How to Grow Herbs from Seed

Growing from seed is preferable if you require larger numbers of plants. Although it is more-work than buying pre-grown plants, it is not difficult and is much cheaper. This is…

How to Grow Garlic

Garlic is one of the easiest crops to grow. No matter where you live in the UK, so long as you have a weed-free, sunny spot and well-drained soil, you…

How to Grow French (Green) Beans

French (green) beans are among the oldest type of cultivated bean. They originated in Central and South America, where evidence suggests that they were being grown at least 8,000 years…

How to Grow Florence and Celeriac

These two unusual vegetables are rarely seen on the vegetable patch but are appreciated in the kitchen for their distinctive flavor. Florence fennel is a type of fennel bred for…

How to Grow Edible Plants in Containers

Planting one type of vegetable per container seems to work best. Mixed plantings of different vegetables, or vegetables and flowers in the same container, soon lose their visual impact once…

How to Grow Cucumbers

One of the quickest ways to prepare a meal is to pop into the garden, grab a lettuce, some tomatoes and a cucumber. Add some fresh, crusty bread - and…

How to Grow Courgettes

Courgette plants take up a lot of space, spreading at least l m across. But, if you can find room for them in a border or a patio tub, you…

How to Grow Climbing French Beans

As a change from runner beans, try growing climbing French beans up a wigwam in the border or on a trellis or arch. Varieties with yellow-, purple- and red-flushed pods…

How to Grow Chicory and Endive

These continental salad plants are a major ingredient in the bags of exotic salad mixtures available in supermarkets. They are fairly easy to grow and can be harvested late in…

How to Grow Celery

Celery is an important vegetable for the kitchen as it is used, at least in part, in many dishes, including basic recipes such as stocks. Its culinary importance is not…

How to Grow Cauliflowers

Cauliflowers are not the easiest of crops to grow, but they are one of the most rewarding, both in a sense of achievement and in the eating. Like so many…

How to Grow Carrots

Many people may wonder if it is worth growing carrots when they are so cheap to buy. The answer must be an emphatic "yes". Fresh carrots, whether old or young,…

How to Grow Cabbages

Cabbage has been in cultivation for 3,000 years or so, but the cabbage as we know it today is a comparatively recent development, probably dating from the Middle Ages. Cabbage…

How to Grow Broad Beans

It can be difficult to buy good-quality fresh broad beans in the shops. But this needn't worry the vegetable gardener, as broad beans are easy to grow and, unlike runner…

How to Grow Apples

Apples are a staple fruit, grown in many countries around the world, but although there are, literally, thousands of varieties, the number available in shops can be limited. Unlike many…

How to Grow Apricots

Apricots are not grown as frequently as most other fruit, partly because they are not very easy to grow and partly because, with limited space, most gardeners prefer to grow…

How to Grow Aubergine

Although we now know them by their French name, aubergines were originally called eggplants - look at the small white fruits of the variety 'Ova' to see why. It is…