The BBC is jumping on the home-growing bandwagon, and even giving away free seeds to help us along. Don’t get too excited – the seeds aren’t available until 10 April – but if you get your hands on some, or you buy your own, you can then spend the next few months growing along with the TV, and then cooking your produce in the autumn.

The seed starter packs will contain five different vegetables, including Gardener’s Delight tomatoes (which we already grow every year anyway), Lolla Rossa or Red Salad Bowl lettuce, Boltardy Beetroot, which we grew with great success last year, either Harrier or Hunter buternut squash (we failed with these), and Early Nantes carrots, which are very easy to grow.

It’s great to see they’re encouraging wannabe gardeners to get started with proper vegetables, and not just herbs or cress.

Once you’ve got your seeds, whether you bag the freebies or you buy your own, you can grow along with Gardeners’ World on BBC 2 right through the season to make sure you don’t go wrong and then, at harvest time, dig them up and use them to cook along with Nigel Slater.

It’s an excellent idea, and something I’ll definitely get involved in, assuming there’s still space in the plot to plant things by then.

If you want to, too, bookmark the Dig In website. It’s not live yet, but it will be from 10 April. Make sure you’re there on launch day for the best chance of getting your free seeds.

Related posts:

1. Free BBC Dig In seeds arrive
2. What seeds should you plant in April?
3. Ordering this year's seeds