One of the most reliable fruits in my front yard is a thornless blackberry, Loch Tay. I bought it in 2013, planted it in a large 100 litre (25 US gallon) pot, and it produced several good handfuls of berries from year one. Five years ago, I moved it into a 120 litre pot and we now pick several kilos of delicious blackberries from early July to mid August each year, weeks before the wild blackberries ripen. It requires very little work apart from regular watering and occasional feeding. Oddly, the many blackbirds that frequent our front yard only show interest in it some years. Luckily this year they are leaving it alone - so far! (Although the odd sparrow has been spotted nibbling).

Other fruits can require considerable patience. I was delighted to be given a dwarf mulberry six years ago - but nearly gave up on it as it produced almost no fruit at all for four years. That’s a lot of watering for very little reward! But this year, it is producing really well - we’re regularly picking small bowls full - and the fruits taste really good (although not quite up to the best mulberries from large trees). Fresh mulberries are almost impossible to buy so it’s lovely to have a supply in the garden. The only downside is that the blackbirds love it, too. So we’ve had to net it - which I don’t really like doing but it’s the only way I know to reliably keep them out. (I once had to give up growing a honeyberry because the blackbirds were so proficient at eating all the berries before we got any!).

Blueberries can be a very good choice for small spaces as many varieties will grow fine in a 20 litre (4 ghallon) pot and some give beautiful autumn leaf colour as well as fruit. That said, I’ve had variable experiences with them. A few plants I’ve grown have been laden with fruit each year, others have produced very poorly. I have never quite worked out why - my suspicion is that it's either the variety or subtle differences in the ericaceous compost. They all receive much the same care once planted. Any one have any insights into this or experienced something similar?

When fruits aren’t productive in pots for several years, it can be hard to know how long to persevere for. I’ve got a cherry that’s only produced a handful of cherries each year for five years - and the blackbirds normally beat me to it. I’m having a similar experience with a plum tree, giving only two or three (admittedly very tasty) plums a year. Have they simply not reached their stride yet, or are they telling me they’re never going to be happy in those containers?

And, talking of productive fruits, few can compete with my apple which has been giving us around 100 delicious apples every year for around six or seven years now. That’s an apple a day for me and my partner every day for nearly two months. The variety is Green Sleeves, bought as a Minarette (a special way of training fruit trees for small spaces) from Ken Muir in 2011 and is, without doubt, one of my most treasured plants. It had a chequered start though - moving house four times in it’s first five years of life, and only giving us a half a dozen or so apples each year during that time. But once we settled it started to do better. About four years ago I moved it into a 150 litre pot (because I’m lucky to have enough space) and it continues to flourish. In smaller spaces, a dwarf apple can be maintained long term in a smaller 40 litre pot if carefully looked after, although a 60 to 100 litre pot is better if possible.

Other reliable low maintenance fruits in our front yard are the Japanese wineberries that fruit in August every year, and the purple raspberry Glencoe that fruits in late June / early July. I’ve noticed, however, that the raspberries have been getting smaller in recent years, and perhaps need repotting or a slightly sunnier site. I’ve had them for over ten years now.

The Chilean guava, like the blackberry, is also thirteen years old, is very little work, and gives us much better harvests some years than others. Interestingly, I bought two very small Chilean guava bushes from the same place at the same time, but only one of them flourished - and the other one died after only a few years. Chilean guavas grow on a small evergreen bush and taste a bit like blueberries crossed with strawberries - very nice, but perhaps less versatile in the kitchen than raspberries or blueberries. Their biggest advantage is that they fruit very late in the season, often from October into November. Having fresh fruit at that time of year feels like a real luxury.

What can we conclude? Fruits can be very worthwhile in a long term container garden - but you also have to accept that, even when you do everything ‘right’, some varieties simply seem happier than others in containers. That’s one reason I think it’s worth buying the best plants you can and seeking advice from people who really know their fruit.

Growing fruit has taught me that learning takes place on a very different timescale. Annual vegetables let you experiment freely—I can sow several different tomato varieties every spring—but a fruit tree might take five or six years before you know whether it was the right choice. Fruit growing isn't more difficult, but it does reward patience and careful choice from the outset.

I'd love to hear about your own experiences. Which fruits have done brilliantly for you in containers—and which have been disappointing? I'm always curious to learn which varieties seem to thrive in different climates and growing conditions. Between us, we probably have experience of growing dozens of different fruit varieties in pots. It would be wonderful to build up a shared bank of experience.

In this episode, I speak with Anna de la Vega, founder of the Urban Worm, who has spent more than a decade helping people across the UK set up wormeries in homes, schools, workplaces and community projects. Together we explore everything from getting started with worms to the role they could play in tackling waste, improving soils and building more sustainable communities.

Listen here on Substack, or on Spotify or YouTube.

Some of the things we discuss

Start small and keep it simple

One of Anna's strongest messages is that worm farming doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive. A few buckets, a storage box or even an old recycling bin can work perfectly well.

Worm farming is animal husbandry—and the secret is learning how to keep the worms happy. Their key needs are simple: organic kitchen waste, carbon (cardboard or woodchip), moisture, ventilation, drainage, and protection from direct sunlight.

Choosing the right wormery

Anna is not particularly enthusiastic about some of the more expensive commercial wormeries available today and often prefers simple DIY systems. Many of the stacking wormeries on the market are also heavy and the worms can be slow to migrate between layers.

For larger-scale or family use, more surface area increases the amount of food waste the worms can process - and makes them more forgiving and easier to look after. A larger surface area also allows worms to move away from disliked food and adjust to new diets. Good examples include old baths, large storage boxes, and old recycling bins.

The secret is balance

Many wormery failures happen because people give worms too much of one thing. Anna shared how she once killed a colony by feeding them too many apples, while others overload wormeries with coffee grounds. Worms thrive on a varied diet and a balance of food scraps and carbon-rich materials such as cardboard.

We also discuss how worms can adapt to a surprisingly wide range of food sources. Anna explains that worms raised on one type of feed may initially be reluctant to tackle a very different diet, but over time they adjust. This helps explain why newly purchased worms can sometimes seem slow to process our kitchen scraps and why introducing new foods gradually often works best.

Worms don’t actually eat your food waste

One fascinating insight is that worms are not directly munching their way through vegetable scraps. Instead, they are feeding on the microbes that break down the waste. Chopping food into smaller pieces helps create more surface area for those microbes and speeds up the process.

Carbon matters more than many people realise

Anna has tested the biology of her compost and discovered that many wormeries are too bacteria-dominated because people don’t add enough carbon. Cardboard, egg cartons and woodchip all help create a healthier balance and support fungal life in the compost.

We also explore the value of woodchip as a carbon source. As well as helping balance food-rich wormeries, woodchip improves structure and airflow in both the wormery and the finished compost. Anna uses it extensively in her commercial systems, while I’ve found it particularly useful for improving the texture of worm compost and creating a more fungal-rich growing medium.

Horse manure is worm gold

If you have access to horse manure, Anna describes it as one of the best things you can add to a wormery. It encourages worm breeding, and helps restore struggling systems.

Be cautious about “worm wee”

Many commercial wormeries are marketed around the liquid that drains from them. Anna explains that this liquid is technically leachate rather than true worm tea, and its quality can vary considerably. Leachate can contain harmful bacteria and is not recommended for large-scale or edible crops.

Instead, Anna recommends making a simple worm compost tea. This can be as easy as steeping a handful of finished worm compost in dechlorinated water and using the resulting liquid as a soil drench or foliar feed. It's an inexpensive way to spread the biology and nutrients from a small amount of worm compost much more widely around the garden.

Worm farming is about more than compost

Throughout our conversation, we keep returning to a bigger idea: worm farming changes how we think about waste. Nature produces no waste, and wormeries allow us to mimic the natural recycling systems found in woodlands and healthy soils. They help keep organic matter out of waste streams, reduce transport, create valuable compost and reconnect us with natural cycles.

Why aren’t worms more popular?

One of the most interesting parts of the discussion is hearing how mainstream worm farming is in other parts of the world. Anna describes seeing worm composting used in prisons, schools, farms and municipalities in the United States, Cuba and the Philippines. In some regions of the Philippines, worm farming is even built into organic certification schemes.

As Anna points out, worm farming may not attract much attention because it is such a simple, low-tech solution. But perhaps that’s exactly why it deserves more attention.

I hope you enjoy the conversation.

Links and more information

The Urban Worm - Anna’s website has lots of useful information and resources -subscribe to her monthly newsletter on this page.

Ted Talk - Nick H, aka the ‘Worm Dude’, from the Monroe Correctional Complex in the USA describes the prisoners experience of worm farming.

How to make a wormery - my guide to making a simple wormery, and a basic feeding guide.

