Helping you get your best-ever fruit and veg

As winter eases and spring beckons, longer days bring the garden to life – and your growing year starts here…

Sow courgette and squash seeds now so you’ll have seedlings ready to plant outside in early summer. Fill pots or large module trays with peat-free multi-purpose compost. Place one seed in each pot, ab

Chit early and maincrop potatoes this month to ensure a season full of homegrown spuds. You can plant bare-root asparagus crowns this month, provided that the soil is draining well. Choose an open, su

Artichokes: Sow 13mm deep in a seedbed, with around three seeds per drill. Leave 25-30cm between drills and rows. You can sow in pots instead – just be sure to use good-quality compost. Asparagus: It’

There are some vegetables that thrive in the cold, but unless you aspire to self-sufficiency Tom Coward recommends caution when sowing very early in the year. “It’s a mistake, although we always do it