Low Carbon: Tips and advice in the garden

GETTING STARTED

Careful planning and preparation is essential, whether your kitchen garden will be restricted to pots on a patio or can spread over acres.

Find a location with good light (some plants need loads of sun, others less), and check out the soil. Is it gritty, does it have a clay texture or seem to get waterlogged?

First-time gardeners might want to consider sending a soil sample to Which? Gardening for testing. A soil assessment will tell you how healthy your soil is, and whether added nutrients are needed. It will also help to give some indication on what plants are best suited to the soil type.

If you've only got a small space (like a patio or balcony), sprouting seeds and micro-salads like mung bean, red mustard and cress, is quick, easy and can be done indoors.

Or you could consider renting an allotment (tips on how to go about setting up your own can be found at www.allotment.org.uk) or a small piece of a friend's garden.

"A lot of people are too busy to maintain their own garden," notes Which? Gardening editor Ceri Thomas.

"They may consider allowing wannabe gardeners to take care of their outside pace in return for a small sum, or even a share of some of the produce grown."

Once you've got the space sorted out, start thinking about how to till it - depending on the size of your garden and your own ambitions.

"Anyone taking up gardening for the first time should invest in some good garden tools, which should consist of a fork, spade, hoe, trowel, secateurs, watering can and wheelbarrow," Thomas says.

"They will cost around £250 in total but last for years to come."

THE VEG

"First-time gardeners should concentrate on vegetables that are easy to grow, crop over a long period or store well," Thomas says.

"You can't go too far wrong with onions, leeks, carrots, parsnips, early potatoes, peas or beans. Courgettes and runner beans are expensive to buy, but very easy to grow."

All of these crops need limited maintenance - you just need to ensure that the vegetable patch is kept weed free, that you keep an eye out for pests such as slugs and snails (copper rings work a treat and are a chemical-free alternative to pesticides), and that the plants are kept well-watered during the summer months.

Give some exotic and Mediterranean varieties a go, such as squash, peppers, tomatoes and sweetcorn, but be forewarned that they'll need a lot of care and a lot of warmth (like a greenhouse).

If you love spuds, Gardenbargains.com promises over 100 pounds of potatoes within just seven weeks - including a reusable grow bag and four varieties, including Charlottes (great for salads) and King Edwards (great for roasting). Bear in mind that early or salad potatoes suffer from blight less than main crop varieties.

Those with lots of ambition but little time to seek out seeds and plants can opt for a little help all the year round with online nursery Plantconnection, which sends gardeners an assortment of veg at regular intervals to be planted and harvested, ensuring a constant crop 12 months of the year.

The 27 different veg scheme costs £149.99, whereas a smaller version suited to first-timers (with less space) will still get you growing nine varieties, including tomatoes, broad beans, onions and lettuce, for £49.99. Phone 01243 530 790 or visit www.plantconnection.co.uk to sign up or find out more.

THE FRUIT

Some fruit varieties - such as strawberries, currants, gooseberries and raspberries - can be grown in small areas. However, these are trickier than veg to grow, and need a little more attention and pruning.

If you're new to fruit, strawberries are a great place to start - yielding good crops for whatever space they occupy, needing no specialist knowledge and growing without much input.

Strawberries are perennials, which means that once you've planted them, they'll continue to yield fruit for many years without ever having to be moved or replanted. They like sun and will do better if the berries are kept off the soil. Their yields will diminish over time, so you might want to dig up your stock and replant once every three years.

SEEDLINGS OR PLANTS?

Growing from seed is the cheapest option, and is very easy, but impatient gardeners might like to buy young plants from garden centres and mail order companies. These are more expensive, but may be worth the investment if you only want a few of each plant.

Seeds vary from supplier to supplier, so buy from a well-known and reliable source - Which? Gardening trials have shown that Plants of Distinction, Suttons and Unwins are all reputable.

WHEN WILL I SEE RESULTS?

"If you plan your garden right, growing your own veg doesn't have to be simply a summer activity and your family can be enjoying fresh produce throughout the year," Thomas says.

There are vegetables that can be grown and harvested over the winter months to ensure fresh produce all year round, such as some varieties of lettuce, onions and garlic. Other vegetables can be grown over the summer but stored for use all winter.

If you plant or sow potatoes, runner beans, parsnips, lettuce, tomatoes, carrots and onions in the next two weeks, you can expect to be fed within a month (with lettuce), and throughout the summer, autumn and winter (when you'll start to see the parsnips).

NO SPACE AT ALL?

Try your hand at a little herb garden. It won't take up much space and you'll have a ready assortment of coriander, basil, chives, sage, rosemary and thyme whenever you need it to spice up soups, meats, salads and roasts.

You can fit around six herbs in a 12in container, filled with compost and watered regularly. Put the container in a sunny spot on the windowsill or outside, and reap the tasty results.