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Sarah Raven offers advice on which tomato varieties to grow, and demonstrates how to sow tomato seeds in coir pellets.springMore advice on growing tomatoesGrowing tomatoes in pots and grow bagsGrowing tomatoes from seedGrowing tomatoes outdoors

California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) are hardy annuals that bring a vivid splash of colour to summer borders. After their long flowering period the plants will also readily self-seed.California poppy seeds eg 'Golden Values'Bamboo caneTrowelPlant labelsPencil or waterpro...

The sowing of large areas. This is done either by scattering seed by hand or mechanically.

done, I forked a barrow load into the now-empty greenhouse bed and began seed sowing. First, I direct-sowed lamb's lettuce, then sowed 'Arctic King', 'Winter Gem' and the greenhouse lettuce 'Rosetta', which I've not tried before, into modules.Next, I

, especially during the high-risk hardy annual season.I love sowing seeds and still get a thrill at what can be achieved from just a few packets. Any packet labelled 'hardy annual' (or the abbreviation, 'HA') will do the trick, and there's no need for seed

have as a lawn. Our first job when we moved into our new flat was to lift the paved courtyard at the back, remove the sand and builders' rubble and buy in lots of topsoil (this used up my garden budget, so we couldn't buy any turf). We then sowed some

More seed sowing this week. The parsnips should have been in weeks ago I know, along with the beetroot, turnips, swedes and so forth. But it's not the end of the world — my first crops will either be a bit later than everybody else’s or I'll harvest

by the hedge to harden them off before planting them out.We've had mixed results with broad beans. I usually sow them in autumn - trouble is that they need to get established as soon as they're planted otherwise the mice can dig them up and eat them. As well

mizuna. The autumn sowings germinated amazingly well and the plants are much tougher (in terms of weather resistance, not texture!) than I had anticipated. I kept them covered with some of those brilliant fleece-covered, pull-out mini tunnels. Lo

on a bed of brown rice.All of these thoughts prompt me to engage in some therapeutic seed sowing. Sowing seeds is almost as comforting as eating the final result. After a few hours in the greenhouse sowing yet more peppers and chillies, including some