Mid February

Early spring is a time of planning for the veggie patch. Write a list of which veggies you want to grow. Buy seeds or order online (I like Thompson & Morgan seeds) and check the details for sowing. Most will be in March, but there are a few, like aubergines, which need to go in now.

Prepare the beds. You need to divvy the plot into areas and start a rotation going. Decide where you are going to put brassicas, root veg and spuds. Get some compost (we have a good supply of rotted down manure on the farm!) and work into the spuds and the brassicas areas. Don't make the soil rich where you are planning on planting carrots and parsnips, as they do better in poorer soil. Potatoes are good for clearing ground of weeds and for breaking up new beds, and then I like to follow them the next year with root veg. Brassica beds definitely need to be rotated each year to avoid club root.

Tidy up the veggie patch area and sort out any construction work that needs doing.

You are likely to need some seed trays and suitable compost for the seeds you are buying, so get these organised too, and think about where to put them to germinate! I put mine in the conservatory and then on into the greenhouse when the frosts have definitely finished.

If you are growing some flowers from seed, they may need to go in now. Check the packets for instructions.

This is what I'm planning for this year:

Tomatoes - Sungold (cherry tom that I've grown before. Sweet and tasty)
- Ferline (large, beefsteak type, not grown it before)

Lettuce - Pandero (mini cos, good for small gardens and pots apparently - another new one)
- La Touga (got this from Fishbourne Palace, it's Italian and an experiment!)

Leeks - Porvite (needs sowing mid Jan/Feb)

Courgette - Panthenon (this grows well in our garden)

Runner bean - Red Rum (have grown this lots and I like it)

Early purple sprouting - Rudolf (I prefer to grow this as I find my summer broccoli gets caterpillars)

Brussel sprouts - Revenge (love the name!)

Spring cabbage - April

Parsnips - Gladiator

Flowers from seed:

Alstroemeria
Cosmos
Cleome (sow mid Jan/March)

Let me know if you have any questions about what to do in your plot!