Ecothrive - for soil testing and chlorine removing solution.

Listen or watch the full recording here or on your favourite podcast platform - short written summary below.

This is the first in a series of wide ranging conversations with growers and other inspiring people to explore what happens when we start growing on balconies, patios, and rooftops.

Susannah grows in a collection of planters around her boat, moving through the seasons from winter salads into summer crops like tomatoes and mini courgettes. At the moment, the stars of her garden are the violas and pansies spilling out against the blue of the boat — beautiful to look at, but also edible additions to salads.

One of the most interesting parts of our conversation was hearing about the plants she relies on most in the kitchen. For Susannah, it’s Welsh onions. She finds them easier and more reliable than spring onions, especially in a small space, and loves having a strong onion flavour available throughout the year. They pair particularly well with the eggs from her quails.

We also talked about how gardening journeys often begin. Susannah started growing with her dad, later gardening in a house before eventually rediscovering her passion when she moved into a London flat with a balcony. By filling that balcony with containers, she created what she describes as a green oasis in the city.

There was lots of practical wisdom too for anyone starting out with container growing. Susannah emphasised the value of planters with water reservoirs, especially for keeping containers evenly moist during warmer weather. She also encouraged people to experiment, observe what works in their own conditions, and connect with others through community growing projects such as Permablitzes.

What came through most strongly was the idea that even the smallest growing spaces can become productive, beautiful, and deeply nourishing places — whether that’s a balcony, rooftop, patio… or even a boat.

Susannah is an experienced trainer and facilitator, running gardening and craft workshops (see: www.susannahhall.london and Instagram). She is also a director of Permablitz London, and helps run the wonderful London Permaculture Festival (Sunday 26 July this year).

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A common challenge of growing in containers in built up areas is sun - or, more accurately, lack of it. Patios, yards and balconies are often shaded by walls, neighbouring buildings or large trees. The concept of planting in ‘full sun’ - as seed packs often advise - is only a dream for many of us.

While the vast majority of edible plants do grow best in full sun (‘full sun’ is defined as six or more hours a day), it is possible to create a productive edible garden in less. You just need to be more selective about what you grow. Luckily, there is still lots of choice - as we will see.

Over the years, I’ve grown on a sunny patio and a sunny backyard - and on a shady balcony, a very shady back yard, and a partly sunny front yard. This post summarises my experience of what does - and what doesn’t - grow well in different amounts of sun.

When I started ‘serious’ growing in 2009, I found reliable information on how much sun different plants hard to come by. Perhaps this is because, historically, vegetables were (and most still are) grown in large gardens or allotments, where full sun isn’t a rare commodity.

Most garden literature, for example, advises that both chillies and rosemary need full sun. In practise, it turns out that chillies really do, but rosemary will grow fine in just three hours. Indeed most of the Mediterranean ‘sun loving’ herbs will grow ok in just a few hours of sun. True, they develop a bit less flavour - but, freshly picked, they still taste good.

As I experimented with different plants, a clear pattern emerged of how much sun different plants need:-

• 3-4 hours sun: all leafy veg, salad leaves and herbs plus woodland fruits.

• 5 - 6 hours sun: all root veg, plus peas and beans.

• 6 hours plus sun: all other fruiting veg (tomatoes, chillies etc), plus most other non woodland fruits like peaches and figs.

It’s not a foolproof system, but, as a rule of thumb, it’s surprisingly reliable. Follow it and you won’t often go wrong.

Here’s a more detailed breakdown of what grows well in different amounts of sun.

What grows well in 3 – 4 hours a day?

• Microgreens. All microgreens grow strongly in just three hours sun - or even less. I’ve even grown them successfully in a back yard with no direct sun at all. The most delicious include sunflower shoots, pea shoots, rocket / arugula, coriander and radish. They are nutritious, delicious and one of the most productive choices for container gardening. A great one to try first in marginal spaces.

• Nearly all salad leaves including lettuce, rocket, sorrel, orach, mustards like mizuna and mibuna, watercress, land cress, nasturtiums, winter purslane / claytonia, lambs lettuce / mache, chicory, endive will grow productively. Great news for the salad lover with a balcony or patio that doesn’t get full sun: a huge variety of tasty leaves awaits you.

• Most leafy vegetables, including spinach, chard and kale.

• Most herbs, including mint, coriander, parsley, bay, thyme, oregano, chives, garlic chives, sage, savory, and rosemary. Even basil will grow in three hours sun as long as it is kept warm - here in Newcastle I have to grow it on a windowsill inside for most of the year. A herb garden is a great way to transform low cost staples - like grains and pulses - into delicious and nutritious meals.

• Woodland fruits - fruits that have evolved to grow in less sun include blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries, Japanese wineberries, alpine strawberries (the small wild ones), black currants and red currants.

Although sun loving crops like chillies will struggle in 3 to 4 hours sun, I hope you can see that there is still lots of choice. Herbs and salad leaves are also amongst the very best things to grow at home - where you can pick them just as you need them.

What grows well in 5- 6 hours sun a day?

Everything listed above for 3-4h hours sun, plus:-

• Most peas and beans, including French / pole beans, broad beans and runner / string beans. (Borlotti bean types are probably better in full sun). In urban spaces surrounded by walls, you’ll often notice that there is more sun higher up. Climbing peas and beans are a good way to utilise this.

• Most root crops including radish, potatoes, spring onions / scallions, beetroot and carrots. It is possible to get a small harvest of many roots in just four hours sun, but most do become more productive in five or six hours. That said, I’ve grown spring onions and Jerusalem artichokes very successfully in just four hours sun.

• Apples and pears will also grow and fruit well in 5 hours or more sun.

What plants grow well in 6 hours sun?

Most plants listed above will also grow well in full sun and most will grow even better. A few of the leafy crops - like lettuce and coriander - however don’t like it too hot. In very sunny spaces, keep these out of the midday sun if you can.

• The crops that most need six hours sun to yield well include most of sub-tropical (originating from South America or South Asia) fruiting vegetables like tomatoes, squash, chillies, aubergines / eggplant, courgettes / zucchini, cucumber, and peppers. In less than six hours sun, the yield is often small or non-existent, or the fruits fail to ripen. If your space is a bit marginal and you are desperate to grow tomatoes, try small cherry varieties first - they ripen more easily than beefsteak varieties.

• Strawberries, peaches, figs and hardy kiwis also grow best in full sun.

Try it and see

These rules of thumb will help you work out what to grow. Bear in mind, though, that every space is different, and it’s only by trying different things with an open mind that you learn what really works for you. Other factors like reflected light, warmth and wind can also impact on how well different plants grow.

It’s sometimes possible to push things. Some root veg will grow OK in four hours sun for example. But if sun loving crops like chillies and aubergines don’t have enough sun they are prone to grow weak, leggy and fail to ripen. This is often disappointing, particularly if you’ve put a lot of work into raising them.

One last observation. I’ve noticed from both my own personal experience and from helping others to grow that it is easy to be over optimistic about how much sun a space gets. So do try to be as realistic as you can.

How to work out how much sun your space gets

A simple and effective way to work out how many hours of sun a space gets, is to take photographs with your phone or camera every hour or two on a sunny day when you are at home. This will give you a visible record to review at the end of the day. You will see how the sun moves during the day, which areas get the most and least sun, and roughly how many hours of sun each part of, say your balcony, gets.

The free Sun Path App - available for both iPhone and Android - is also helpful for gauging how sun hours and patterns change through the year.

What’s your experience?

If you have succeeded in creating a productive garden in a space with only a few hours sun, it would be great to hear what grows best for you. Equally, if you have a very hot and sunny space - what do you grow and how do you manage?

Also, have you found any exceptions to my rough rules of thumb?

Long-term readers may remember that, as an experiment, I grew tomatoes in the same pot and compost for six consecutive years. To my surprise, they performed just as well each year. One pot contained a compost based on composted bark and wood, the other on coir—and both performed equally well.

How to re-use compost

To reuse compost successfully, you need to do two things: first, replace the nutrients the previous crops have used; and second, check the structure to make sure there are still plenty of air gaps for roots to breathe.

1. Replace the nutrients

There are several ways to do this.

The simplest is to mix in a handful or two of a general-purpose organic fertiliser, such as blood, fish and bone, or a vegan equivalent. If you have access to homemade compost or worm compost, add some of that too. I also like to include a handful of seaweed meal for minerals, although this isn’t essential.

For leafy crops such as salads or kale, chicken manure pellets or rapeseed (canola) meal are both excellent options. These are rich in nitrogen (needed for leaf growth), but also contain phosphorus, potassium, and other important minerals. Chicken manure pellets are widely available in garden centres and sometimes even supermarkets. Rapeseed meal is harder to find in small quantities—it’s often sold as cattle feed—but it is available online, and is less smelly and easier to mix in than chicken manure. I bought 10 kilos once and it lasted me about eight years.

