Green sprout growing from seed

You may think that you have missed your chance to have a go at growing your own produce this year, but that is not the case! You still have time to serve up your own home grown salads at your next barbecue. Vegetables such as tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers, celery and strawberries all thrive in the warmer months, and if looked after well can continue to grow into the autumn.

There are two options you are faced with when choosing to plant vegetables, either planting seeds from a packet or seedlings that have already sprouted. Either is a reliable bet, they just require slightly different planting methods.

Take a seeding tray and fill it with medium or potting soil, remember to sieve it if the soil is lumpy. Compact the soil with your hand until it is level with the top of the seeding tray. Moisten the soil with a watering can, use a rose head (the spout with many holes). If you don't have one of those then poke a few small holes in the side of a water bottle, fill with water and sprinkle over the soil.

Make holes in the soil big enough to fit your seedlings or about twice as deep as the length of your seeds. these holes should be about two inches apart from each other, unless otherwise stated on the packet. Place your seeds or seedlings in the holes and cover with another layer of tightly packed soil.

Check the instructions on the packets that you have used for instructions on how much sunlight and water to give them. You should be fine leaving them on a window sill that gets lots of light, making sure that the soil is always moist.