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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

will take place this week. I'll be planting main crop potato varieties and onion sets. The lighter evenings make such a difference — I'll be able to pop down after work.My main crop bed is already prepared. I dug it over and raked in blood, fish and bone. I

At this time of year, gardeners and plot holders take advantage of any dry, sunny weather to improve the soil and get their beds ready for planting. My neighbours on the allotment have been doing just that - everywhere I look there are freshly

for my maincrop spuds.My only complaint is that the potatoes have scab. I've never had a problem with potato scab before, but this year it's affected my precious Charlottes, particularly at one end of the bed. Potatoes thrive in acid soil, and potato scab

I'm rather proud of the plot at the moment. It's weeded, fed, mulched and manured, the potatoes are chitted and in, and the beds are ready. Best of all, I've just top dressed my paths with lovely wood chips, which set the whole thing off to a 'T

two beds with one variety growing in each - 'Florence' and 'Honeyoe'. They've been in the ground for four years and are in their harvesting prime. Add to that plenty of sunshine and a timely dry spell that's keeping the slugs and snails at bay, and you

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

I've been drying out onions to prepare them for storage. This batch was lifted - from sodden beds - during the non-stop rains of late-July, then spread in a single layer on crates and mushroom boxes in the shed. Ordinarily, I would have left them

out for onions to be planted in it this spring. So that's where they are.In this lovely firm bed that was originally intended for beans, I've planted 50 odd sets of an F1 onion variety called Hercules. It's supposed to store well, which is just what I

revived, enthusiasm has soared and the plot is looking rather good. I've done an awful lot of clearing and weeding and now I've started digging over the raised beds. Garlic, broad bean and autumn onion set planting is only weeks away, so I thought I might