If you don’t have any suitable fertiliser, you can instead add 30–50% good-quality new compost. Either mix it in or simply add a fresh layer on top of the pot.

When sowing seeds directly into a container, I often add a 1–2 cm layer of new compost to the surface anyway. My theory is that seeds tend to germinate better in fresh compost—and it may also help hide the worms in my pots from blackbirds, which like to dig them up.

During the growing season, regular liquid feeds will also help keep plants productive.

2. Check the structure

It’s also worth checking the structure of your compost before reusing it. Over time, compost can become compacted and lose some of its air spaces.

Pick up a handful and squeeze it. Ideally, it should feel crumbly. If it feels sticky or claggy, mix in materials that improve drainage and structure. Composted woodchip or coir (coconut fibre) work particularly well, but if you can’t find these, a few handfuls of new compost will help.

Interestingly, one advantage of many peat-free composts is that they tend to retain their structure better over time than peat-based composts.

No-dig container gardening

In larger containers, instead of mixing fertiliser or worm compost into the soil, you can try a no-dig approach. Cut the previous crop off at the base, leaving the roots to rot down in the compost. Then spread a layer of worm compost or fresh compost over the surface.

This mimics what happens in nature, where fertility is replenished by organic matter breaking down on the soil surface. My own trials suggest this works well - although I haven’t found it to be significantly better than other methods.

Are some plants easier to grow in old compost?

I think just about any plant will grow well in old compost as long as you follow the two steps above. That said, some plants are less fussy and easier than others. The easiest, in my experience, include all the salad and other leafy crops, potatoes, and the Jerusalem artichokes I talked about last week. Also mint. And courgettes (Zucchini) and squash.

Tomatoes, chillies and aubergines are slightly more fussy. Still very possible but perhaps best to start with the easier ones if you haven’t done it before.

Your experience?

If you’ve reused compost before, I’d love to hear what’s worked for you - or any questions if you’re thinking of trying it this year.

I’m always on the lookout for reliable, easy plants to grow in containers - both for myself and for any of you looking for a few dependable ‘bankers’.

At first sight, Jerusalem artichokes look far too large for pots. I even remember reading, years ago, that they weren’t suitable for container growing. Then one year I tried them on a whim—and was surprised at how easily and vigorously they grew, even in the confines of a pot. And how well they yielded.

They do best in a 30–50 litre pot, but will still grow and give a reasonable harvest in something as small as 10 litres (about small bucket size).

Why grow Jerusalem Artichokes?

Jerusalem artichokes are a great choice for growing at home for several reasons.

They need only around three hours of sun to grow and yield well. They’re tough and reliable, coping well in cool summers when other crops struggle. Their enthusiasm for growing makes them the veg equivalent of puppies straining at the leash. Once you’ve grown them once, it’s also really easy to save a couple of tubers to grow them again - so no need to buy new tubers every year.

They’re ready to harvest in January and February—a time when other pickings are often lean. And unless you live near a good farmers’ market, they can be hard to find in the shops.

They’re also rich in inulin, a type of fibre that feeds beneficial gut bacteria and supports digestive health. For this reason, they’re often recommended as a prebiotic.

Last but not least, they’re delicious—particularly roasted in their skins—and make excellent soups and risottos.

3 kilos from a 30 litre pot

I grew them last year in a 30 litre pot and, despite harvesting a little late this year (due to some recent mobility issues), got just over 3 kilos.

Given that around 300g is enough for a risotto for three people, that’s quite a few meals. In fact, as much as I love Jerusalem artichokes, 3kg is about the perfect amount for us.

They don’t store well at room temperature (going flabby within a few days), but will keep fine for a month or two in the fridge.

How to grow

Jerusalem artichokes are grown from tubers, like potatoes. You only need one tuber for a small pot (10–20 litres), or two for a larger one (40–50 litres).

If you see them at a farmers’ market, buy some to eat and set one or two aside to plant (store them in the fridge until you do). They’ll usually grow just fine. Alternatively, you can buy them online or from some garden centres.

If you have a choice of varieties, the fatter, smoother-skinned ones—like ‘Red Fuseau’—are easier to peel and prepare in the kitchen.

To grow them, it really is as simple as filling a pot with compost and burying the tuber about 10cm (4 inches) below the surface—any time from March to May in the UK.

They’re happy growing in last year’s compost, as long as you top up nutrients. A handful or two of a general-purpose fertiliser (such as blood, fish and bone), or about 20% worm compost, works well.

Keep them well watered, and feed every two or three weeks with a general-purpose liquid feed through summer and autumn (or add a 1–2cm layer of worm compost to the surface every few weeks).

By mid-summer they can reach 2 metres or more. In pots, they can become prone to blowing over. You can trim them back to the height you want by cutting stems just above a pair of leaves—this also encourages bushier growth. Avoid removing more than a third of the plant at any one time.

Established plants are thirsty, so keep them well watered.

Harvest between January and early March, either by digging around in the pot or tipping it out.

The tubers below were harvested a little late (late March), and you can see they’ve already started sprouting. They still taste the same, though, and will grow perfectly well if replanted.

How to Eat

They’re delicious roasted (no need to peel), either on their own or mixed with other root vegetables.

They also make excellent soups and rich, flavourful risottos, and can even be shaved raw into salads.

In his book Jerusalem, Ottolenghi roasts them with chicken, shallots, preserved lemon and pink peppercorns—well worth trying.

Plant artichokes instead of potatoes?

If space is limited, Jerusalem artichokes are, in many ways, a better choice than potatoes.

Jerusalem artichokes are very forgiving and generally free from the build-up of diseases that can affect potatoes, so replanting a few tubers from your own harvest is usually easy and reliable. Potatoes, by contrast, are prone to accumulating viruses and other diseases, hence the advice to start each year with certified, disease-free seed potatoes.

They’re also harder (and usually more expensive) to find in shops—and crucially, they give you something to eat in January and February when very little else is growing.

If you’ve grown Jerusalem artichokes in containers, I’d love to hear how you got on—along with any tips, preferred varieties, or favourite recipes to eat them!

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As seed sowing begins again (it’s just chillies and aubergines for me later this month), today we look at a common challenge of growing at home: raising healthy seedlings inside. For tips on what to do in the container garden in February, see here.

But first, here’s a striking - and rather wonderful - finding from the 2025 World Happiness Report, drawing on large-scale international survey data from 142 countries. It turns out that the frequency with which we share meals with others predicts life satisfaction almost as strongly as relative income or employment status. Intuitively, most of us probably know this already, but it’s disheartening that modern culture largely overlooks the value of food sharing. Wouldn’t it be great if governments measured and published food sharing statistics alongside more material indicators like GDP?!

All of this is more hard evidence that quality of life is dependent on more than just status or income. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if food growing also correlates with better life satisfaction in a similar way — I wonder if there’s already a study that looks at this directly?

Let there be light

It’s widely known that plants need sun and light to grow. But it can take a few years of growing to understand just how much plants LOVE light: they need it make sugars and its key to their health. Too little light and they grow weak, leggy and miserable. Their immune defences weaken and they become more prone to pests and disease.

The challenge of raising seedlings inside

Plenty of light is also vital for raising strong, healthy seedlings inside. The problem is that indoor spaces, even sunny window sills, usually get between 5 (at very best) and 50 times less light than they do outside. This is because the light inside only comes from one direction, not 365 degrees like outside. The glass further reduces the light by varying amounts, depending on the glass. Our eyes are so good at adjusting automatically to different light levels, it’s hard for us to detect how much darker it can be inside.

The consequence is that a lot of seeds that are sown inside, particularly early in the year, grow weak and leggy. Sometimes these seedlings come round and grow well when planted outside. But more often weak seedlings grow into a weak plants. So it’s always worth trying to raise the strongest seedlings you can.

Here are three ideas to help you grow stronger seedlings when sowing inside your home.

1. Avoid sowing too early.

In February and March the problem of low light inside is compounded by shorter days and the low sun. As the days lengthen and brighten from around mid April, more light reaches inside most homes, and seed raising gets easier.

Luckily there is a lot that grows well if sown from mid April onwards, including tomatoes, courgettes / zucchini, French / green beans, and cucumbers. Even the fast growing varieties of chillies, like ‘Red Basque Chilli’ can be sown as late as mid April (slower growing varieties like Scotch Bonnet do need sowing earlier though, usually around mid February).

2. Move plants outside on warm, sunny days

Gardening books talk about moving plants outside to ‘harden’ them off - to help them adapt to wind and the fluctuating temperatures outside. But perhaps even more beneficial - but less often mentioned - is that moving them outside also gives them a huge boost of light. In my experience, this makes a big difference to seedling health.

