Sally Nex harvesting crop of tomatoes

Start sowing in February

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To do

February seed sowing inspiration

Plants featured in this video

Tomatoes

It’s said there are over 10,000 different varieties of tomato in the world, so I doubt I’ll run out of new ones to try any time soon. I’ve grown aromatic, juicy beefsteaks, meaty heirloom Italian plums, tiny sweet cherries in trusses so heavily-laden they nearly break the plant – and I’m still discovering new favourites every year. Start with a reliable standard salad tom like ‘Ailsa Craig’, then pick out something unusual, just for fun – you never know what you might find!

20 of the best tomatoes to grow

Jerusalem artichokes

Veg don’t get much easier to grow than Jerusalem artichokes. Just one or two tubers planted now quickly multiply into a clump of very tall, straight stems topped with cheery yellow sunflowers in summer. Dig up your harvest of knobbly, nutty tubers in winter, leaving some behind to resprout for next year’s supplies. Jerusalem artichokes are however famous for causing flatulence, so acclimatise yourself to them gradually by eating just a little to start with.

Sweet peas

I grow my sweet peas up hazel wigwams, letting them burst into a glorious jumble of perfume and flowers. But if you want long, strong, straight stems and larger flowers for cutting, train each plant straight up its own support, pinching out all side branches and tendrils as it grows. However you grow them, it’s important to deadhead regularly so the flowers keep coming – a second batch sown in June keeps you in jam jars of sweetly-scented flowers till autumn.

How to sow sweet pea seeds

French marigolds

You can sow lots of summer bedding from seed – it’s much cheaper, you get loads more plants, and it’s better for the environment than buying ready-grown plug plants too. I sow French marigolds every year: I fill summer containers with them for a cheerful splash of sunshiney flowers, then plant them en masse under my tomatoes in the greenhouse. Whitefly really hate their distinctive smell, so it’s a great pest deterrent.

How to grow marigolds