"Robert (Plymouth)" wrote in message
...

....Why not sow them in pots of compost and transplant them to ensure they
get going properly?

That's what I did, little peat pots, and after about ten days the tap root
was coming through the bottom and I was going away for a week so I put them
in the beds but they were eaten, presumably by slugs. I thought I would be
good and organic and was relying on a barrier of fire ash only to keep the
slugs off and i think it rained quite heavily last week.

Tim W