Choose the days put them out carefully: ideally you want a bright day with some sun, above 10°C / 50°F, and not too windy. Put them in a sheltered spot if you can. AND remember to bring them back inside at night or if the weather turns!

3. Use a grow light

The two methods above will, between them, often make it possible to raise healthy seedlings inside - particularly for seeds sown from mid April onwards.

However, some seeds - like some chilli varieties - do need sowing earlier, usually around February time.

Also, some homes with small windows or surrounded by buildings, are simply too dark inside to raise healthy seedlings at any time of year. If you struggle to raise healthy seedlings, this might be why.

One solution in these cases is to get a LED grow light. There are various types of grow light - two common ones to consider are:

Low power LED strip lights - these are often used for growing microgreen insides. For raising strong chilli and tomato seedlings they are not ideal but better than nothing. They are not very expensive and will help, particularly if you also put plants out on warm, sunny days.

Panels with many small LEDs - these have a higher light intensity than the strip lights. The are more expensive but also much better for raising strong healthy plants inside. The quality of my chilli seedlings improved dramatically when I started using one of these.

Other options

If your home is not so suitable for raising seedlings - or if you don’t have time - buying small plants later in the year is a good alternative, particularly for tomatoes, chillies, aubergines / egg plant, cucumbers and courgettes / zucchini. Look out for community plant sales in your area, as these are usually the best value and the most enjoyable shopping experience!

Things have been a little chaotic recently as I snapped an Achilles tendon before Christmas, and then was in bed with flu for the first week of the New Year. I’m shaking off the flu now - but living on crutches for eight to ten weeks while the Achilles heals is taking some adjusting to. I’m not really cut out for a sedentary life! But, on the bright side, it could be a lot worse, and at least it’s a quiet time in the garden.

As we move into 2026, it feels like urban food growing is more important than ever. The cost of food in the shops continues to rise and the security of our food supply feels more fragile than ever against the backdrop of climate change, cyber threats and sabre rattling. Not only that, but the quality of the food in the shops seems to be on an ever downward spiral. As a small indicator, my local Sainsbury’s (a medium sized branch) has recently discontinued stocking a number of its healthier staples, including pearl barley, brown basmati rice, and buckwheat flour, replacing them with yet more processed foods.

With all this in mind, my mission this year is to help more people to create really productive and meaningful edible gardens in containers in 2026. And to help spread the message that growing your own, even in a small space, can really have a significant impact on what you eat (as well as being fun and fulfilling!). If you have any thoughts on what would help you and / or others to grow more this year - or what has been holding you back so far - I’d love to hear from you in the comments or by email (mark@verticalveg.org.uk).

But my first priority for 2026 is to finish writing a second book - the ideal project given my current lack of mobility. This will be coming out in spring 2027, so I’ll save sharing more about it until a bit nearer the time. Watch this space!

In the meantime, here are five lessons from 2025.

1. Basil grows best sitting in a bowl of water. This was a big surprise for me as I was always taught that basil hates wet roots. But I tested it on several occasions with basil on my windowsill - and it does indeed grows stronger and better. When filling up the bowl, you also get to see how much water the basil drinks every day - which is a LOT. NB I always grow basil inside as it is too cold here to grow it reliably outside.

2. DIY vs commercial wormeries. Regular readers will know I’m a big fan of wormeries for converting kitchen scraps into a fantastic compost for container gardening. Over the last 15 years I’ve tried many different commercial and homemade models of wormeries. Last year, I finally concluded that a simple DIY box wormery is as good as - and often better - than the vast majority of commercial stacking wormeries. It’s too cold to start a wormery now, but I will try to write more about this in the spring.

3. Multisowing. I experimented more with the ‘multisowing’ of leafy crops in 2025. In this technique, seeds are sown in clusters of two to four in each module, rather than individually. The clusters are then planted out in a larger container, with space between them, but without splitting the cluster up. This technique works because plants like growing in close proximity to one another but they also like space for their roots. Sowing them in clusters gives them a bit of both. I found it worked particularly well with sorrel, rocket / arugula, and chard - and it is now my preferred way to grow these.

4. If you’ve grown courgettes / zucchini in containers, you will know that they often succumb from mildew early in the season. In 2025, I thought I’d try a couple of mildew resistant varieties: Firenze F1 and Soleil F1. Both grew well and the Soleil, in particular, gave an excellent crop of beautiful golden courgettes with great texture and taste. However, both still succumbed to mildew relatively early in the season. I didn’t have a control variety to test them against but it seems that the extra resistance might not delay the onset for long in a hot year.

5. It’s too cold here in the North East of England to grow aubergines reliably outside. However, I’m lucky to have a polytunnel on my allotment where I grow them in containers - but they’ve never really excelled. Last year kindly recommended the variety Hansel which I tried - and two plants produced a huge crops of very tasty aubergines. Thank you Angie!

Happy growing in 2026. And do please tell me your thoughts and ideas on what will encourage and help more people to create productive edible container gardens. Thank you!

Lorraine Melton from the wonderful online herb nursery, Herbal Haven, answers our questions about growing herbs.

Questions included how to manage straggly mint and the small black flies that can infest it, how to grow coriander and parsley, growing shiso, which herbs are most worth drying, is it necessary to add grit for drainage, which herbs can be cut…

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I was shocked to learn recently that, according to official government figures published by the Pesticide Action Network, 81% of prepacked salads tested in the UK between 2018 and 2023 were contaminated with multiple pesticide residues.

The good news is that salad grows exceptionally well and productively in containers in spring, summer, autumn, and - more slowly - in winter (depending on where you live). So if you have a little outdoor space (1 - 2 square metres is usually sufficient) and can spare 20 - 30 minutes a week, you can grow all the salad you need at home.

In much of the UK - and many other temperate regions - hardy salad leaves sown in early autumn will survive all through winter, and put on strong growth again in spring. These winter leaves are some of the best tasting of the year. There are also many fewer slugs in winter and containers need less frequent watering, too. It’s easier to grow in winter than in summer in some ways!

Below are pics of some of the salads in my front yard this month in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. The yard is north facing, so it gets very little sun in winter. This is not ideal and growth slows to almost a standstill in December and January - but the hardier salads usually survive and put on strong growth in spring.

First up is rocket / arugula, one of my favourite salads and a great choice for late season growing. True to name, it grows fast. Late September sowings will often establish in time to survive the cold of winter. Here, in Newcastle, mine has been buried under snow on several occasions in previous years and come through.

Mustards are another fast growing and cold hardy salad that I sow in September for late autumn and winter leaves. I love their pretty leaf shapes and spicy taste - perfect for a boost of energy and flavour in mid winter! Some varieties are hardier than others, but a few usually survive the winter and into spring here.

Lettuce varieties sold as ‘winter lettuce’ are hardier than your average lettuce, and can survive winter if grown under cover and theoretically outside in milder regions. Here in Newcastle, they are great for leaves in late autumn and early winter but, in my experience, usually die later in winter when grown outside - at least in my shady yard. This year, I’m growing two different winter varieties, ‘Valdor’ and ‘Grenoble Red’ for the first time. Both are lovely lettuces and I hope one will survive the winter.

I often grow watercress, but this is the first time I’m trying it over winter. It’s supposed to be hardy down to -5⁰C or -10⁰C so I’m hopeful it will survive into spring. This five litre / 1 gallon pot was sown at the end of August this year and is doing great so far!

Radicchio is also cold hardy and very pretty. The leaves are bitter and can be a bit of an acquired taste. I wasn’t too keen myself until I learnt that pairing it with something sweet like fruit (eg apple or figs) or a dressing with honey in it, helps to balance out the bitterness. Now I’m a fan.

There are lots of interesting heritage varieties - very popular in Italy. Most never make it into mainstream shops here in the UK - so it’s a great one to grow yourself.

This next one is sorrel. It has a sharp lemony taste and adds a nice zip to salads - use in moderation. It dies back in mid winter but is perennial and returns with fresh leaves in spring. It’s not the most beautiful plant - but it is generous, producing lots of leaves from April until November or December.

I normally also grow lambs lettuce or mache, which has a milder flavour. It’s also one of the hardiest salads, almost guaranteed to survive through winter in my yard. I sowed old seeds in September but they failed to come up :( - so I’ll be getting fresh seeds for next year. Land cress is also a good winter salad, another hardy one with a strong, spicy flavour, a bit similar to water cress.

It’s not just the temperature that affects how well salads grow in winter. Some plants cope better than others with sitting in wet soggy compost in the prolonged, rainy weeks we sometimes have. This, rather than the cold, might be why my winter lettuces often fail. Also, if negligible sun reaches your plants in winter, it will weaken the plants, making them more susceptible to cold snaps.

