Buying vegetables from the supermarket is convenient, but nothing can beat the taste of fresh produce that you have grown yourself - sun-warmed tomatoes or earthy beetroots, eaten within a few minutes of being picked are superior in taste to mass-produced crops.
Growing your own vegetables also gives you the opportunity to try many vegetables or unusual varieties that you never see in shops, plus there's huge satisfaction in growing something yourself and then eating it. Late winter is a great time to plan what to grow, ordering your plants or seeds, and preparing the soil for planting in spring.
Not since The Good Life has the UK been sowing, planting and harvesting with such fervour. Sales of vegetable seeds have now overtaken those of flowers.
The good news is that anyone can do it. No matter the plot size - window sill or sprawling countryside estate - or level of horticultural know-how, cultivating your own produce is easy and fun.

Tips
- It is best to have your plot as close to the house as possible: this makes it easy for you to nip out and gather some lettuce or herbs for cooking - you'll never use all the fruits of your labour if you need to mount an expedition to harvest them. Also, make sure you can easily get wheelbarrows of manure or compost to your beds.
- Choose a sunny spot: most veg needs full sun, so south, south-east or south-west-facing is best in the British Isles. There are some fruit and veg that cope with semi-shade (lettuce, runner beans and redcurrants, for example) so all is not lost if conditions are not perfect.
- If you can, find an open, but sheltered site: this is where you have to think of the bees and other pollinating insects – if they're expected to move from plant to plant in a howling wind tunnel, they're simply not going to turn up for work.
- Pick an area where the ground is level; if you don't have a flat site, it can cause problems with water run-off and erosion. If you don't have any alternative you can plant across the slope or think about making flat terraces.
- Soil: most people will have, or can create, beds that have topsoil of at least 30 centimetres deep and a pH of 6.5-7 (you can find a soil testing kit at your local garden centre or from a gardening internet site such as www.crocus.co.uk - it's not difficult to do and won't take long).

Easy crops- Early potatoes: very easy to grow - they'll do all the work for you – just remember to water them if you don't have a drop of rain.
- Broad beans: there are two benefits to this crop - not only can you pick the beans when they're small and mouth-meltingly delicious, but once the plants reach their full height you can pinch off the tops (it helps to control the blackfly, which find them tasty) and gently heat them in butter. Depending on how many you have, they also make a wonderful soup.
- Sweetcorn: many garden centres now have small plants for sale.


If you have any questions or comments for the Garden Helper pease sign-up below