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I'm forever sowing vegetable seeds at the moment, and when I'm not sowing vegetable seeds I'm pricking out seedlings, both on my allotment and on the vegetable patch at work.I always seem to be behind, however, and last year I completely forgot

Sometimes it seems like I've had the allotment forever - I just can't imagine life without it. It seems so long ago when I look back to the early days - no shed, no raised beds, only weeds and lots of work to do.I think we got most things right when

on special occasions, religiously eat my five portions of fruit and veg every day and get super-fit. And the allotment fits in very nicely with the last two of those.Trouble is that in conjunction with the month of January there usually comes a settled

and preparing our beds for planting. This allotment business is not for the faint-hearted.I have a certain routine to preparing my beds for planting, which is dependent on my crop rotation plan. This way I know which beds to add organic matter to and which ones

wonderful thing this 'circle of life' is - as some things end, others begin to grow. And that's especially true on an allotment. My seedlings sown outdoors are starting to appear, thanks to the recent lovely rain, sunny days and warmer nights. The first

The weather has been remarkable lately. A fortnight ago we had frosts and chilly winds, then suddenly we had sunshine, showers and the odd thunderstorm.The recent sun and rain have been fantastic for the allotment; everything seems to have leapt

during the grading, packing and delivery processes.Allotment strawberries don't have to cope with all this rough and tumble and taste infinitely better, although they probably don't keep as well.We eat all the strawberries we can fresh with cream

Rachael made in industrial quantities the first year she had an allotment and planted rather too many courgettes. Check out Hugh's Guardian column for lots of courgette ideas including 'Glutney'. And Sophie Grigson's courgette risotto is next on my recipe