Growing Guides
Find out how to grow your own food at home using our free grow guides below. You will find sowing times, best practices, growing difficulty, fun tips and tricks and our recommended varieties
Possibly the most popular herb in our kitchens, every kitchen garden needs basil!
A fantastic companion plant, and a marriage made in heaven when planted alongside tomatoes.
Sometimes referred to as laurel bay. Beautiful when cooked or a fantastic decorative tree if grown in pots.
Super easy to grow even in small space gardens. Pickled or cooked beetroot is a fantastic addition to any meal. If you would like to add some colour to your plot select a rainbow variety.
Possibly my favorite herb, besides having a multitude of culinary uses, borage adds a beautiful splash of colour to any garden or plot. Pollinators love borage but be careful not to let it take over your entire garden as it easily self seeds.
Sometimes known as fava beans. One of the main staples in most kitchen gardens, if sown in the previous autumn broad beans are one of the first to harvest. Just be vigilant of black flies.
There is a cabbage variety for all seasons. With a little bit of planning you really can harvest fresh cabbage nearly year round.
Carrots come in all shapes and sizes. Regardless of how much space you have on your plot there will be a variety to match your needs. Select a rainbow variety to add a splash of colour to your garden.
A fantastic plant to grow in any kitchen garden but be warned, this can be a tricky one to grow!
A fantastic crop to grow if you have the space. Home grown celery does not share the bland watery taste you find in store bought celery. With the introduction of modern self-blanching varieties growing celery is relatively simple.
I personally have a love-hate relationship with Chicory. Chicory looks beautiful in rows planted in the garden, However, I do not think the taste matches the level of effort required to grow.
A fantastic herb to grow at home as it does not take up much room and is super simple to grow. The flowers are edible and pollinators love them but be warned they will easily set seed.
This is a true all year round crop if appropriate protection is offered in winter. It is also known as lambs lettuce or mache.
A super easy crop to grow, be careful not to grow too many as each plant will give you an abundance of squash.
There are two main types of cucumbers, ridged (outdoors) and indoors. In the UK climate you will benefit from polytunnel and greenhouse.
Drying beans such as Borlotti are grown the same as regular beans, but are left on the plant to be dried and used later.
Many of our favourite garden flowers are edible and make a fantastic addition to salads.
If you like aniseed then Florence Fennel is a must grow in your garden! Technically not a root or bulb, but instead it is overlapping leaf stems.
French Beans in my opinion are a much easier crop to grow than their runner bean cousins as they rarely have the problem of flower setting, normally resulting in a much more consistent harvest.
Garlic is super easy to grow but will need to be overwintered to allow it to break into cloves.
Globe artichokes make a fantastic addition to any vegetable garden. Globe artichokes are perennial plants. They will grow from seeds, but it is easier to plant cuttings from existing plants. If left for long enough in the season they will develop a beautiful purple flower.
Are the perfect crop to fill out space in the garden where other crops simply will not grow. Unlike regular artichokes, they are grown for their underground tubers.
Can be grown almost year round in most areas. It sometimes has a reputation for being indestructible, but this is not entirely true. Kale can survive long winters and some varieties can survive hot summers too. Year round success is all about choosing the right varieties for the right climate.
Home grown lettuce tastes very different to the ones you will buy in the store. The have a crunch and a watery freshness you simply cannot find in the store bought ones.
In a cooler climate melons can be rather tricky to grow. However, with the protection of a greenhouse or polytunnel it is possible to get a great harvest.
Our guide and tips on how to grow different types of must try oriental brassicas at home.
Our guide and tips on how to grow these must try squash and pumpkin varieties at home.
This is a fantastic addition to any kitchen garden and if you have the climate it is a must grow! It is often referred to as lady's fingers in restaurants.
Onions can be grown either in sets (small bulbs)or by seeds Seed is cheaper but will take much longer. They are a fantastic crop to grow in any kitchen garden.
Parsnips are a fantastic crop that can provide you a fresh harvest during those cold winter months. However, they can be a little fussy about where you grow them.
Freshly picked peas are one of summer's great joys! Without a doubt my favourite crop to grow and a must in every kitchen garden.
A fantastic crop for any kitchen garden. Very easy to grow but will appreciate the protection of a greenhouse or polytunnel. Vast choice of varieties to suit all tastes and growing conditions.
Potatoes are a must in all kitchen gardens! Very easy to grow and will grow very well in containers if you are limited on space.
Pumpkins and squash are so much more than a Halloween decoration, and if you have the space I would highly recommend growing a few varieties. They are also a fantastic crop to get children involved as there is something very rewarding about carving a home grown pumpkin for Halloween.
Radishes are possibly one of the easiest crops to grow, if you are a beginner and are looking for a good crop to start with look no further.
A fantastic leafy green with a beautiful peppery taste. They can be fast to go to seed so be careful.
Runner Beans are a common sight in every allotment across the country because simply put freshly harvested young runner beans are one of the summer's great delights and relatively easy to grow.
Without a doubt my favourite allium to grow. While they may be smaller than their onion cousins they certainly pack a punch! They are perfect for pickling.
A fantastic summer crop, which are easy to grow and take up very little space on your plot.
Calabrese is what most people will think of when we think of broccoli.
Swedes will grow best in alkaline soil, if you have acidic soil and are planning on growing then consider adding lime. Nonetheless they are a great crop to try.
The name is slightly misleading as sweet potatoes are not actually potatoes. When growing sweet potatoes space is key, they need a lot of room to sprawl out as they are very large plants.
This is one crop I cannot recommend enough! Nothing beats a fresh cob, picked and taken straight to the kitchen to be cooked! The taste is unrecognisable from store bought corn.
This is a must in every garden, with endless striking varieties it can be grown in a vegetable patch but they will also not look out of place in your ornamental flower border. With a similar taste to spinach but far less demanding to grow this in one crop we cannot recommend enough.
Tomatoes are incredibly popular in allotments and vegetable patches all over the world and there is a very good reason for this. Not only are they incredibly tasty and versatile, they are surprisingly easy to grow. With well over 600 varieties from small to large, vine to bush and red to yellow we are now more so than ever spoilt for choice and there will be a variety to suit your growing conditions and taste.
