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.


Asparagus
Asparagus is a dioecious plant, which means that there are separate male and female plants. Male asparagus plants (Jersey types) produce more spears than female plants do. Female asparagus plants produce numerous bright, red, berrylike fruits with seeds that can become volunteer weeds in the garden or field.
Preparing the asparagus bed is important as Asparagus is a perennial vegetable, attention should be given to choosing the best planting site. Like most vegetables, asparagus will not tolerate wet, soggy soil. Choose a well-drained field, or use raised beds to promote drainage. Asparagus will perform best on sandy, light-textured soils. Do not rotate asparagus with vegetables in the onion family (leeks, chives, garlic) because they can transmit diseases to the asparagus planting. Choose a site with as few weeds as possible. Growing a cover crop during the summer (buckwheat) and the autumn and winter (wheat) the year before you wish to plant asparagus will suppress weed growth and increase organic matter in the soil.
Asparagus plants can remain productive for up to 20 years, so it's worthwhile spending time on preparing the bed to give them a flying start in life. If you can, start in autumn by digging over thoroughly, mixing in plenty of well-rotted farmyard manure, and removing all perennial weeds.

How to plant
Make a straight trench, 30cm wide by 20cm deep, and then pour soil down the length of the trench to make a 10cm high mound. Next, carefully take your asparagus crowns and sit them on top of the mound, spreading the roots out either sides – plant crowns 30cm apart and then cover with about 5cm of soil, which has been sifted through a riddle or sieve. Cover the plants with more sifted soil as the stems grow, aiming to completely fill the trench by autumn. Subsequent rows should be spaced 30cms apart.
Water newly planted crowns thoroughly and keep damp during dry weather. Succulent spears may appear soon after planting, but avoid the temptation to harvest them or you will weaken the crowns. During their first two years of growth, plants should be left to form lots of ferny foliage – cut down the stems in autumn, leaving 5cm stumps above the ground. To prevent competition, keep beds free of weeds.

Harvesting
Most plants are ready to be picked two years after planting, although several modern varieties have been bred for earlier cropping. To harvest spears, wait until they are about 12cm long and remove them with a serrated knife, cutting them off 7cms beneath the soil. Stop harvesting in mid-June to allow the plant to build up its energy for next year, and give plants an extra boost by feeding with a general fertiliser.
The yield of asparagus spears in the spring is directly related to the previous year's fern growth. Asparagus can be harvested for a limited time (two weeks) the second year after planting crowns (three years from seed transplants). Over harvesting one year can weaken the plant and decrease yields the following year. Three years after planting the crowns, asparagus can be harvested for five to eight weeks. Each year, during the first several years of production, yields will increase if the planting is managed properly. Average yields 2.5kg per 100 square feet.