A Taste Of The Mediterranean

Gardener and broadcaster Toby Buckland delivers his expert advice

- Toby Buckland

The vegetables I savour the most in summer are those of freshly picked tomatoes, creamy aubergines and hot chilli peppers. Home grown they give you that taste of the Mediterranean rather than boring-old supermarket, and if grown from seed offer a far wider range of flavours, textures and colours. Start sowing seed now and you can get good results just by following the instructions on the seed packet. Here’s my checklist to ensure perfect vegetables:

• Use fresh compost and pots for all seeds – what you have hanging around from last year could now contain diseases.

• Water seedlings with tap water not H2O from the waterbutt. Leave a full can in the greenhouse so it’s there when you need it and warmed by the sun.

• Don’t oversow – it will only cause overcrowding resulting in weak, leggy growth.