Windowbox gardening

Step one: Swap. Seeds are expensive and you always end up with too many – so why not swap the excess with other gardeners and you could end up with some great new plants for nothing but the price of postage.

There are a number of gardening sites such as www.seedypeople.co.uk which offer forums for people to swap lists of available seeds. Alternatively, a quick search of the internet in spring will reveal an abundance of seed swapping events all over the UK.

Step two: Dig in. Flowers look great, but growing veg is a great way to avoid industrially-produced foods and steer some cash away from supermarket giants. You won't be alone - according to the Royal Horticultural Society there has been more than a 30 per cent increase in sales of vegetable seeds and a corresponding decline in the sale of flower seeds.   

Step three: Talk. Not just to the plants — but each other! This is particularly important if you are one of the growing band of more than 250,000 allotment holders in the UK (see www.nsalg.org for advice on getting one).

Many crops ripen around the same time which can mean a glut of runner beans, green beans and broad beans, for example. If a group of plot holders were to agree to plant one each of this crop and then share harvests, it would avoid waste and still allow a share of all three seasonal crops. If you get a glut, you could also contact the organisers of local farmers markets who sometimes target plot holders for their excess produce.

Step four: Be green. Don't reach for expensive and harmful chemicals if there is a pest invasion - find a natural solution.  The internet is teeming with ideas on pesticide-free controls using every day household items from vinegar to coffee grounds.  Prevention is often better than cure too, so pull out any weak plants which may already be infected and may attract predators and regularly clear the garden area of debris and weeds which are breeding places for insects. 

Step five: Enjoy. As well as the fresh air, exercise and bags of delicious, free veg, remember that every day spent tilling the soil is less time spent on expensive retail therapy.