Get ready to sow...
...and look forward to a riot of border colour
Sowing hardy annuals directly into mixed borders is a straightforward way to jazz up your garden during the warm summer months. Fill in gaps with colourful annuals, or even start off vegetables outdoors there, too. Growing plants from seed sown straight into the soil saves you precious resources like water, pots and compost, and you don’t need any special equipment either. There are several annuals which you can sow in March that don’t need any further protection, such as wildflower seed mixtures containing poppies, classic cornflowers or corn cockle. These are good for attracting pollinators like bees and butterflies into your garden. You could also start off your vegetable patch by sowing peas or broad beans in borders.
Here’s how to create a stale, or false, seedbed without using chemicals to get rid of weeds. Dig the soil over lightly to let the weeds in the top layer of the soil germinate. The soil needs to be moist so irrigate if necessary. After 7-10 days, when weed seeds have germinated, hoe them off 3cm (1in) below the ground, repeating the process if necessary to get rid of the weed seed bank in the top layer of topsoil. You could also cover the soil with a fleece to protect it from weeds and help warm it up, then sow the seeds to the required depth when you’re ready.
Sow larger seeds like broad beans or peas in a row, using a stick or pencil to create a planting hole. To finish, cover the seeds with soil and carefully water them in.