The best vegetables to grow - chosen by an expert

Rekha Mistry is a passionate kitchen gardener, a regular on BBC's Gardeners World and a member of the RHS Plant Committee.

Here she shares her favourites to grow in the garden.

Rekha’s best vegetables to grow season-by-season

Spring

• Purple sprouting broccoli grows undemandingly for months until spring arrives – with the most delicious stems! Sow in April–May.
• Radish is one of my first seeds to sow, harvesting in 4–8 weeks. Oriental radishes take 8 weeks and retain firmness in stir-fries or parathas. Sow inside in March, outside in May.

Summer

• Tomatoes are a favourite – no garden required. A bright kitchen window ledge will suffice. Sow in February–March with heat.
• Potatoes are a staple for me. Grow an early and maincrop variety so you enjoy your own for 8 months a year. Plant earlies in February–March.

Autumn

• Celeriac flavours change after a touch of frost to mellow celery. Grate into a crunchy cabbage and fennel slaw. Surface sow in March.
• Raspberries cannot be beaten for flavour, eaten straight off the plant. Turn into a coulis and pour over cheesecake. Plant canes from November–February.

Winter

• Parsnips make you wait 8 months. But in the depths of winter, the aroma of this unassuming veg is a delight, let alone the taste! Sow direct in April.
• Savoy Cabbage holds its crunch and texture in warming stews and soups, making it a must for winter days. Sow in May.

Five foods that are simple to grow

1. Chillies

Sow with heat for germination. Try ‘Hungarian Hot Wax’.

2. Garlic

Grow from cloves to harvest in July. Try ‘Solent Wight’.

3. Broad beans

Chunky seeds, quick to sprout. Try ‘The Sutton’.

4. Apples

Plant bare-root trees for harvest after year two. Try ‘Red Falstaff’.

5. Parsley

Sow with heat, to plant out in May. Try ‘Gigante di Napoli’.