Heat Today will be hot in the south of the Netherlands: up to 30 degrees! Check whether your reservoir is still full, whether the mix is still moist, shade vulnerable plants around midday, and wait with sowing until it cools down.

More tips

Buy vegetable seedlings or not?

When should you buy vegetable seedlings, and when is it better to sow? Why do you sometimes do both?

It is early April. Just look at my plants shooting up:

Makkelijke Moestuin raised beds turning green in early April — *At last, my raised beds are turning green*

Just look at that lettuce. It is doing incredibly well!

'Erm, Jelle, mine does not look like that yet. What am I doing wrong?'

Nothing. I simply visited my local garden centre yesterday 🙂

At this time of year, they already have a good selection of small herb and vegetable plants.

*Young vegetable plants at the local garden centre*

Great fun and useful too.

In a cold March, you may not be able to start sowing until late in the month. Any seedlings that have appeared by April are probably still very small.

Put a few young plants in your raised bed now and you can start harvesting in just a few weeks.

Where can you buy seedlings?

When I started, small vegetable plants were quite difficult to find. Now every garden centre sells them, with more and more organic options too.

Red lettuce seedlings from the garden centre — *Red lettuce plants*

Like pansies and other spring flowers, these little plants are fun. They make you happy. And greedy! You'll just want more.

Which vegetable plants are good?

Lettuce plants are always a good idea: I bought Bibb lettuce, oak leaf lettuce, and red lettuce. I planted them under the trellis:

Young lettuce plants from the garden centre planted beside the trellis — *Young lettuce plants under the trellis*

That may seem strange, but I have reserved three spots there for runner beans, a tomato and a climbing courgette.

By the time I can plant those at the end of May, I will have harvested this lettuce long ago.

I also buy a few fennel and kohlrabi plants. A handful of each is more than enough for me. Planting them now gives me a good chance of harvesting them before butterfly season.

*Fennel, pak choi and kohlrabi seedlings*

Which seedlings should you avoid?

Beetroot seedlings, rocket and lamb's lettuce: I always prefer to sow these myself.

All the other brassicas: cauliflower, broccoli, red cabbage, white cabbage, kale and pointed cabbage.

Trust me: they are nothing but trouble. They grow too large, occupy your raised bed for far too long and always get eaten by something.

All summer vegetables: chillies, tomatoes, sweet peppers, cucumbers, aubergines and courgettes.

The plants are already on sale, but it is far too early to put them outside. One cold night and they are done for.

Unless you have a heated greenhouse, it is better to leave them where they are until the end of May, when it is finally warm enough outside.

And herbs: should you buy those now too?

Some yes, others not yet.

You can buy lovely small parsley plants for very little. Put four in one square and you will have enough for the rest of the year.

Young parsley plants from the garden centre — *Parsley plants from the garden centre*

Or 1 large chive plant and you'll be set for life.

All the chive plants you see in my pictures are all descended from the first plant I started with 10 years ago.

One chive plant produces lots of offspring, so you can replant it for 10 years at least. — *The descendants of my chive plant from 10 years ago*

You can buy other small herb plants now, as long as they can handle the cold. Mint for example, or thyme and rosemary.

But stay away from basil, because it really hates cold weather. It's much better to sow the seeds and let the plant grow that way. Same goes for cilantro.

How do you plant the small plants?

The most important thing is to get the root ball wet. So first put the plants in shallow bowl or bucket with water.

Before transplanting, put young plants in a bowl with water so their roots get moist. — *First, put the plants in a bowl with water*

Small plants can go straight into your raised bed.

Use a trowel to make a hole in the MM-mix by pushing it aside, then put in the plant with its root ball. Gently press the MM-mix back around it. Do not press too firmly because the mix should stay airy.

Large plants should be placed in water while still in their pots. This also makes them much easier to remove.

Cut the bottom centimetre from the root ball straight away. This encourages the plant to make new roots quickly.

Then put the plant in your raised bed, or in an MM-mini.

Planting a young vegetable plant in the MM-mix

Prefer planting to sowing?

No, that's crazy. Sowing is more fun. And much cheaper.

But for a flying start, neither is crazy: you buy a few plants and sow the rest.

For sowing I have some very nice packages 😉

Seeds

The perfect seeds for your small-scale vegetable garden.

Have fun in the garden!