Thinning strategies

Is it too late to thin? When ensuring the healthiest, tastiest and most generous crops, it's never too late, says Bob

- Bob Flowerdew

WHETHER it's flowers, fruit or vegetables, we gather better, larger and more uniform crops when we grow well-spaced kinds. Overcrowding inevitably produces more, smaller items to harvest.

Sowing thickly is fine if, once the seedlings are up, they are quickly thinned to a reasonable spacing. Obviously, if you're after smaller, faster crops, then these can be left closer to each other than for larger, later-maturing types. But this should never mean crowding, and the reason's simple.