Grow your own - planning

Whatever the reason for you wanting to grow your own fruit and veg - whether it is to save money, reduce food miles, eat fresher produce or a new hobby - a bit of foreword planning will help before you get stuck in. Obviously you want to grow the varieties that you enjoy eating and will get good use out of, but a few practicalities are worth considering before you decide what you will grow and how you'll go about it:

• How much space do you have available? If you're lucky enough to have a reasonable sized garden, you can no doubt find space to designate to your veg patch. However, if you have little space or you have a yard out the back, pots, growbags and even hanging baskets can come to the rescue. There are certain crops that require more space than others - I've been informed that asparagus, sprouts, main crop potatoes and squash are best avoided if space is limited.
• The position of your garden can make a difference. Although most crops grow best in sunny spots, lettuce, spinach and peas don't min a bit of shade. If your garden isn't sheltered, it's best to avoid more delicate plants such as peas and beans. Wherever possible, don't plant near trees or hedges, as your crops will have tough competition for water and nutrients.
• What type of soil do you have? Heavy clay soils don't warm up so quickly in spring, so early crops tend to struggle, though later crops do better and need watering less often. Light sandy soils are a better bet for growing early crops, but later ones will require a lot of watering if they are to be successful.
•  It's worth growing fruit and veg which are harvested at different times of year to make the most of your plot. At this time of year you can enjoy cruciferous veg, once spring is in full swing you can be eating salad veg, by July new potatoes, French beans and beetroot can be on the menu and in September you can still be enjoying peas, spring onions and runner beans.
• How much time can you devote? If you know you're busy and will have limited time to care for your crops, choose those that do well when left to their own devices - runner beans are a good example. This is also likely to dictate how much of your garden you give over to growing.
• If you're looking to save money, it makes sense to grow fruit or veg which are more expensive to buy, so you might favour leeks and courgettes over potatoes, carrots and onions.

In the next part of the "grow your own" series, we'll look at preparing your plot.