Grow summer salad

There are plenty of different leaves to choose, each with their own distinctive taste. From the earthy spicy taste of rocket to the aptly named mustard greens - pure mustard taste without making the eyes water!

Sow every two weeks to ensure salad leaves all summer long. Choose a soil based compost, and a sunny sheltered position preferably near the back door for convenience.

Grow your own herbs

Grow herbs outside the back door in containers. Some herbs such as mint, lemon-balm, wild-strawberries and golden marjoram will all thrive in partial shade, while rosemary and sage are among some of the easiest plants to grow in the garden and are some of the most aromatic.

All container-grown herbs need drainage at the bottom of the container by placing broken crocks (old terracotta pots) over the drainage holes to keep them from becoming blocked, and a layer of small stones or gravel. Use a soil based potting compost with added grit and fill the pot to just below the pots rim (2.5cm below) so the soil does not displace when watering.

Encourage the children

Kids also love to plant seeds. Fill small pots with compost and plant pumpkin or sunflower seed in each. Keep on a sunny windowsill and water until the plant is big enough to plant outside towards the end of May or after the frosts.

Outdoor Container tips

Terracotta and wood containers are porous unlike glazed or plastic ones. Line them with plastic, not forgetting to make some drainage holes at the bottom.

Dark containers absorb more heat than light coloured ones, so will dry out more quickly. Paint yours with some of the lovely fresh pastel shades available to brighten up the patio.

Raised Beds

Raised beds are really just large containers sitting on the ground. There are several advantages for growing veg in this way. Firstly, if you have poor garden soil, raised beds can easily be filled with good garden soil and organic matter. Taller raised beds are particularly good for disabled or elderly gardeners, and are a good choice for back pain sufferers as no bending is required. They should be small enough so that you can easily reach into the middle of the bed (no more than about 1.5m wide), and sited in a sunny, sheltered position preferably close to an outside tap for convenient watering. Fill with good top-soil with bulky organic matter, then off you go!

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