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You can never have enough lettuce in summer, but sowing directly into the soil takes up valuable space in the garden. Keep a regular supply growing by sowing seeds in lengths of plastic guttering: short, 1m lengths are convenient and easy to handle

in the dissolved nutrients with the water.Recycle the nutrients that you apply to your garden by composting leafy prunings, dead flowers, vegetables peelings and any other suitable material.AdamFor best results apply fertilisers when the soil is moist.Apply high

Plum trees can be prone to silver leaf disease if pruned in winter, so cut them back in summer to encourage the development of bushy growth, which stops them becoming too large and unmanageable. Plum treeSecateurs June - July 20 minutesUse secateurs to cut back this season's grow...

Rocket is best sown between March and September but even late sowings can produce a good crop of spicy, peppery leaves for salads. Keep nipping off the rocket leaves and it will provide rich pickings for weeks, and ensure a continual supply by making successive sowings throughout...

Tomatoes are easy to grow from seed and should germinate within two weeks. Compact cherry varieties can be grown in pots and hanging baskets, while larger, cordon types are more suited to being raised in the ground or in growing bags. Tomato seedsSeed compostPlastic potsVermiculi...

.Stick the overlapping end firmly in place. If it's not secure, tie it in position with two lengths of string above and below the band of glue.Peel off the paper covering the glue.AdamDealing with other garden pests CaterpillarsElephant hawk mothMullein mothAphids

Rachel de Thame explains how to grow apple, pineapple and curly mint varieties in a pot, with advice on compost, planting and maintenance.springMore on growing herbsPractical advice on raising herbsVideo guide to How to grow peppermint and thyme in a containerGrow herbs from seed...

Save money by collecting and storing seed of your favourite hardy annuals, to sow next year. Saving seed from pot marigold, Calendula officinalis, couldn't be easier. Ensure you allow the seedheads to fully develop on the plant before collecting them (they will turn brown and pap...

Saving seed from your garden plants is easy to do and will provide you with plenty to sow next season. Leave a few seedheads on your plants after they've finished flowering, removing the rest to conserve the plant's energy. Alternatively

. Improving the soil with plenty of organic matter in the form of compost helps drainage and aeration on heavy soils and conserves essential moisture on light ones.SoilGarden spadeGarden forkGarden rakeOrganic matter in the form of compost or well