Finally its time to start the seed sowing! Planning complete for the veg garden, seeds purchased (plus a few “impromptu” purchases – it’s impossible not to be tempted) and now it’s time start sowing a few of them indoors.

I love the process and will happily spend hours reviewing the catalogues, but it is time-consuming and you can be faced with lots of information if all you want to grow is a few crops.

So, these are a couple of possible short-cuts which may help you to get you started more quickly:

1. Speak to friends and family or use websites such as the RHS, Gardener’s World and Which (although you need to be a member to access some of their advice) for basic information:
https://www.rhs.org.uk/Advice/Beginners-Guide/Vegetable-basics/Planning-a-vegetable-garden

2. Restrict your selection of veg – time and effort is required to tend to a wide selection of veg successfully, so it may be better to start with only a few varieties. Let the experts make a few suggestions on what to grow:

http://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/features/fruit-veg/easy-care-veg-crops-to-grow/3656.html

http://www.which.co.uk/home-and-garden/garden/guides/growing-your-own-veg/the-five-easiest-vegetables-to-grow/

3. Sowing and Growing Charts – it can take a while to work through the seed packets to know what has be sown when, but various growing charts are available for a quick look-up, such as:
http://www.mr-fothergills.co.uk/Home/Gardening-by-Month/Vegetable-Sowing-and-Planting-Guide.html#.VNtbsi7g_Rg
Thompson and Morgan have also added a new section to their monthly gardening information of what to sow and grow each month:
http://www.thompson-morgan.com/in-the-garden-this-month

Finally, be mindful of your ground or growing conditions when selecting your seeds. The seed companies aren’t great at outlining all of the things to consider such as soil type, but it can be important. For example, if your ground is heavy clay and full of stones then some root veg (e.g. carrots) may struggle, or if your growing in containers then a veg e.g. broccoli is probably not the best one to select. If you are unsure them a quick look on the internet with your specific query should hopefully give you a starting point.