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on the train.Not one to miss an opportunity, I decided this might be a good time to 'share' the management of the whole allotment and make him a co-director. He was thrilled."I don't suppose you want to bother with borlotti beans", I ventured. What followed

expect your site is just the same. Yes, it's bean planting time and everyone is a-bustle on the site building all the wigwams, tunnels and trestles ready to support the massive growth of French and runner beans.Many people favour wigwams – I do

is the perfect time to start.It's too late to sow onion seed now, but you may find that friends still have some sets left over (my allotment neighbour gave me some surplus red onion sets - 'Red Baron' I think). I also bought white onions ('Marco' F1) from

[brightcove exp=1463233149&vref=1600262047]I'm here at BBC Gardeners' World Live in Birmingham...I'm on Joe's allotment...I thought I'd check out what the competition was like.These are the veg I would recommend for beginner growers. They're really

called ‘Mayan Twilight’, which is reputed to be closer to the original form of potato than most. The potatoes look great and I got a good-sized crop, but I haven’t eaten it yet, so the jury is still out.My runner beans have also been a runaway success

. Then there are the Grazers, constantly picking and munching their way around the plot with a few baby broad beans here, a mouthful of lettuce leaves there.It's interesting spotting the types. Most of the old boys seem to be Harvesters, except for Vic. I don't think many

down, completely rearranged the layout and changed all the lighting. It will be lovely when it's done. Anyway, all this activity has disturbed my routine, and the allotment is decidedly on the backburner.Having said that, the calm and serene quiet

.I've been cooking up batches of ratatouille to make the most of my courgettes (yes I have a had a few after the marrow madness after my holiday) and I'm gathering as many beans as I can and shoving them in the freezer. Sweet corn cobs get blanched in boiling

hat and socks were de rigueur for the appropriately attired allotmenteer. And, admittedly a week later than scheduled, the great tidy up began.As I predicted, everything had been turned to mush by the previous frosts; courgette plants, squashes, beans

I'm not a great one for growing flowers on my plot. Maybe I shy away from raising flowering plants on the allotment because I grow so many in my main job (as head gardener at The Bath Priory Hotel). I've grown marigolds as companion plants