Another important factor is how exposed to wind a space is. Winter purslane or claytonia - a pretty and succulent winter salad I really like - is supposedly hardy down to -10 or -15⁰C. But it has never done well in my front yard, even when temperatures haven’t been very cold. My guess is that it dislikes the wind as it grows brilliantly on my allotment in the polytunnel, where temperatures drop just as low but, of course, there is no wind.

The salad leaves that will grow well for you over winter will depend on the climate in your area (some regions are simply too cold), the microclimate in your growing space (particularly how much sun it gets and how exposed to wind it is), and also the weather, which is increasingly variable, making every year a bit different.

If your salads look pretty pulverised after a cold spell, don’t give up on them straight away. Some will recover and put on strong, healthy growth in early spring when warmer weather returns.

I hope I haven’t made winter salad growing sound too tricky or complicated. In reality, it is just a case of trying a few things with an open mind to find out which will grow well in your space. Try to find out what others are growing successfully over winter in your region if you can. If not, try sowing a few different hardy leaves in late summer and early autumn and observe how they do. Even if some die in winter, you will usually still get plenty of delicious salad leaves through the autumn - and this alone can make it all more than worthwhile.

One key is to get plants well established before the first frosts, as small seedlings are easily damaged or killed. This usually means sowing seeds by late summer or early autumn. Seed packets and sowing calendars will give you a rough idea of the right time to sow in your area. But you might need to play around with these dates as seeds will need sowing earlier on a shady balcony than a sunny one. How warm and sunny the autumn is will also make a difference to how quickly plants establish. So often it’s a good idea to make more than one sowing, and keep fingers crossed that one does well!

It’s incredibly rewarding to be able to pick your own salad in the middle of winter, I do hope you will give it a go if you don’t already. It’s also a bonus to know they come pesticide free!

If you grow salads in winter, I’d love to hear which salad leaves you found grow best where you live in the comments. And any other tips you can share with us all about growing salads in winter - it’s so valuable to learn from each other.

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In today’s post, offers us ideas on how herbs can transform staple ingredients into simple but delicious meals (thank you Lizzie!). Herbs are great to grow in small spaces as they do well in containers, can be picked for much of the year, and even a few sprigs will make a difference to a dish.

A common stumbling block for those of us who start growing herbs at home is how to make the best use of them in our daily meals. To give us ideas, I asked Lizzie to share some of her favourite herb sauces and condiments.

Many of these sauces are well known in the world of chefs and keen cooks, but I have a feeling (maybe mistaken?) that the rest of us don’t make them very often. This is a missed opportunity as they are versatile to use and easy to make. For example, a salsa verde can be whipped up in a few minutes, and will elevate something as simple as plain boiled potatoes into a satisfying, tasty dish.

Lizzie is on a mission to, in her words, ‘slay the food giants’ - the big food companies that create cheap and tempting but ultimately unhealthy processed foods. I love this! You’ll find links to some of her recipes below and lots more on her Substack, The Downsizing Diva’s Substack - and look out for her forthcoming book!

Rosemary, garlic and olive oil

A super simple way to add flavour to pulses, like butter beans, cannellini beans, and lentils, is to gently heat rosemary, garlic and olive oil in a small saucepan (full recipe here) and then pour it over. The same rosemary and garlic mix is also delicious mashed with butter beans, crushed boiled potatoes, or mixed into roasted vegetables.

Another simple, seasonal way to use rosemary - in this pumpkin and rosemary roast.

Parsley: Gremolata and Salsa verde

Gremolata is an Italian mix of finely chopped parsley, garlic, and lemon peel mixed with salt and olive oil (recipes here and here). It goes well with fish (Lizzie serves it with salmon), pulses, roasted vegetables, in pasta (particularly with mushrooms), and as a garnish on soups and stews.

Salsa verde is made by whizzing up parsley, capers, anchovies, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. It’s punchier and sweeter than gremolata and pairs well with potatoes, fish, meat and roasted aubergines.

Zhug

The wonderfully named ‘Zhug’ is a more punchy, spicier herb paste that combines coriander and parsley with garlic, chillies, cumin and cardamon (Lizzie’s recipe here). It’s used to liven up soups (as in Lizzies pumpkin soup recipe) and hummus, or added to yoghurt to make a spicy sauce for fish or roasted veg, It can also be stirred through grains like bulgar wheat or couscous to add flavour, or used as a marinade for prawns or meat.

Chimichurri

Chimichurri combines chilli, garlic, coriander, and vinegar for a vibrant sauce. Serve it with fish, meat, roasted veg, or mixed through grains and pulses.

Pestos

Until a few years ago, I used to buy pesto in jars - which I find hard to believe now as it is so easy to make (particularly if you have a stick blender) and tastes much better.

The classic pesto combination is basil, pine nuts, parmesan, olive oil and a little garlic. But it can be made out of almost any herb and nut combination - with or without cheese (you’ll find loads of recipes online). Lizzie has this recipes for wild garlic pesto. A popular pesto in our home is nasturtium leaves and pumpkin seeds, using this recipe from Anna Hedworth.

Pesto is versatile—use it on pasta, fish (like plaice or cod), rice, pearl barley, and even omelettes. Homemade pesto also allows for customisation and healthier options (if you look on the label of shop bought pestos, you will see the majority contain dubious sounding ingredients).

Using and storing

Most of these sauces are new to me, too - but I’ve found them surprisingly easy to make and easy to use. They are super useful as a quick way to make tasty dishes out of healthy staples like pulses, grains and roast veg. Most also seem to freeze well so, each time I make a batch, I pop a jar in the freezer for when I need to throw a meal together in a rush.

How do you use them?

I’d love to hear if you make any of the above and how you use them. Or if there are any other simple herb sauces or condiments you make from the herbs?

Of all the different microgreens you can grow at home - and there are loads - sunflower shoots stand out as one of the best and most unique. They have a lovely nutty flavour, a nice firm texture and they go well in almost any salad.

They can be grown outside from late spring to autumn, until the first frosts, surviving down to about 2 ^oC / 36 ^oF (almost all year round in warmer cities like London). They can also be grown inside at any time, making them a great option for winter greens.

They are straightforward to grow, but do require fresh, high quality seeds for good germination. Seed quality can also vary significantly from batch to batch - buy them from a specialist supplier like Grow Sow Greener or Sky Sprouts if you can. Try not to buy more seeds than you can use in a year, as germination rates can fall significantly in year two.

Paying subscribers can download the full guide on how to grow sunflower shoots, including troubleshooting tips below:

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Discovering new varieties you love

When space is limited, there is often a tricky balance between growing tried and tested varieties that you know will do well, and trying new varieties with unknown results. I manage this by oscillating from year to year, experimenting more in some years than others.

The benefit, of course, of trying different varieties is the potential of discovering new ones that you love and want to grow every year. Even when you don’t fall in love with a new variety, there is usually learning and fun to be had on the way.

As most of us don’t have the space to try endless different varieties, it’s invaluable to learn from others experiences. If you can spare a moment to share a few varieties that you enjoy growing the most - for yield, flavour, good looks or all three - in the comments, it’s a great way to help us all learn and discover new varieties to try.

Spring onions / scallions

Regular readers will know that I’m a huge fan of growing spring onions in containers because they yield so well, can be harvested over several months without losing condition, and are squeaky and delicious freshly picked. I pick a few nearly every day to add to salads, omelettes, stir fries, kimchis, and more.

In addition to my tried and trusted variety - White Lisbon - I tried Ramrod and a purple spring onion, Lilia, this year. As usual, I sowed the seeds close (about ½ cm apart) - and thinned them out as they grew. Both the new varieties performed well, and were equally good in the kitchen. The Ramrod perhaps bulbed up less than white Lisbon, but they still were good to eat over several months.

Lilia was equally good and benefits from a pretty purple colour, rarely seen in the shops.

In 2024, I also tried Japanese bunching onions. These grew just as productively and were tasty - but, unlike the spring onion varieties, they lost condition quite rapidly after about 12 weeks.

Tomatoes

Freshly picked homegrown tomatoes are a summer highlight for many of us. There are literally thousands of varieties that vary hugely in size, habit, flavour, speed of ripening and much more. For container gardening, cherry tomatoes are usually the safest bet, particularly in more temperate areas. It’s hard to go wrong with tried and tested cherry varieties like Sungold, Black Cherry and Gardeners Delight - all three have excellent flavour, too, especially the Sungold.

However, if you are lucky enough to have a particularly sunny and warm space to grow in, larger tomato varieties will often give a higher yield in containers than cherry tomatoes. There are also many fantastic heritage varieties to try. Back in the day, when I had sunny south facing windowsills at my flat in London, I grew the tasty Italian variety Costoluto Fiorentino (pic below) very successfully outside.

