Summertime and the season is getting longer, which means there's still plenty of time to get growing. Seeds germinate so quickly in the warmer temperatures — practically overnight in some cases — that you can be harvesting your own veg within a few weeks.

Lots of vegetables love these long, balmy days as much as we do, especially Mediterranean ones such as basil, rocket and cut-and-come-again lettuces.

And even carrots can still be sown. OK, they won't be massive, but who wants monster carrots? They're much better when they're young and sweet. The same goes for beetroot.

You can sow some varieties and come back to them every few days for more leaves. Loose-leaf lettuces, rocket and chard will keep going all summer, and you can overwinter chard and rocket for early crops next season. Others, such as the ³hearting² lettuces, coriander, radishes and beetroot, are best sown in small amounts every couple of weeks until the end of August, so you get a succession of crops.

Mine’s bigger than yours

It’s shovels at dawn at the village hall, as the vegetable showing season reaches its peak

BACKGROUND

• Vegging Out: how to start a vegetable patch

• Enjoying the fruits — and veg — of your labour

• Get plotting

• Your midsummer sowing guide

Related Internet Links

• How to start a vegetable garden

The vegetable patch

Have you grown a prize parsnip or a trophy tomato? Send us a picture - we'll showcase the best

BACKGROUND

• Growing kinds of chilli. . .

• Go ahead, pack it in

• Seeds of change

• Dolce vita on a plate

• Salad days that last forever

BACKGROUND

• Salad days that last forever

• Grow your own meals

• Dolce vita on a plate

• Go ahead, pack it in

• Seeds of change

Sow either direct into beds or, if your garden is prone to slugs or you want to grow in containers, sow a few seeds into small pots or modules and grow them on before planting them out. Root vegetables, however, don't like to be transplanted so sow them directly into containers or beds. To sow in beds, fork over the soil and rake it to a fine, crumbly tilth. Then use a hoe to "draw" a sowing line to the correct depth (see chart, p82), put the seeds in, cover with soil and water. To sow in containers, spread a 1cm layer of seed compost on top of the general purpose compost, make a series of shallow drills and sow into these, at the correct depth.

Don't forget to water: seeds can't germinate without a regular supply. That doesn't mean you need to drown them every day ­ just keep an eye on them, especially if you're growing in containers.

Cut-and-come-again crops

These are ideal if you're short on time: one sowing and you can cut a few leaves at a tim e until the first frosts. The trick is to choose varieties that can be harvested gently. Take a few leaves from the edges of each plant, snip them off at the base, and leave the heart to grow on.

The classic varieties to grow are the loose-leaf lettuces — usually listed as such in the catalogues. These include Salad Bowl, Oak Leaf, Lollo Rosso and Frisée. To add spice to a salad, grow rocket, parsley and basil. Add colour with radicchio, ruby chard and red mustard.

Container growing

You'll be amazed how well crops can grow in pots. Leafy lettuces and herbs are easy in a deep window box or a good-sized pot. I prefer synthetic materials for growing veg as they don't dry out as quickly as terracotta, although I grow my herbs in clay as they look so pretty.

Always go for the largest pots that you can accommodate comfortably ­ the larger they are, the happier the plants will be and the more they will produce. It will also save you a lot of watering as the root systems will be bigger and stronger. Obviously, smaller plants, such as herbs, will manage with a smaller-sized container, and lettuces are fast and furious growers that need only regular watering to give good crops; however, for a crop of French or runner beans, then you need to think big ­ ideally 46 x 46cm (18 x 18in).

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