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Gardening with the RHS

Planning the perfect veg plot: heirlooms, tomatoes and what lies beneath

Gardening with the RHS

Royal Horticultural Society

Home & Garden, Hobbies, Leisure

4.3692 Ratings

🗓️ 5 February 2026

⏱️ 35 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Now is a great time to start planning what to grow, and this week, we’re diving headfirst into the seed catalogues for inspiration! We’re exploring some of the tastiest, and most eye catching, additions to the veg patch: heirlooms! We also take a deep dive into tomato cultivars, as Liz Mooney shares her top picks from last years 'tomato extravaganza’ which saw her grow more than 50 varieties at RHS Wisley's world food garden. And finally, let's get back to basics with the foundation of any abundant veg plot: the soil! Nick Turrell and Jenny Laville dig into the ins and outs of how to care for earth beneath your feet. Host: Gareth Richards Contributors: Lucy Hutchings and Kate Cotterill from She Grows Veg, Liz Mooney, Jenny Laville and Nick Turrell Links: Mangelwurzel Tomato Black Beauty 1,500 Year Old Cave Bean Chicory Rose of Venice Beetroot Red Toad How to grow tomatoes

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Did you know, RHS members enjoy exclusive access to our RHS Gardening Advice Service

0:06.8

for expert guidance at your fingertips.

0:10.2

From caring for houseplants to creating stunning borders and solving tricky garden challenges,

0:16.1

we're here to help.

0:17.5

If you're an RHS member and have a question about this podcast or any other gardening topic,

0:23.3

simply contact us by phone or online through your MyRHS account.

0:28.3

And if you're out in the garden looking for instant advice, try RHS chat botanist, your digital gardening companion.

0:36.8

Discover more benefits of RHS membership at rhs.org.org.uk forward slash membership.

0:51.6

Stargazers might have glimpsed the snow moon last weekend,

0:55.1

the final full moon of meteorological winter,

0:57.7

and it's one which signals that things are about to change.

1:01.3

The very first hints of spring are beginning to stir.

1:04.5

Snowdrops are pushing through,

1:06.1

more birds are lending their voices to the great outdoor symphony

1:08.7

and hazel catkins are unfurling despite the winter gloom.

1:13.3

But before nature truly awakens with the longer days, now it is a great time to start planning

1:17.8

what to grow. This week we're diving headfirst into the seed catalogs for inspiration.

1:23.2

We're exploring some of the tastiest and most eye-catching additions to the vegpatch.

1:27.2

Airlooms! Lucy and Kate from She Grows Veg, join us to uncover some delicious heritage

1:32.0

staples, as well as some truly bizarre crops that can make your patch the envy of the

1:36.0

allotment.

1:37.2

We'll also be taking a deep dive into tomato cultivars as Liz Mooney shares her top picks from

...

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