Over the next few months we’ll be running a grow with us feature in our newsletter. We’ve selected some great vegetable and flower varieties from our new Gro-sure range and month by month we’ll be showing you how to sow the seeds, prick out, pot on, plant them out and finally we’ll be enjoying the fruits of our labour, when the summer gets here! Sign up to receive the newsletter here.

In the veg department we have been busy sowing Lettuce Sansula, Pepper Diablo and Ringo and Tomato Pannovy, all of which can be grown in pots on the patio and so are ideal for those of us with limited space. And for those with a veg patch or allotment to fill we will also be growing Cabbage Cilion.

For stunning containers and baskets we’ve selected Busy Lizzie Jambalaya, Lobelia Half Moon, Geranium Bulls Eye Cherry and Petunia Bravo Mix.

If you have space inside, in a greenhouse, porch or a bright windowsill you can start straight away and give your seeds a real head start.

Week 4

A few weeks have passed since we sowed our seed and we’ve had some fantastic results already. All of the seeds sown have germinated and we are now faced with trays full of little seedlings all growing away well.

In the next couple of weeks we’ll have to start pricking out and potting on our little seedlings (those that we didn’t plant in module trays) but in the meantime we need to make sure we continue to give them the best environment possible in which to grow and strengthen;

1. If your seedlings are growing on a windowsill remember to turn the trays or pots regularly as seedlings will also grow towards the light. Regular turning will ensure your seedlings grow nice, straight stems. It’s important also not to let the temperature drop too much at night otherwise they may have problems with a cold shock.

2. Keep the compost nice and moist at all times. Don’t allow it to dry out at this tender stage in your plants development.

3. Ensure there is good airflow between your seedlings and that the compost is not too wet. Cramped seedlings and wet compost can quickly lead to ‘damping off’, a fungal disease that can quickly wipe out whole sowings. Treatments are available to deal with ‘damping off’ but as with many diseases prevention is the key (some of the Gro-sure varieties are coated with a fungicide to help with this).

Look out for our next issue, in early April, when we’ll be pricking out and potting on our seedlings.

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Over the next few months we’ll be running a grow with us feature in our newsletter. We’ve selected some great vegetable and flower varieties from our new Gro-sure range and month by month we’ll be showing you how to sow the seeds, prick out, pot on, plant them out and finally we’ll be enjoying the fruits of our labour, when the summer gets here! Sign up to receive the newsletter here.

In the veg department we have been busy sowing Lettuce Sansula, Pepper Diablo and Ringo and Tomato Pannovy, all of which can be grown in pots on the patio and so are ideal for those of us with limited space. And for those with a veg patch or allotment to fill we will also be growing Cabbage Cilion.

For stunning containers and baskets we’ve selected Busy Lizzie Jambalaya, Lobelia Half Moon, Geranium Bulls Eye Cherry and Petunia Bravo Mix.

If you have space inside, in a greenhouse, porch or a bright windowsill you can start straight away and give your seeds a real head start.

Week 1 – 3
Having chosen our varieties we are ready to start sowing;

We are sowing our seeds into cell trays. Fill the trays with a good seed sowing compost such as John Innes Seed Sowing Compost and firm down gently.

Open the pack and tip a few seeds into the palm of your hand. Sow seeds individually. For ease of sowing any difficult to handle seeds in the Gro-sure range have been coated to make them easier to sow.

Cover your seeds with a light layer of compost and water gently using tepid water.

Don’t forget to label tray of seeds so you know which is which – it can be very easy to mix up small seedlings!

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Ladybirds and Lacewings love to munch on aphids so encouraging their numbers will go a long way to limiting the damage wreaked by the dreaded pests.  Don’t be too hasty to tidy away hollow stems and other branches.  Provided these are not diseased they make a fantastic home for overwintering insects and ensure they are already in your garden for the onset of Spring.

Sowing and growing wildflowers is a fantastic way of encouraging many beneficial insects and birds into the garden.  Growing a wide range of plants is a really good idea.  Not only does this cut down the risks of certain soil borne diseases getting a hold in the garden but it also encourages the broad range of insects and slugs that birds love to feed on.  Where possible leave seed heads on flowers such as Echinacea, Sunflowers and Teasel during the winter months as these will provide food for birds, encouraging them to visit your garden.

If you are lucky enough to have hedgehogs in your garden provide them with a safe and secure place for hibernation during the winter months.  Hedgehogs love slugs and will do a fantastic job of keeping down numbers in your garden.  Always check unlit bonfires before lighting as these are often irresistible to hedgehogs when they are looking for a home.  Never feed hedgehogs with bread and milk, this can be harmful to them.  Instead give dog or cat meat.

There are a great many plants that will attract bees and butterflies into the garden, below is a few ideas to get you started;

• Aquilegia
• Borage
• Buddleja
• Echinacea
• Eryngium
• Geranium (cranesbill)
• Honesty (Lunaria)
• Lavender
• Penstemon
• Phlox
• Scabious
• Sedum
• Tagetes

It’s also great for the environment with a tiny carbon foot print, the health benefits of growing organically and the reassurance of knowing exactly what’s happened to your produce before it hits your plate.

Get the kids involved. No promises, but they may even eat sprouts if they’ve grow them!

Choose produce you love to eat.  Grow traditional favourites as well as new varieties you’ve never tried before.

One solution and great advice is to sow quicker growing crops such as radish, early peas, spinach and dwarf lettuce between rows of slower growing veg such as parsnips and Brussels sprouts.

This is know as “intercropping” and will help to make the most of your space and increase productivity in your vegetable garden.

Another way to get a succession of crops is to choose varieties that mature at different times. Potatoes for example, are classified into First Earlies, Second Earlies and Main Crop, and within these groups some varieties produce potatoes sooner than others. Alternatively purchase pre-mixed packs of seeds that offer crops with differing harvest times.

The same principle is true of fruit. You can choose different varieties of strawberries to enable you to harvest fruit from early summer through to autumn. This applies to apples, raspberries and many other fruit.

There are many other benefits to crop rotation too, legumes for example fix nitrogen in the soil whilst they grow and this is then available for the next crop. It is a good idea to follow these crops with leafy brassicas or potatoes which like a high level of nitrogen.

Potatoes also tend to smoother out weeds so they are unable to grow. Follow these with hard to weed veg such as onions.

Crop rotation does require organisation though and you need to be plan at least for the following 3 seasons. For the best results the further ahead you can plan the better.

1. Step 1.

   Dig over the area of soil that needs improving. If the area is planted then take care not to dig close to the plants or disturb their roots. You can use the Soil Conditioner or organic Farmyard Manure as a mulch near to established plants and allow the worms and soil organisms to work it into the soil.

2. Step 2.

   Spread Soil Conditioner or organic Farmyard Manure over the surface of the dug area and work it into the soil with a fork. Soil Conditioner contains a high proportion of organic material mixed together with a generous proportion of organic Farmyard Manure. These natural materials will absorb and hold water in the soil and improve its structure, providing essential air pockets for drainage and for the roots to breathe. The high organic content also encourages the activity of beneficial soil dwelling organisms including worms. In your fruit and vegetable garden you could also try organic Vegetable Growing Compost.