Here in Newcastle (North East England), it’s too cold to grow large tomatoes reliably outside, but I’m extremely fortunate to have a polytunnel on my allotment where I can trial different varieties in containers. This year I tried the heritage varieties: Pink Berkeley Tie Dye, Kaleidoscopic Jewel, Alice’s Dream, Jack - Off White (which is actually bright yellow), and Black Strawberry.

The variety that stood out for flavour, beauty and yield was Alice’s Dream. Without doubt, one of the best tomatoes I’ve ever grown. Highly recommended.

The Pink Berkeley Tie Dye was delicious, too, but I only had space to grow one plant and it didn’t yield well - definitely one to try again though. The Black Strawberry had striking looks, yielded very well, but was sluggish to ripen, even in the polytunnel.

Courget/ Zucchini

Courgettes are well worth growing if you have space for largish containers (20 litres +) and they are delicious freshly picked. That said, they rarely grow as productively as in the ground, and they are more prone to the early onset of powdery mildew. Mildew, caused by a fungus, rarely kills the plant quickly - but it does slow down its growth and shorten its productive life.

Mildew resistant varieties are available and I tried a couple this year: Firenze F1 and Soleil F1. I also tried a pretty, ridged, Italian heirloom variety, Romanesco, for the first time.

The Soleil - a beautiful yellow courgette with firm texture and good flavour - was by far the most successful, cropping heavily for several weeks. Resistant varieties delay the onset of mildew but don’t confer complete resistance. Unfortunately, the Soleil still succumbed to mildew relatively early in the season and, as it faded, I pulled it up in late July to make way for some French bean seedlings.

The Firenze never really got going, only producing 3 -4 small courgettes. I can’t dismiss it for the future though as this trial is only based on one plant.

Interestingly, the Romanesco, which isn’t known for its mildew resistance, was the last to succumb. Unfortunately, it only produced four or five misshapen and rather diminutive fruits. My guess is that this variety is less well adapted to the cooler climate here in North East England.

My ‘go to’ variety for containers is usually Green Bush - it’s relatively compact and very productive. Unfortunately, like most other varieties, it still succumbs to mildew fairly early in the season. I still rate it highly, though, and will grow it again next year, alongside Soleil.

Because late April sown courgettes can run out of vim by the end of July, I try to sow another plant in early June to supply us for the rest of the season.

French Beans / Green beans

Climbing green beans look pretty climbing up wigwams, are delicious freshly picked, and grow productively in containers. My favoured variety for several years has been the purple bean, Blauhilde: it has good flavour, remains tender when large, produce a good yield, and the beans are pretty and easy to spot.

I branched out with all new varieties (to me) this year: Cobra, Lazy Housewife, Cosse Violette, and Cherokee Trail of Tears. All grew well but the outstanding variety was Cobra which gave high yields of delicious beans that remained tender even when large. It also yielded well over a long period (I have one still producing beans as I write in early October). I’ll definitely grow Cobra alongside Blauhilde next year, probably sowing one in April for early summer beans and one in mid June for late summer and autumn.

Three to grow next year!

The three varieites from this year that I will definitely be growing again are Alice’s Dream tomatoes, Cobra French beans, and Soleil courgettes. All three are fantastic and I think you might love growing them, too - although the Alice’s Dream probably does need to be grown under cover in cooler areas or in a sheltered, sunny spot in warmer cities like London.

Live Online Event: Using herbs to transform simple meals.

In the first of a series of free live Zoom Events this autumn, , writer of The Downsizing Diva’s Substack, will show us how home-grown herbs can completely transform everyday meals at 12.30pm BST / 6.30am CT on Thursday 9 October,

​Herbs are one of the easiest, healthiest, and most rewarding crops to grow in containers – yet many of us don’t use them to their full potential in the kitchen. Lizzie will share simple, creative ways to bring out their flavour and make your cooking more vibrant and delicious.

​We’ll also dive into some of the world’s most flavour-packed herb condiments – from pesto and salsa verde to chimichurri and chermoula – and discover how they can turn even the simplest ingredients into dishes that really sing.

👉 Register to join us live on Zoom using the button below. (Paid subscribers will also receive access to the recording to watch anytime.)

Register

More live online events coming soon!

This months’s Pot to Plate is mustard leaf - as September is perhaps the best month of the year to sow it.

Mustards are easy and fast to grow, have good flavour, and are rarely available in the shops. All features that make them a great choice to grow in containers at home.…

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After two weeks away in the summer, I always return home with a mix of excitement to see how everything has grown, and trepidation as to which plants have been eaten by slugs or neglected by the holiday waterers. This year, as often, it’s a mixed story. Most plants doing well, but the climbing beans damaged by a storm and some salad seedlings decapitated by the bold, worm hunting blackbirds. If you went away, I hope things survived ok for you, too.

September is usually one of the best months of the year for harvests of fruit and veg. Fourteen years ago, when I was growing on a balcony in London, I obsessively weighed all my harvests for twelve months- graph below (reproduced from my book). The peak harvest month was September 2010, when I picked over 25 kilos of produce from my 8 foot by 6 foot balcony and windows sills!

It’s a bit of a faff weighing everything you pick but it was an interesting exercise and I learnt a lot. It also proved good motivation for making the most of the harvests - as I only allowed myself to weigh things if they were eaten or preserved. I tried to repeat the weighing exercise, here, in my Newcastle front yard last year (a larger space than in London although a cooler climate) but became demoralised by how badly everything was growing in the persistent rain and overcast skies of 2024. I gave up after a few months….. if only I’d chosen this year!

Preserving the harvests

Gluts are less common when growing on a balcony or patio, but they can happen. If and when they do, it’s a precious chance to preserve some homegrown goodness and flavour for winter treats. I often end up with more tomatoes and chillies than we can eat, and, this year, unexpectedly, a huge surplus of spring onions.

The spring onions / scallion glut came about because I was experimenting growing them in different sizes of containers. As it turned out, they grew equally well in all the containers! After asking for tips on what to do with the glut in this Note, I made a spring onion and rocket pesto and, on the advice of , a large batch of spring onion kimchi. As she suggested, I added some tomatoes (the same weight as the onions) and the result was totally delicious. Spring onions grow very productively in containers and I think I will grow extra again next year, just to make this!

I dry and freeze the chillies (chillies are one thing I can’t grow in my front yard - it’s too cold outside here so I grow them in containers in a polytunnel on the allotment). I also make surplus chillies into sriracha, harissa and lime pickle.

Some tomatoes are made into passata and frozen, others are made into kimchi.

Most of the courgettes / zucchini are eaten fresh off the plant, but I save a couple for a batch of piccalilli. This River Cottage piccalilli recipe is an excellent way to use up lots of bits and pieces from the garden - including cucumber, and any stray French or runner beans. It’s also a good use for young, tender nasturtium seeds. I also made courgette kimchi for the first time - another success, and good learning that almost anything, it seems, can be made into kimchi.

Sowing Fast Growing Salads for Autumn and Winter

Here in the north of England, the next week or two is usually the last chance to sow the fast growing salads like rocket / arugula, mustards, lambs lettuce / mache, land cress and winter purslane / claytonia. In warmer areas like London, you can probably delay another week or two.

Sowing early enough is critical with winter growing - as plants need to be well established before cold weather. Late spring sowings often catch up - but, in the autumn, each passing day is shorter, cooler and less conducive for strong growth. If in doubt, it’s usually better to sow earlier than later this month. The exact timing is tricky and there is some luck in it. Too early and the salads can peak and bolt before winter. Too late and they don’t establish enough to survive. In warm, sunny autumns you will get away with later sowings than in cool and overcast ones.

To be safe, I try to sow a few seeds every couple of weeks from late August to the end of September. Some sowings will do better than others (it’s interesting to see which) but none are wasted.

Peak microgreen growing season

The slightly cooler weather this month also makes it an excellent time to grow microgreens outside. They grow fast, but not too fast - which means you can harvest a tray over an extended period (ideal for us a home growers). My favourite microgreens to grow at this time of year include:

• pea

• fava bean

• sunflower

• radish

You can grow microgreens in a seed tray but I prefer to grow them in discarded mushroom boxes. These are slightly deeper than standard seed trays, and this enables microgreens to grow stronger for longer, extending the harvest period.

Seed saving

The plants that are most suitable to save seeds from in small spaces are the self pollinating ones like tomatoes, chillies, and French beans. If you’ve not saved seeds it might be easier than you think. Tomatoes are a good place to start and back in the day I made these how to videos with seed expert Peter Brinch. Just one healthy plant is all you need to save good seeds.

Home saved seeds make a wonderful gift, particularly if you discover a special heirloom variety that you love. You might also make your own pretty origami seed packs - shows you how here.

