Focus on… Direct sowing

WHILE certain vegetables perform best when they are sown under glass, then pricked out and transplanted outdoors later, many will benefit from being sown directly where they are to crop. But to succeed with outdoor sowings takes a bit of care, so let me point you in the right direction.

Best crops for sowing direct

There are some crops, like courgettes, chillies and tomatoes, that I religiously sow indoors each spring (predominantly because they are tender and/or need a long growing season). But tap-rooted carrots and parsnips develop distorted harvests when confined to a module, and quick-to-mature roots such as turnip, beetroot and radish aren’t worth the fiddle of transplanting.

“To succeed with outdoor sowings takes a bit of care”

Speedy annuals such as rocket, dill and summer spinach can run to seed by suffering transplant ‘shock’, while brassicas,