Great to hear you’re starting a vegetable and herb garden! There is nothing more satisfying than sewing, harvesting and eating your own crops – And I know everyone says it, but they taste fabulous! I got my kids to love vegetables by growing our own, because they taste wonderful – bursting with freshness and flavour. And a herb garden – looks great, and functional too! – You can’t say that about many things! And the scent on the air in midsummer at dusk is unbeatable!

Starting a vegetable garden – some pointers:

- If possible site the vegetable garden in an open, sheltered level and sunny site.

- Use crop rotation if possible- i.e. growing different groups of vegetables on a different piece of land each year – a raised bed system rather than growing in open ground can facilitate this.

- Prepare your ground to suit your crop – Brassicas e.g. cabbage need firm ground and lime applied during the winter. Legumes e.g. Peas need a lot of nitrogen, so apply manure when digging the soil, and rake in fertiliser 2 weeks before sewing. A good reference book will help you with this

- Look after your crop – water, feed, control weeds and mulch

- Thin overcrowded seedlings- don’t be afraid to do this!!

- Control pests and diseases – good hygiene, rotate crops, physical protection like cloches/ crop covers may be necessary. Get to know and recognise the main pests and diseases for your crops.

As you know – full books are written on this subject, and I’d advise you to get one, but start by sewing crops you like, and learn as you go along. It’s all part of the fun.

Starting a herb garden – some pointers:

- Most herbs are Mediterranean in origin, and so like a hot dry, south facing site.

- The soil should be well drained, so add horticultural grit if necessary.

- Some herbs are tender and will only survive outdoors in the warmest of summer months, e.g. Basil

- Some herbs will survive in part shade, e.g. parsley, and mint

- Always grow mint in a container – it’s very vigorous, and will take over your herb bed if you let it!