March in the garden: Time to pick your veggies

As soon as things start stirring in the garden it’s time to think about what vegetables you’d like to grow. Don’t be put off thinking they are boring or hard work. Vegetables are great. Not only can you eat them but they can look as beautiful and interesting as the flowers in you garden. And just like flowers, there are vegetables for all seasons, care levels and situations. Some people like spending hours perfecting giant and perfect show vegetables but for many vegetable growing can be as simple as “sow and go”.

Why grow your own vegetables?

• Save money - It’s about 10x cheaper to grow your own, so for anyone facing the effects of the credit crunch or wanting their money to go further it’s a no-brainer. For example, to enjoy fresh salad leaves all summer you can spend £2 on seeds compared to over £20 buying a couple of packs of salad from the supermarket each week.



• Better for you - You know they are fresh and chemical free because you control how its grown including the use of fertilisers or pesticides. Go organic.



• They taste better - yes, they really do. Firstly, there is a better choice of more flavoursome varieties to choose from and secondly, vegetables are better eaten when freshly picked and full of nutrients.



• It’s fun and interesting to watch them grow - and if you have kids it’s a great way of teaching them where food comes from.

Picking which veggies you’ll grow at this time of year is great fun. In the last few years local garden centres have started stocking a wider and more adventurous range of seeds and if you want something really unusual try a specialist vegetable catalogue. If you are new to vegetable growing, pick two or three easy care options and give it a go.

Here’s my top 5 tips for picking your veggies

1. What vegetables do you like? Concentrate on growing veg that you’ll eat.

2. What size is your garden and where will you grow your vegetables? Some veg, like cabbages can take up a lot of space while others can be grown in pots so pick carefully.

Plants you can grow in pots or bags

• Tomatoes & chillies
  
• Carrots & potatoes


• Salad leaves, herbs and chives

3. Do you have a greenhouse or sunny sheltered spot? If not give tomatoes, cucumbers, chillies or aubergines a miss as they need lots of sunny warmth. Chillies also grow well in a pot on a sunny windowsill.

4. When you want to harvest? If you want to get the most out of your vegetable patch then plan carefully to harvest continually throughout the summer and autumn.

5. How much time have you got? if you don’t have time to spend potting on delicate seedlings, feeding plants and putting up protective coverings the try the easy-care veggies.

Easy-care options include

• Climbing beans and peas
  
• Carrots & potatoes
  
• Salad leaves, herbs and chives
  

Find out how to plant your veg