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What a lovely spring to be growing things. The weather has been pretty near perfect — lots of sunshine and some lovely soft, steady rain to get it all germinating and growing well. Perhaps we've had a bit too much wind, and the temperatures at night

.Runner beansVarieties such as ‘lollo rossa’ and ‘Salad Bowl’ can be picked a few leaves at a time as they are needed, leaving the rest of the plant to keep growing. This lettuce is good for tubs or a small salad patch, also as edible edging for a potager

seedling by its leaves, gently tease the roots into the planting hole. Firm the soil around each plant and water.AdamMore on growing tomatoesRead Pippa Greenwood's blog on growing tomatoes outdoorsGrowing basil from seedGrowing salad leaves from seedGrowing

in the south-west. As well as feeding my young family out of our back garden, I squeeze in as many flowers as I can manage. This year I’m itching to sow the mouth-watering selection of flowers, veg, herbs and salads on offer through the Seed Club. The moment

seedGrowing salad leaves from seedGrowing tomatoes from seedBrowse vegetable varieties

and rush home to make tomato and mozzerella salads (it was then that I first had the urge to grow basil).The next year I asked my girlfriend what we should try growing on the balcony. "Sweetcorn", she said. So I did. I grew six sweetcorn plants on the sixth

novice veg growers make is to take on too much. When you are short of free time, restrict yourself to a small salad patch, a raised bed or some tubs of veg on the patio watered by a home-made irrigation system. Few of us have time to grow absolutely

results with shallots in the past and they pickle well if there are too many to eat.For greens I'm sticking to cabbages (red, savoy and winter types) plus a couple of beds of leeks, because I love them so much. I'll also sow a few herbs and salads like

FlowersFinish planting out veg cropsSow summer salads in guttering to grow quick cropsUse netting to protect developing and ripening fruits from birdsFruit & vegIncrease shading if inside temperatures are getting hotTake cuttings from houseplants Damp down the greenhouse

, they're certainly easier to peel than grapes).But don't despair if your beans have matured more than you would have wanted. Just cook, peel and mash the beans into a tasty puree.Broad beans are a simple crop to grow, but you do need quite a long row