The best seeds to sow in November

Growing your own chilli peppers means you can choose your colour, flavour and levels of heat. We suggest varieties such as ‘Apache’ or ‘Medusa’, as these can be sown any time of year.

• Chillies are easy to grow in pots in your greenhouse or a warm, sunny spot indoors like a windowsill.

• You can also start them off indoors, then grow outdoors when the weather gets warmer in spring.

• Plant your seeds in a soil-based seed or potting-on compost.

• Give your chillies a good watering, then water them every other day – they love a drink as much as they love the sun!

We recommend sowing first early peas like ‘Meteor’ and ‘Kelvedon Wonder’ to overwinter ready for spring picking and eating.

• Sow your seeds in a length of old guttering.

• Drill drainage holes at regular intervals along the base.

• Fill to the top with seed compost.

• Space out seeds about 3 inches apart.

• Put the guttering in your greenhouse, or a cold frame.

• Keep the compost moist, and transplant the pea seedlings into the garden once they’re established.

Put a spring in your step by planting spring-flowering bulbs, such as tulips and daffodils now. We recommend a pot of hyacinth bulbs on your terrace or patio, for gorgeous spring scents. Or plant Christmas roses (hellebores) in the border for their colourful winter/early spring blooms. 

• November is the ideal time to plant tulip bulbs – the colder temperatures can help stop fungal and viral diseases in the soil.

• Check your bulbs – discard any that are soft or look rotten.

• Choose a sunny spot, and plant at one or two times the bulb's depth, pointed side up.

• Plant in groups a few centimetres apart.

• Keep your soil mix light and well drained over the winter.

Give your garden an instant lift by choosing hardy outdoor plants for your pots. We suggest winter flowering pansies and violas, cyclamen and primroses. Heather is great for texture and wildlife, or add a modern, unusual twist with ornamental kale or ornamental cabbage. 

• Pansies prefer sun, but also grow well in partial shade.

• Plant them 6-10 inches apart so they have enough airflow.

• Remember to regularly water covered pansies.

November is a perfect month for planting bare-root fruit trees, such as apple, pear, cherry and plum. Just make sure your ground isn’t too frosted or too wet. Most fruit trees prefer full sun and well-drained soil. 

• Dig over the soil and remove any big stones.

• Dig the hole for your tree, with a diameter of 3-5 feet.

• Place the tree in the hole, following the planting instructions to ensure it’s at the correct depth.

• Fill in the soil around the tree trunk – keeping the tree straight supported by a stake to protect it from wind damage.

• Your stake should come up to the tree’s height.

• Water your tree on planting – and then regularly until it’s established.

• Remember to remove the stake when the tree has established.