PLANTING THE SEED

Tips and resources on how to grow your own produce at home

1 Cut-again mixed salad crops are perfect for planting now, with short soil-to-trug lifespans and multiple yields. Seek out easy growers like lettuce, rocket and punchy mustards. Beetroots and radishes offer similarly quick returns, while winter brassica crops, like kale, can be sown now, relished later. If you’ve only got a window sill, try herbs such as basil, rosemary, mint and chives.

2 The UK’s lengthening summers make June and July safe bets for sowing late, but you can minimise any weather-related risk by switching seeds for plugs. Pop in pea and French bean seedlings now to enjoy August harvests, or try pumpkin plugs to elongate autumn’s bounty. Sarah Raven’s pumpkin collection (£4.95) adds wonderful variety to the patch. sarahraven.com

3 Make the most of small spaces by stack planting pots. Aaron Bertelsen, Great Dixter gardener and author of Grow Fruit and Vegetables in Pots (Phaidon, £24.95) suggests combining edible violas, leaves and dill for a one-pot salad. For more space-saving tips, see Alex Mitchell’s Crops in Tight Spots (Octopus, £18.99).