Welcome to the Hertford blog.

It seems spring has finally sprung and now the weather is warmer it’s the perfect time to get out into the garden and do some planting! In this blog we’ll be giving you some tips and tricks to get started and get results.

If you've ever been wistful about getting outdoors and growing your own veg in then here are 4 reasons why you should:

• Growing your own saves you money! A packet of mixed salad leaves seeds will cost you roughly £1.50 and will provide leaves throughout the season when you want them. However a bag of mixed salad leaves will cost you roughly £1.99 and last only a few days!

• It keeps you fit; digging and planting will burn off those calories in no time!

• It brings the family together; the whole family can help plant seeds, watch them grown, dig them up and enjoy the fruits of their labour. What better ways to preserve family life than by growing the food you eat?

• Home grown always tastes better! Forget supermarket vegetables that are left in cold storage for weeks on end.

Home grown food can be picked, washed and plated in minutes, what can be fresher? So, how do you start growing your own? Firstly you need to decide on where to grow and what to grow. The garden is perfect, pick a sunny spot with good fertile soil, and if the soil isn’t too fertile now don’t worry because you’ll soon improve it with cultivation. If space is an issue, think differently and utilise space such as hanging baskets and containers.

Produce such as Lettuces, Tomatoes, Spring Onions, Runner and Broad Beans, Courgettes and Peppars grow really well in pots and containers. Whilst Herbs, Strawberries, Dwarf Peas, Salad Leaves and Chillis do well in hanging baskets. But amongst the flower beds Sweetcorn, Asparagus Pea, Leeks and Kale all thrive. So space isn’t too much of an issue when it comes to growing your own.

Once you’ve established your space for growing, now’s the time for sowing those seeds! There are really useful charts around which tells you all the times to sow and harvest your choice of produce.

Bear in mind we’ve had a really cold start to the year, so if your chosen seed’s optimum sowing time has passed you may still be in luck, so give it a try!

Just remember to rotate your crop, this helps prevent build up of disease and avoids nutrients being removed from the soil regularly over the years, and also read the seed packets! The information on them is dedicated to that plant, so read and learn.

Most importantly, have fun! Enjoy the fruits (and veg) of your labour!

Thanks for reading!