Sowalong

Welcome to the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Sowalong podcast series – the podcast that inspires you to grow vegetables, flowers and herbs from seed. Find advice for successful germination, growing healthy crops and impressive blooms in these friendly and fun bite-size podcasts.

Sowalong - Marigolds, with Sonya Patel Ellis

With their open, daisy like flower heads, marigolds are pollinator friendly plants and are great for planting next to crops such as tomatoes or courgettes.

Sowalong - Chard, with Matt Biggs

The coloured stems of chard are a highlight. They're vivid and glossy and to be honest with you, they're as much at home in a tropical border as they are in a veg garden.

Sowalong - Sweetcorn, with Oliver Parsons

Sweetcorn is simple and easy to look after and there's no taste quite like a fresh cob taken from the plant and steamed straight away.

Sowalong - Ox-eye Daisy, with Claire Vennis

The largest of the Daisy family, the ox-eye daisy is a perennial and native wildflower that can be grown in ornamental flower borders in a meadow and in wildlife corners too.

Sowalong - Nasturtiums, with Matt Biggs

Nasturtiums are easy to grow plants and their cheerful flowers have inspired gardeners of many generations.

Sowalong - Beetroot, with Adam Duxbury

One of the easiest vegetables to grow, beetroot is also incredibly versatile to use in the kitchen and it's packed with nutrients.

Sowalong - Lettuce, with Claire Vennis

Easy to grow and with so many varieties to choose from in many colours, shapes and textures, lettuce is a fabulous vegetable to grow from seed.

Sowalong - Courgettes, with Catherine Mansley

Courgettes are a great crop to grow with kids, as they're pretty reliable, and come in wonderful shapes and colours.

Sowalong - Eschscholzia, with Kevin Smith

It's easy to grow these hardy annuals and, if you let them grow and self seed, it's almost impossible not to have them as part of your plot forever.

Sowalong - Zinnias, with Matt Biggs

Zinnias are found in the wild in Mexico and southwestern USA. So you instantly know that they love warmth and sunshine. So bring on the long hot summers

Sowalong - Sunflowers, with Claire Vennis

When sunflowers start to bloom, there's nothing like it. Their heads light up any garden and are a haven for wildlife.

Sowalong - Squash, with Oliver Parsons

From a single squash seed comes an enormous plant, bearing outrageously beautiful, sometimes rather exotic, and really quite tasty fruits.

Sowalong - Onions, with Matt Biggs

Onion soup, onion gravy, in our cheese and onion sandwiches, onion bread. You just can't get away from onions. They're a staple in a whole range of dishes and a must grow crop for the garden.

Sowalong - Sweet peas, with Kevin Smith

Surprise someone with a fragrant bunch of sweetpeas or grow them for yourself. The flowers are just magic.

Sowalong - Brussels Sprouts, with Sarah Edwards

Brussels sprouts are one of the more divisive vegetables but they're associated with a reduced risk of developing a wide range of cancers, so sprouts are believed to be very good for you.

Sowalong - Carrots, with Kevin Smith

A staple in the veg plot and, with many varieties available, carrots could be in your plot this year too.

Sowalong - Potatoes, with Adam Frost

One of the easiest things to grow in the garden says Adam Frost and you'll be digging up potato 'jewels' later in the year.

Sowalong - Cornflowers, with Matt Biggs

You'd hardly believe that cornflowers that are so familiar in cottage gardens were actually introduced to Britain thousands of years ago. And we're so familiar with them that we just think of them as one of our own.

Sowalong - Cucumbers, with Claire Vennis

There's nothing quite like biting into a fresh, crunchy cucumber straight from the plant and if you haven't tried to grow cucumbers from seed yet, this could be the year to do so.

Sowalong - Coriander, with Catherine Mansley

One of the oldest cultivated spices that we know of, coriander is bursting with health benefits and every part of coriander is edible.

Sowalong - Broad beans, with Claire Vennis

Broad beans can be grown in the ground, in raised beds, or in pots, and are a great source of vitamins A, C, and E, as well as protein and fibre.

Sowalong - Nigella, with Sonya Patel Ellis

Sow Nigella seeds for a mass of beautiful flowers through the summer months, followed by gorgeous balloon like seed capsules in autumn.

Sowalong - Radish, with Sarah Edwards

Crunchy, bright and full of peppery flavour, the radish is one of the quickest and easiest crops to grow.

Sowalong - Snapdragons, with Matt Biggs

They're fun plants and they get their name from the fact that if you gently squeeze the mouth of the flower it opens wide, just like a Chinese dragon.

Sowalong - Cosmos, with Adam Duxbury

Easy to grow and reliable, says Adam Duxbury from the BBC Gardeners' World magazine team. Cosmos will reward you with weeks of beautiful flowers that fit into lots of different planting styles

Sowalong - Tomatoes, with Adam Frost

Tomatoes are fun to grow, with many different varieties to choose from, and they taste so much better home-grown than from the shops, says Adam Frost.