Start sowing veg seeds
Get the new year off to a good start by sowing a few early and slow-growing crops. Some need protection in a greenhouse or on warm windowsill, but for those that take months to mature, it’s well worth the trouble.
Sowing onion seeds now saves the expense of buying onion sets later (see opposite to find out how). Celery and celeriac take about 20 weeks to reach maturity, so it’s great to get a head start by sowing now and planting out in spring.
Broad beans are quite hardy and germinate at low temperatures, so can be sown direct outdoors now. Alternatively, sow in modules of multi-purpose compost without heat, then transplant outside next month. Young broad beans only need to be protected with fleece if long spells of freezing weather are forecast.