The early English cucumbers get earlier each year. It's not difficult to grow early cucumbers. You need a heated greenhouse to grow a decent crop but you can always grow a few on a warm windowsill in the house.

All you need is a medium-sized pot of good compost, the right variety of seed, and a sunny windowsill.

The right variety will be one recommended for small to medium-sized fruit.

My first choice would be an all-female hybrid called Landora, bred to produce early fruit up to 30cms. I spotted it in the catalogue of Mr Fothergill's Seeds.

There are other varieties that will succeeed. One is Petita, often called the baby cucumber, which will produce a heavy crop of baby-sized fruits no more than 15cms to 18cms long.

Sow the seed on its edge no more than 2cms deep in sterilised compost, preferably the soilless kind, and germination will take no more than a week. Tie the seedling loosely to a slim cane with all sideshoots being removed until it reaches a desired height of about a metre when the growing point can be removed. Two trailing shoots should now be trained downwards on supports developing sideshoots which should be pinched out at their second joints.

In a glasshouse you can sow in succession in pots of rich compost. The ideal temperature will be a night-time minimum of around 60F. A light spraying with water will be helpful.

In a greenhouse the best technique is to strain horizontal wires from end to end and train the cucumber main stems upwards, using raffia or loose twine.

When the main stem reaches the uppermost wire the growing point should be pinched out and all ensuing lateral sideshoots should be stopped at the second joint and sub-laterals at the first joint. Choosing an F1 all-female hybrid removes the chore of removing the male flowers which result in bitter misshapen fruit.

By Jim Roberts