With every great growing season beginning before the first signs of spring, now is the perfect time to start thinking about when to sow your seeds for colourful, tasty harvests later in the year. Alth

Kale enjoys a sunny spot, but can also cope with shade, so is a fairly easy-going plant in the garden. These leaves grow best in rich, well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter dug in prior to p

Aubergines: Grow in a heated greenhouse using a propagator. The temperature should be at 18-21°C Broad beans: This tasty and popular veg can be sown now if you choose a hardy variety such as ‘Super Aq

Parsnips roots will have reached full size by now, so you can begin harvesting them whenever needed. To get them out in one piece, loosen the soil around the roots with a garden fork beforehand, and i

Lucy Hutchings looks at what you can be doing in the vegetable garden now, to get ahead of the game in the spring

Wild rocket is hardier and more strongly flavoured than standard cultivated rocket, and once established it tends to be perennial, giving you repeated harvests with very little fuss – the perfect crop