Make a nursery bed to get your veg seedlings off to a flying start this spring. Putting aside a corner of your plot just for raising seeds is a great investment and helps you get the most from your veg patch.
It might seem a long way ahead, but it's actually just the right time to buy in seed for all your winter crops, which need a long growing season so they're at full throttle just when you want them at the end of the year. In our garden centre you'll find seed for all your favourites, from crinkled Savoy cabbages to prolific and tasty purple sprouting broccoli, hefty Brussels sprouts and deliciously nutritious kale.
Instead of letting them take up valuable room in the main garden, raise seedlings of these big, slow-growing late crops out of the way while you occupy veg beds with early crops like new potatoes and broad beans. Then come June you can transplant your brassica seedlings into their final growing spaces.
Site your nursery bed in an open, sunny spot, and fork the area over before raking it thoroughly, breaking down lumps of earth to the size of biscuit crumbs. You can then sow direct from next month.