It’s Not Too Late To Get Growing

Late to the growing trend for growing? Lockdown has caused a surge in seed sales as we get into growing our own. And it’s not too late to join in. Here’s what you can still sow and plant to enjoy this summer and autumn.

We’ve also included some scrumptious recipes to make with your homegrown bounty. Time to dig in.

Great news – you don’t need an allotment or heaps of space to grow a decent amount of delicious produce. Windowsills, window boxes, pots, tubs, grow bags and simple raised beds are all perfect places to grow.

If space is tight, consider going up. Vertical gardening is a genius way to cram more into the space you have. Find out how to maximise space with these gravity-defying tips.

Save yourself a fortune and grow salad leaves to enjoy throughout the summer. Sow seeds directly outdoors now and they’ll pop up in no time. You can even plant out supermarket living salad to prolong its lifespan – easy peasy.

We don’t need to tell you how to make a salad but here are some stonking salad dressing recipes to top those homegrown leaves. Oh, and we had to include this game-changing eggy bread BLT.

Tired of fresh-cut herbs turning to mush in your salad drawer? Growing herbs like coriander, basil, dill and parsley from seed is pretty simple, a whole lot of satisfying and, with a bit of care, they’ll last a lot longer than anything in a plastic bag.

There’s a million and one ways to use herbs in the kitchen but here are some of our current faves. Coriander is the star of this easy chicken curry. Get your Good Life vibe going and knock out some dill pickled cucumber. And for basil, take a look at the carrot recipe we’ve included below – you’ll be glad you did.

Now’s the perfect time to sow pak choi and perpetual spinach seeds. Add some purple sprouting broccoli plants to the patch and you’ve got the makings of a delicious stir-fry.

If you’re keen on beans then French and runner are the varieties to sow this month. Use them in a classic French bean salad and in a goats cheese toast topping. And have a go at growing pea shoots for this scrummy salad.

Sow fast-maturing varieties like Adelaide and Amsterdam Forcing and you’ll be pulling your own carrots before the season’s out. Use them in this roasted carrots and burrata with carrot top and basil pesto. Delish!

July’s the last chance to sow beetroot in time for an autumn crop. Cook ‘em up with apple and walnut in this striking soup.

Radishes and spring onions are great quick wins that you could be harvesting within the month. Try the radishes in something completely different like this roasted radish and runner bean traybake.

Like the sound of all this? You best get growing…