Grow food you actually harvest

Count back from your last frost date. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplant go into trays 6 to 8 weeks before it, while squash and cucumbers need only 3 to 4 weeks. Peas, radishes, carrots and lettuce go straight into the ground a few weeks before the last frost.

Fruiting crops such as tomatoes, peppers, squash and cucumbers want 6 to 8 hours of direct sun. Leafy greens and most herbs manage on 4 to 6 hours, and root crops sit in between. Less sun does not stop you gardening, it changes what you plant.

Bush beans, radishes, lettuce, zucchini and cherry tomatoes. They germinate fast, forgive uneven watering and produce in one season. Start with five crops you actually eat rather than a long list.

Follow the seed packet, or use square foot spacing: 1 tomato or cabbage per square, 4 lettuces, 9 bush beans, 16 radishes or carrots. Crowding is the most common reason for small harvests and mildew.

Aim for about an inch of water a week in one or two deep soakings rather than daily sprinkles. Containers need much more, often daily in summer. Water at the base in the morning so the leaves stay dry.

Cover young plants with fine mesh netting, rotate crops so pests do not build up, and leave a few flowering plants to attract predators. Hand-pick beetles and caterpillars in the evening, when they are easiest to spot.