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Watch Monty Don's video demonstration of how to sow spinach seeds, with advice on the ideal location, soil preparation and spacing.springMore advice on growing vegVideo advice on sowing salad leavesSow lettuce seeds in gutteringHow to sow seeds

Salad potatoes come in many shapes, sizes and colours. They're well worth growing, as they're such a versatile crop - delicious served hot with a knob of butter, or combined with any number of ingredients in a potato salad. All salad potatoes share

Sow quick salads in guttering Keep a regular supply of salad leaves by sowing seeds in lengths of plastic guttering, cut to the length of your veg beds, and filled with good compost. When the seeds germinate, you can grow them on for 2-4 weeks

Grow early-maturing potatoes in a bag of compostFork compost into beds to prepare soil for plantingChit potatoes by standing them in trays in a warm bright position until they develop small shootsDig out problem weeds and emerging annual weeds

Sow peas in lengths of guttering under cover, so you can plant out seedlings in an instant rowPlant out onion sets in rows, spacing them about 10-15cm apartCarefully dig away grass or plants growing close to the stems of fruit trees to reduce

in growing bagsHarvest early potatoes, carrots and salad cropsPrune the sideshoots of gooseberry bushes back to just five leavesCut out congested raspberry canes at soil level, or those popping up in pathsFeed all crops with a liquid fertiliserSow seeds

from rhubarb plants and let them grow uncoveredSow seeds of the following crops outside or under cloches: carrots, beetroot, broad beans, salad onions, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, spinach, leeks, lettuce, rocket, coriander, mixed salad

Raise lettuce and salad crops in pots for early pickingsWater potted fuchsias sparingly to prevent compost drying out completelyPrune grapevines before they come into growth, when their sap starts risingBring pots of strawberries under cover

to the seeds.AdamFlea beetle can be a problem in summer, nibbling holes in rocket leaves. The best defence is to cover the row with a length of horticultural fleece or a fleece-covered mini tunnel.Advice on growing salad cropsRead Pippa Greenwood's blog

vegetables for beginnersBeetroot 'Boltardy'For an easy-to-grow, fresh salad, try growing cut-and-come-again salad leaves. Leafy greens and lettuces can be harvested for their young leaves instead of mature hearts. Because they are harvested when young