that many seeds can be found in the kitchen cupboard; celery (this will be leaf celery), chickpeas, coriander, cumin, dill, dried chillies, fennel, fenugreek, marrowfat peas, mustard, star anise and so on, make good micro-salads or can be grown as herbs or vegetables.
Sweet potatoes, fresh ginger and yams can be potted and sprouted in a warm place and the resulting shoots rooted as cuttings and used to grow crops of these roots. Many similar crops are found in stores that stock Asian, Caribbean and African foods. Pot grown supermarket herbs can be grown on, but are surprisingly temperamental, no doubt having been forced with generous heat, water and fertiliser during cultivation.
© Getty Images soil How can I boost my garden soil? Soil has a sort of 'natural increase' in fertility so if you are making a new veg plot from uncropped ground the inherent accumulated fertility will do for a year or two, RHS horticulturist Guy tells us. Otherwise fertiliser is needed for best results – this is widely offered by mail order, usually more cheaply than in garden centres. Garden compost is usually sufficient on its own to provide what most plants need, as is rotted manure.
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