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sold in the shops. use tender young leaves in salads, and cook the full-sized leaves by steaming or in a stir-fry. Make several sowings each season for a constant supply in summer, autumn and winter. Seeds are cheap and it’s easy to grow.Tuscan black

urge to grow and flower profusely.My idea back in the autumn was to plant it with a few salad leaves such as mustardand rocket that might overwinter and give us some early, spicy leaves to make a few winter salads, as well as some parsleyto keep us

and patios into productive plots to feed their family.So, what have I been picking? Salad leaves are an almost daily essential for me, and these have been augmented with chives, parsley, and self-sown rocket and watercress. To maintain continuity I need

feeding frenzy day and night, unhindered by daytime sunshine, if you can remember what that looks like.But help is at hand. When I pop out to pick my salads each evening I usually disturb a frog or two among the leaves, finding their supper just as I

as the plants start to flower.The spinach I'm growing in troughs as a salad crop, as you need to grow buckets of it for cooking and I don't have the space. Spinach is also prone to leaf miner fly, which bores holes into the leaves and lays eggs, so picking

herbs to bring into a porch or grow on the window sillSow broad beans and hardy peas for early crops next yearCheck pears regularly to harvest when perfectly ripeVegetables to sow now include winter radishes, lettuce and salad leaves, spinach, spring

it into the drill from a folded piece of paper.More advice on sowing seedsJoe Swift's video guide to growing basil seedsGrow salad leaves from seedGrow parsnips from seedGrow foxgloves from seed

Growing herbs from seed discs is a simple alternative for anyone who struggles with sowing small herb and salad seeds. These are filled with seeds for herbs such as basil, chives and parsley, or salads such as mixed leaves, mesclun or rocket

knife to loosen the roots of each rosette, and as I did, I noticed how lush the leaves were.During my childhood, my Dad used to pick fresh, crisp dandelion leaves to add to salads. They had a strong, slightly bitter flavour – rich in iron if I remember

with roast vegetables, especially tomatoes. Use purple shiso (or perilla) in stir-fries, add to salads or - in a similar way to vine leaves - stuff with pine nuts and chive flowers. Place the pot in partial shade - avoid full sun, as the leafy herbs