A Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables Growing Guide

In an often fast-paced world, many people are searching for ways to slow down. One pastime that’s having a quiet resurgence is growing your own fruit and vegetables. More and more people are gaining a sense of satisfaction from sowing seeds, harvesting their own food, and reaping the rewards. Not to mention the sustainability of growing your own produce, a cause we at Berkeley Group are very passionate about.

The positive effect gardening has on physical and emotional well-being has been proven time and time again, but growing tasty things to eat just adds that extra layer of fulfilment. And that’s before you consider the nutritional benefits: home-grown, freshly picked fruit and vegetables won't contain any preservatives, and the vitamin content is higher, too.

Use our fruit and vegetable growing guide below to plan your year of fresh produce.

Top Tips for Growing Fresh Produce

If you, like many, are questioning whether you have the space to grow your own fruits and vegetables, rest assured, you don’t need acres of land to grow healthy produce:

• Herbs and chillies can be grown on a sunny windowsill
• Carrots and dwarf beans grow well in a large container
• Cherry tomatoes and tiny alpine strawberries thrive in pots and hanging baskets
• Salad leaves can be planted in a window box

Focus on what you’re most likely to eat and cook with, research the seasonality of your favourites, and you can’t go wrong. Fewer food miles, better flavour, and improved mental health: what’s not to love?

Fruits and Vegetables to Grow in Spring

Spring is a great time to begin your homegrown produce journey. In March, you can start sowing the seeds of tomatoes, French beans, chillies, courgettes, and squash into trays of compost indoors. When the seedlings emerge, be sure to rotate the trays regularly to avoid your seedlings growing in odd directions.

Simultaneously sowing seeds of ‘companion plants’ may help your seedlings thrive, because the companion plant helps to attract pollinating insects and deter unwanted pests, like aphids. Some springtime companion pairings include:

• Tomatoes and basil: Basil is thought to repel pests and improve the taste of tomatoes when grown together
• Courgette and calendula: Calendula attracts pollinators with their bright flowers, assisting the often overlooked courgette

As seedlings get bigger, they can be ‘potted on’ into individual pots or modules. Alternatively, skip the seeds and wait a few weeks to buy baby plants instead, usually available online and in garden centres from May. Spring is also the perfect time to plant baby strawberry plants outdoors.

What’s Ready to Pick and Eat in Spring?

• Sprouting broccoli
• Leeks

Fruits and Vegetables to Grow in Summer

Early summer is your opportunity to turn your attention to growing outdoors. The baby veg plants you’ve nurtured indoors throughout spring can now be transferred into outdoor containers and beds, or alternatively, pick up some baby plants from your local garden centre and start from there. Provide support canes for climbing beans to encourage vertical growth, allowing maximum sun exposure, air flow, and easy harvesting.

Start sowing the seeds of hardier vegetables such as radish, beetroot, lettuce, and rocket directly into the compost or soil. To protect your veg pots and beds from curious pests, chicken wire and a few canes make a good temporary fence. Boost your summer growth with these companion plant pairings:

• Strawberries and spinach: Spinach leaves contain saponins, acting as a natural repellent against garden pests, while the large leaves can disguise bright ripe berries
• Cucumbers and peas: These have the same growing conditions and the added benefit of cucumbers feeding off the nitrogen produced by the peas

As the weather warms up, keep everything well-watered and pull out any weeds that appear. Watch out for slugs and snails—pick off any you see, or use organic slug pellets. Sow more seeds of salad leaves in trays to fill gaps in your veg beds and pots later in summer.

3 Top Tips for Growing Summer Goods

1. Snip off strawberry runners as they pop up
2. Start feeding tomato, chilli, and courgette plants with a liquid feed once the flowers appear
3. Pick French beans and runner beans as soon as they’re ready to encourage more beans to form

What’s Ready to Pick and Eat in Summer?

• Salad crops
• Strawberries
• French beans
• Peas
• Radish
• Tomatoes
• Courgettes
• Outdoor herbs (chives, basil, parsley, coriander)

Fruits and Vegetables to Grow in Autumn

Once your summer veg has been picked and eaten, use the autumn time to tidy up your fruit and veg patches. Clear out containers, beds, and window boxes of any remaining strawberry runners, fallen leaves, or old roots.

You still have time to sow some final outdoor crops such as your last batches of radish, and get started on your winter salads. This includes rocket, mizuna, and mustard leaf. It’s also the perfect time to plant garlic outdoors. Kale and sprouting broccoli need sturdy canes to prevent being damaged by winter winds. Sow seeds of basil and coriander to grow on the kitchen windowsill so that you can enjoy fresh herbs in winter.

Some autumn companion plant pairings for you to consider include:

• Kale and leeks: Leeks’ onion-like scent acts as a strong deterrent to pests like kale aphids, and their shape is great for aerating the soil to prevent rot
• Garlic and carrots: Carrot flies can be a real nuisance, but planting your carrots alongside odorous garlic can deter these

What’s Ready to Pick and Eat in Autumn?

• Spinach
• Runner beans
• Carrots
• Beetroot
• Squash

Fruits and Vegetables to Grow in Winter

Although gardening tasks are limited during the cold winter months, and planting new produce is difficult, you can still plan ahead for next year’s crops. Look at seed catalogues and gardening websites, making a list of what you’d like to grow when. Pre-order seeds and baby plants to make sure you get the varieties you want. Then, think about where you’re going to grow them. Work out how many containers you’ll need, or how much space you need to set aside in the garden.

Winter’s the perfect time to weed beds and borders, and get rid of old veg plants in containers. You can also put a layer of cardboard, black plastic or weed membrane over your veg patch to warm up the soil. There are also winter vegetables to harvest if you sowed them during late spring and early summer.

What’s Ready to Pick and Eat in Winter?

• Kale
• Parsnips
• Brussels sprouts
• Leeks
• Rocket
• Mizuna
• Indoor herbs (basil, mint, and coriander)

Gardening Kit to Keep Handy

Just like you don’t need acres of land to grow your own produce, you don’t need masses of expensive equipment either. The following basic tools and pieces of kit will definitely help you begin your gardening journey:

• Garden tools: If you have a garden, you’ll need a long-handled fork and a spade for digging the soil.
• Hand tools: If you’re working with only a balcony or a patio, a trowel, a hand fork, and secateurs (or plant ‘snips’) will be your most treasured tools.
• Small pots & seed trays: You’ll need these if you want to grow produce from seed. Alternatively, you could upcycle leftover food packaging like yoghurt pots and plastic takeaway trays—just punch a few holes in the bottom for drainage.
• Multi-purpose compost or grow-bags: Fill pots and seed trays with compost, or plant baby plants directly into a grow-bag. Choose eco-friendly peat-free or reduced peat versions.
• Watering can: Choose a watering can with a fine rose head to prevent your seedlings from getting swamped.
• Large pots and saucers: Choose the biggest pots you can fit into your gardening space, and put a plastic or terracotta saucer under each pot to help retain water.

Grow Your Fruit and Vegetable Patch at Your New Berkeley Home

With Berkeley Group, it’d be a harder task to find a home without an outdoor space for your fruit and veg patch. With innovative, space-utilising developments across the UK, you’ll find gardens, balconies, roof terraces, and more spaces ideal for growing your plot.

Browse our locations to find the perfect Berkeley Home for you, or get in touch to find out more.