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in pots. While you can plant dahlia tubers directly into the soil, it's good to give them a head start under glass, before hardening off and planting out in late May. This not only ensures large, healthy plants with lots of flowering potential, but also

.When weather is warmer, sow every two to three weeks directly into well-prepared soil, 5cm deep. A flat trench, dug in a line or a circle, works well.Where space is at a premium, growing plants in a circle allows them to be trained up a tepee of cane

in small pots of good quality compost, from mid-March to mid-June. Place in a heated propagator, or warm windowsill, and keep just moist.When seedlings are about 10cm tall, harden off thoroughly. once frosts have passed, plant them out in deeply dug soil

with a thin layer of soil. Sow from March to August for regular pickings.Water well to help germination – lots of moisture is needed by this fast-growing crop, which should appear in 2-3 days.Thin out emerging seedlings to leave plants about 2-4cm apart

circulation inside is vital.Easy accessIf you’re planning on growing in the beds inside your structure, choose a spot with decent soil, if you can, as you’ll be asking a lot from it. Poor soil can be improved by digging in organic matter, and raised beds

of the driveway, are probably failing to flower because the soil is compacted by cars, delivery trucks and passing pedestrians.I’m sure that, with a little extra care, the blind daffodils will flower next year. I’ll surround them with a barrier of canes and twine

in garden centres or online, at around £4 for 15. They’re hard to establish in cold, wet soil outside, so plant in pots first.Soak roots in water for half an hour if they look dry. Carefully separate into individual crowns, each with a shoot and set of roots

I’m a big fan of raspberries, which are the most reliable of all the soft fruit crops that I grow. My soil is heavy and alkaline, and I’ve found that autumn-fruiting raspberries last much longer in it than summer-fruiting varieties. So now I stick

, or self-setting gravel edged with timber. Where you intend to plant direct into the border soil, fork it thoroughly to relieve any compaction and incorporate plenty of compost. Alternatively, if you'll be growing in pots and growing bags, or on benches

made it impossible to sow seeds directly outside in the garden. The ground was just too wet, making it difficult to prepare the surface soil to sow into. Any small seeds I did endeavour to sow got washed away, wasting time, effort and money