To save strong, healthy seed from cross breeding crops like beetroot, rocket and chard, you need a larger population of plants and the space to let them all go to seed. This isn’t usually practical on balconies and small patios, but you can still save some seed from smaller populations - and these are very handy for growing thing like micrgreens. But don’t take these seeds to public seeds swaps: only seed from viable populations should be shared publicly to maintain the traits and vigour of named varieties.

I always try to save seed from orach scarlet emperor - as I love the vibrant colour of the microgreens and the seeds are expensive to buy in any quantity. It’s very easy to save seed from - just leave it in a pot until it starts to turn brown then cut the stems and bring it inside to dry. I usually put the stems in a vase (without water) on the kitchen table to dry as it looks so pretty.

Nasturtiums also make a very attractive microgreen - and, again, the seeds are pricey in bulk and easy to save. I try to save a handful or two each year.

I enjoy the chance to spend more time with my kids at this time of year and watch them unwind after the pressure of GCSEs and SATS and a long academic year. But the long summer holidays - SIX weeks! - are a bit of mixed blessing. It’s hard to find time to keep up with all the jobs in the garden - watering, processing harvests, sowing - the workshops and writing, AND keep the kids occupied in non-screen based activities (which, even though they are 11 and 16, turns out to be pretty much a full time job…. is this just my kids?).

Part of the challenge for me is that I’m not very good at multitasking: I become distracted and fractious, and everything suffers if I try and do more than one thing :). So these days I dedicate most of the summer to my kids - while trying to steal the odd hour to keep the plants happy and the odd half day to catch up on emails, and write to you on Substack - which finally, today, I have a chance to do.

Still, the six week holidays feel like a LONG time, and I do look forward to getting more time for growing, writing and running workshops in September.

Tips for August

August is a month when you need to wear three different hats to get the most out of your container growing. One for keeping your summer crops growing well and productive, one for making the most of your harvests in the kitchen, and one to think ahead and sow seeds for autumn, winter and early spring pickings.

i) Keeping summer crops healthy, tasty and productive

Watering - it’s easy to under water in hot weather

To maintain healthy, tasty crops you need to strive to keep up a regular, daily watering routine - and ensure that all the plants are getting enough for their needs. In warmer weather, it’s all too easy to slightly underwater. A lack of water stresses plants and, even if they survive, often initiates changes that can make the plant bolt prematurely or taste tough and bitter. Salad crops like lettuce and rocket are particularly inclined to bolt at this time of year anyway - and any type of stress speeds up this process. If you are having problems with bolting or bitter tasting leaves, lack of water is one of the most common causes.

Feeding - essential for good yields

The hungry fruiting crops like tomatoes and courgettes / zuchinni will yield best with regular feeding this month. The easiest way to do this is to water them with liquid tomato feed once a week. (Although called ‘tomato’ feed, it’s confusingly also suitable for all fruiting crops from apples and blackberries to chillies and squash).

A foliar feed of liquid seaweed (diluted as per instructions) will also help them stay healthy by providing many of the essential minerals and trace elements they need. ‘Foliar feeding’ simply means spraying the leaves - you can use any old, clean spray bottle, like the ones cleaning products come in.

If you have a wormery, I also highly recommend adding a mulch (a thin layer on the surface) of worm compost (aka vermicast) around your tomatoes, squash and other longer term plantings this month. As well as providing nutrients, the beneficial soil life in the worm compost will support strong growth and help the plant fight off pests and disease. It’s a valuable mid season boost.

Tying up and support - particularly if strong winds forecasst

Fruiting crops like tomatoes and squash can get quite top heavy this month as the fruits grow and develop. If not supported, stems can break and plants fall over. Use canes, sticks, strings or cages to support them. Be particularly sure to check canes and other structures are secure and plants are well tied in when heavy rain or strong winds are forecast. Tall wigwams of beans are particularly prone to blow over. I secure the canes by drilling holes in the top of the pot and tying them in. But even so, I often end up with leaning towers of beans :).

Tidying up, cutting back - to support strong growth

When growing in a small space, plants with large leaves like potatoes and courgettes / zucchini, will often start overshadowing other plants near them. To reduce this problem, you can remove some of the leaves without harming the plant. Simply cut them off near the base with sharp kitchen scissors. As a general rule of thumb don't remove more than a third of the leaves in one go.

You can also remove the lower leaves on tomato plants. This has two benefits: first it exposes the lower tomatoes to the sun to ripen, and second it reduces the risk of soil splashing on the leaves, which can spread blight, a nasty tomato disease. This job is best done on a dry day.

ii) Making the most of harvests in the kitchen

August is usually one of the best months for edible harvests in the Northern hemisphere. While this is a joy, it can sometimes also pose a bit of a challenge: how to make the most of what you grow in the kitchen while wasting as little as possible.

This might sound surprising but if you grow something a little unusual, like chard or sorrel - or anything that doesn’t feature regularly in your day to day meals - it can be easy for it to languish unpicked. This is because most of us tend to have just a small repertoire of dishes that we cook most of the time. One survey found that the average family cooks just nine meals on rotation. To make the most of unusual ingredients, we often need to make a conscious effort to find new recipes or ways to incorporate them into existing dishes.

Luckily, finding new recipes for your produce is so much easier today than it used to be. You’ll find a plethora of ideas for any ingredient by asking Google, AI or posting on Social Media. It does take a bit more time and effort, but it can also be fun and exciting - and can help you find new meals you love and expand your repertoire in the kitchen.

As an example, due to some trials on what size container is best to grow spring onions in, I currently have hundreds (literally) of spring onions / scallions to use (it turns out they grow well in pretty much any container!). I’m experienced at using small numbers of these nearly every day in salads, omelettes and elsewhere, but felt at a loss about how to use of so many. So I asked here on Substack. The ideas you came up with are so helpful. I’d never even thought of making a spring onion kimchi (sounds delicious and this recipe will make good use of use lots - thanks ), that drying them was even a thing (thanks ) or making them into a pesto (thanks ). I’ll have fun one evening making these - and hopefully some of these new dishes will become regular features in our home in the future.

While gluts do sometimes happen in small space growing, it’s more common to find you can’t grow quite enough of your favourite fruits and vegetables. I grow a lot of tomatoes, for example, but would always love more - as any surplus freezes so well as passata, and homegrown tomato sauce is such a treat in mid winter.

How much space you want to allocate to different crops is one of the key things you can work out as you grow each year. This is, of course, a process of trial and error and there is nearly always learning and adjustments to make. We like runner beans, but we’ve also have learnt that one pot of them is quite enough!

iii) What to Sow this month

While the produce is rolling in, we also need to think ahead if we want to continue picking fresh leaves in autumn and winter. Now is the time to sow the slower growing hardy crops so that they become established enough to survive winter. This month, is a particularly good month to sow:-

• Coriander / cilantro: now is often the best time of year to sow it, as it will grow well and, provided it survives winter, won’t bolt until late spring the following year. You can pick it from late autumn, then tentatively in winter, and by the handful in spring.

• Parsley: like coriander, parsley is slow to germinate and get going, but will usually survive the winter in most parts of the UK, and then produce good, healthy leaves well into the next year. Chervil can be sown now, too.

• Spring onions / scallions: although later sowings will often survive, I usually make my last sowing in early to mid August. This is because they grow so slowly and need to be sown this month to reach a reasonable size by late autumn - at least here in the north east of the UK. In slightly warmer areas, early September sowings are probably also possible.

All of the above are best sown in their final container as they don’t like being moved. One trick that works well for me is to sow them round the base of my tomatoes this month. I first remove the lower leaves of the tomatoes (this will give the emerging seedlings plenty of light), then scatter the seeds around the pot. Later in the year, when the tomatoes finish fruiting, I cut them off at the base, leaving the roots in the ground to rot down - and the parsley or coriander can take over.

Chard, kale and spinach are even slower to mature than the above, and, for this reason, are normally sown a little earlier - in June or July. However, I’ve had success sowing them this month. You won’t get much to pick in autumn and winter, but you’ll get great harvests in early spring when growth returns. So it can be worth sowing some now if you haven’t already.

The faster growing salads - like mustards, lambs lettuce, and rocket / arugula - are best sown in September for picking through winter and into spring. However, you can also sow them this month as they will grow strong and fast and give you a great yield of leaves in early and late autumn. They will, however, often start to flower and bolt in late autumn. And this is why sowing next month is often best for winter leaves. I do both: sow some now, and more next month. That we I get plenty of leaves through autumn and into next year.

Basil is the perfect herb for summer salads, pizzas and pasta dishes.

A quick and novel way to grow basil is as microgreens (small seedlings) or baby leaves (small plants just a little larger than microgreens). These look super pretty - particularly if you grow a mix of coloured varieties - and have a delicious and particularly intense basil taste. Rarely seen in the shops, chefs source micro basil from specialist suppliers and pay top dollar for them.

