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rotten apple spoils the barrel and all that... I'm planning to lift the maincrops this weekend - I know it's early but I just can't face losing them all. It's going to leave me with a few beds empty earlier in the season than I thought so I'm toying

children used to sing a song about them "sleeping in a blankety bed" at Harvest festivals which always made me smile). All hail the broad bean, Emperor of Pulses.

's a really compact marrow called 'Bush Baby' from Unwins that will be perfect for my veg beds, and those baby leaf salads and oriental vegetables look delicious in the Suffolk Herbs catalogue.Then there are the sweet peas - so many wonderful fragrant

stuffing the plant into a polythene bag and spraying it inside the bag).Couch grass (sometimes known as twitch) has also appeared from somewhere and is colonising a couple of beds. It has long bony looking runners with amazingly sharp points that can

, he'll have Berryfields to work on too, and he says he can't wait to get his hands in the soil there.The first time I ever met Toby was at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden where he was working, and I remember admiring the willow-woven raised bed

'm choosing mine. Of course, I'm keen to make them welcome, and a dense bed of mixed salad leaves provides the perfect summer residence.I know the word 'organic' is batted around a lot nowadays, but possibly not always fully understood. Organic gardening isn

Persicaria officinalis. I met this plant for the first time at the RHS Show at the Inner Temple a week or so ago. It formed the backbone of some spectacular annual beds - along with Ricinis communis (the castor oil plant), which is also on my wish list

When the first hard frost struck in my garden at the end of October, it was the kiss of death for so much of the long-lasting summer colour. Busy Lizzies crumpled instantly, summer bedding packed up shop, and leaves started falling from the trees

: I was told it by Kim Hurst from the Cottage Herbery at the Malvern Spring Show last year (the 2009 show, by the way, runs from 7-10 May; I hope to see you there) . Those of you sensible enough not to let mint run loose in your flower beds will have

for growing 'belt and braces' veg like potatoes, cabbage, carrots and onions. Our raised beds at home will be used for growing what he views as culinary cul-de-sacs like broad beans and courgettes.One thing we both agree on is potatoes - we both love them