TUC president and POA leader STEVE GILLAN speaks to Ben Chacko on the eve of Congress 2026
LOOKING through next year’s seed catalogues can be frustrating, as well as inspiring. There’s a long, dull winter to get through before most of the varieties listed can be sown or planted.
So I’ll start with a vegetable suitable for sowing at any time. Suttons Seeds (www.suttons.co.uk; tel 0844 326-2200) offers a sweetcorn called Bodacious which is grown for its seed shoots.
Sown indoors in complete darkness, the resulting bright yellow shoots are said to taste something like beansprouts as well as corn on the cob, but with an extra sweet-and-sour flavour.
MAT COWARD says the heatwave is a testing time for gardeners — but he has some tips
Rising temperatures and human activity are making life far harder for these vital pollinators. ALEX DITTRICH explains
MAT COWARD takes a look at some of the options for keen gardeners as we enter 2026
Commiserations if you failed this year, MAT COWARD offers six points which, if followed religiously, will ensure you succeed next year