Luckily basil microgreens aren’t difficult to grow. However, you do need more seeds than the standard sized seed packs - and I share some ideas below on how to buy large amounts of seed cost effectively. The other easy way to grow basil is from supermarket plants and I write about that here.

How to grow micro and baby leaf basil - step by step

1. Fill a tray with a good quality multipurpose compost / potting mix and water it. You might use a seed tray, an old mushroom tray, or a fruit crate. It is easier to grow strong healthy plants in a slightly deeper tray like the mushroom tray pictured above. If the tray is full of holes, line it first with newspaper so the soil doesn’t fall out.

2. Sow the seeds close - no more than 1cm / 1/2 inch apart - and cover with a thin layer of compost, then give another another light water, ideally with a fine rose on a watering can, and put them somewhere warm to germinate. A windowsill inside is perfect.

3. Once the seeds have germinated, move into a place where they will get at least 3 or 4 hours sun. I usually grow mine on a windowsill inside, but in warm summers, outside is OK, too. Basil is a warm loving plant - so bring it inside on cooler days or nights. Apart from in mid summer, it is generally easiest to keep it on a windowsill inside.

4. Water it regularly and keep the compost damp, like a rung out flannel.

5. Once the seeds have germinated (usually in 5 to 14 days), you can start removing and eating some of the seedlings. Pick them evenly from across the tray, giving the remaining seedlings more space to grow. This process is known as ‘thinning out’.

6. Keep thinning out the tray every three or four days. The key is to do this regularly, otherwise the basil plants will quickly overcrowd each other, lose vigour and sometimes flavour. If you want to, you can also replant some of the seedlings into a larger deeper pot, and grow them into full sized basil plants.

The basil plants will taste at their best for just a few weeks. So pick, eat and enjoy the leaves while you can. You might be surprised at how often and how much you can pick.

In summary, basil needs warmth to grow well (it won’t be happy if left outside on cold nights or windy days), plenty of light and regular watering. Keep thinning out the leaves to make space for continued growth.

Three ways to source lots of seeds

As microgreens and baby leaves require lots of seeds, you need a cost effective way to buy large packs. Here are three options:-

i) A fun one is too look for a large, mixed pack of basil. This one from Seeds of Italy contains twelve varieties of basil (including green and red varieties, and lemon and cinnamon basil) and over 6,000 seeds. This is enough to grow at least six trays like the one below. The mix looks pretty - and you will also have fun acquainting yourself with the flavour of twelve different basil varieties!

ii) For even better value, look in the spice section of your local Asian store where basil seeds are often sold as ‘Tukmaria’. The only catch is that you won’t know what variety of basil you’re buying! I did once get Italian Genovese basil, but most often it’s Thai basil - which is lovely if that it is what you want but not if you are looking for a more traditional basil flavour. It’s a fun thing to try in any case - and 100g of basil seeds is enough to grow many, many trays of micro basil, probably around a hundred. So each tray will only cost you a few pence to grow.

ii) Look for an online seed merchant that sells larger packs for commercial growers. For example, in the UK, I’ve bought 5g packs of lemon basil and dark opal basil from Moles seeds - enough to grow several trays with pretty green and purple basil leaves.

If kept in a cool, dark, dry place, a pack of basil seeds will usually last three to five years. So, you won’t have to sow them all in one year - but try to use them in two years to be more sure of good germination.

Why grow micro basil?

In summary, basil is one of the finest and most useful herbs. This is a fun project for summer because it isn’t difficult, it’s almost impossible to buy micro basil, and the leaves look stunning sprinkled over your salads or any other dish - a real showstopper. And, they taste vibrant and amazing, too!

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There is a huge amount of information out there about gardening - and this can make growing confusing and overwhelming, particularly when you start out.

However, at its heart, the basics of growing are simple. I developed these 8 steps to help give you the information that most often makes the difference between success and failure.

Part of the nature …

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We’ve had plenty of sun and warmth here in the North East of the UK this year - and everything is growing with enthusiasm. It’s a welcome change from 2024 - but I’m acutely aware that elsewhere drought and heat waves are posing challenges for many of you.

If you’re new here, welcome. I try to show how it’s possible to grow more than a token amount of food in containers in a small space - enough to make a significant difference to what you eat … as well as exploring the wellbeing, community and sustainability benefits of growing your own AND the simple joys of it.

Once a month I share topical tips on what to sow and do. The advice is based on the UK climate, but much of it is also relevant for other parts of the Northern Hemisphere - particularly if you cross reference it with a seed sow calendar for your region.

This month we look at

1. Salads to sow now for late summer and autumn

2. Other plants to sow and propagate now

3. Pruning and tying up jobs

4. Holiday watering options

It’s all systems go this month as everything grows at a pace in the long warm days and the tomatoes, chillies, courgettes / zucchini and other summer delights start to ripen (yay!). Plants need tying up and containers need almost daily watering and regular feeding to get the best yield.

1. Sowing salads for autumn / fall

As summer progresses, spring sown leafy crops like lettuces and rocket / arugula start to lose condition and run out of steam. This is the natural course of things. I try and eat most of our remaining salads before we go on summer holidays - and sow more before we go so we have fresh leaves again in late summer.

Most salad leaves can be sown this month - good choices include:-

• Lettuces

• Radicchio / chicory

• Sorrel

• Rocket / arugula

• Watercress

• Orach

• Spring onions / scallions.

These will germinate and grow quickly in the warmth of summer, and most will be ready to eat by mid to late August. They should also provide a good supply of leaves for most of September and sometimes into October. For salad leaves later in the autumn and winter you’ll need to make more sowings in August and September.

Tip: salads do not need a lot of sun in the early stages of their growth - so, when space is limited, you can start them off in a less prime growing space. I sow mine close to a north facing wall, where they only get two hours of sun - and move them into a sunnier place after two or three weeks as other crops like peas finish.

2. Other crops to plant now

Chard, kale and spinach

If sown now, these hardy, versatile leaves will grow into a decent sized plants by late autumn. Harvest by picking the outer leaves, leaving the inner ones to regrow. Kale and chard will usually go on to survive all winter and then put on strong growth in the following spring. They look pretty in pots over winter and their fresh green leaves in early spring are a treat. Much better than empty, bare pots!

Herb cuttings

July is a good time to take softwood cuttings (from fresh growth) of herbs like lemon verbena, rosemary, Vietnamese coriander, sage, and thyme. If you can find a friend, neighbour or community project to source the cuttings, it’s a great way to expand your herb garden for free. If you already have a herb collection, you can propagate them now to swap or give away.

3. Pruning, tying up, pinching out.

• Bushy plants. In a small space it's not uncommon for plants like courgettes / zuchhini or potatoes to grow large leaves that overshadow neighbouring plants. Moving the pots around can sometimes solve this. Another option is to prune off some of the leaves (up to about a third) to reduce the shading.

  

• Tomatoes: the lower leaves can be pruned off to allow the first trusses of tomatoes to ripen - and to reduce the chance of water splashing on the lower leaves (which can spread blight). The side shoots on vining tomatoes need constant pinching out to prevent the plant growing unwieldy.

• If windy weather is forecast, check any tall plants are tied in and that wigwams are secure and won’t blow over. You can anchor canes in plastic pots by drilling two holes in the side at the top of the pot and then tying the cane in.

4. Holiday watering options

Summer can pose a conundrum about how to keep your containers well watered if you go away. Amongst the options I’ve tried, you might:-

Ask a neighbour, relative or friend. It can seem a big ask - but it can also be an opportunity to reach out and get to know the neighbours. In exchange for watering duties, you can offer picking rights and / or set up a reciprocal arrangement. Some people will actively enjoy the chance to look after a garden for a few days, particularly if they can pick fresh tomatoes and courgettes / zucchini!

Find a house sitter or organise a flat swap and include plant watering as part of the arrangements. This can work really well and for mutual benefit if you can find the right person / people.

Get an automatic watering system. On paper this sounds like an attractive proposition: connect a timer to a hose and put a dripper in each pot. In practice, they are fiddle to set up, hard to adjust the flow for different pots (the tomatoes will need much more water than the rosemary), and can easily malfunction - drippers can clog, timers can stop working. I’ve tried them on a couple of occasions and found them more hassle then they are worth. That said, I do have a lot of containers, so it might be easier with less.

In the long run, anything you can do to make watering in your container garden easier, will also make it easier for any guest waterers. For example if you can fix up a hose or a water butt near the plants, it is much quicker than carrying cans of water from inside. Containers with water reservoirs are also easier to water, particularly for inexperienced gardeners.

Where are you growing and what are you growing and picking from your containers this month? I’d love to hear in the comments.