n GARDENING Peak sowing time is here

WE’VE reached peak sowing now: everything is game for some indoor propagation.

My greenhouses are like a conveyor belt: seed trays, to plugs, to pots and into the ground - it’s hard to keep up.

There have been a few failures, of course, but this year seems to be going quite well so far.

A few years ago we had a frost in the first week of May. This is fairly exceptional but if it catches you out there can be a lot of distance to make up.

Some things will only germinate in heat and will rot in the soil unless they get it, like pumpkins and courgettes.

I’ve taken to germinating them in a warm room. As soon as I see the first signs of life I take them somewhere light, like a greenhouse or cold frame.

Other things, like lettuce, don’t like it too warm and are best germinated in temperatures more akin to the typical British spring.

Another big problem is slugs and snails. Just when you think that you may have got off lightly, there will be a warm May shower and they will come out in force.

A gastropod army, just waiting until your back is turned to devour anything and everything.

There is no perfect solution to this problem.

The way that I deal with it is to simply grow twice what I need: one for me and one for them.

It's a harsh compromise, but at least when the cosmos that was looking so healthy a week ago is reduced to a stump, I have another to go in its place - hopefully this time a little stronger and more slug-resistant.

One of my biggest worries at this time of year is looking at other gardens and allotment plots with envy and that my plants aren't that big, in flower, less slug-ridden and so on.

The reality of the first point is that most things catch up; by July you’ll be wishing that they weren’t so large and would slow down a little, please.

With regards to the other points, you only have so much time and effort that you can apply to these things, so just go with what you can.

There’s no need to compare yourself to the best and think that you’ve failed. If you only have a few evenings snatched from busy schedules, what you achieve is enough.