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's more prone to infection. Spray with myclobutanil.marrows, courgettes, pumpkins, squashsummer, autumn, winterCommon fruit and veg problemsTomato blightGooseberry mildewGrey mould on soft fruitsSooty mould

I'm delighted to tell you that my main crop potatoes look absolutely fine and dandy. The tops were completely dead from blight - they were as lush and lovely as anything a fortnight ago - but I've got the spuds out before they were affected. Hooray

that managed to escape the dreaded potato blight were enthusiastically hoovered up by the family months ago ("they're so much nicer than the shop-bought potatoes").But this year, having sown surplus seed from a Gardeners' World growing trial, I'm enjoying

next year. So here are my allotment New Year resolutions for 2009:I must grow crops that don't require regular picking as I don't live close enough to the plot to get there more than a couple of times a week. That's just not enough to harvest runner

to my tomatoes, which I grew at home in an attempt to keep them clear of the dreaded tomato blight. No chance! They've succumbed to the horrible fungus yet again. What's worse is that the fruits on 'Marmande' were looking so lovely and swelling so

tomato blightDealing with tomato leaf mouldProtecting tomatoes from frost damage/aGrowing tomatoes, blog by Jane Moore

with a larger rooting area and stop them drying out in hot weather, which is better for the plants and means less watering for you. 2 - 3 tomato plants60 or 75 litre bag of multi-purpose compostKnife or scissorsHand forkTrowelJune (or May in a greenhouse

-sized tomatoes.I had vowed never to bother with them again, but last spring I was tempted to sow seeds of a brand new variety sent to me to trial, and set for introduction in the 2008 seed catalogues. A new variety would be worth growing, surely?In short... no

with either a piece of old carpet, some cardboard or some black polythene. Then plant the tubers, re-covering the soil with fleece or a mini-tunnel to keep them warm. The advantages of growing spuds early is that you miss the blight fungus that kills off so

that the last few fruits reach the table. Unfortunately, this year my outdoor tomatoes have succumbed to blight.There is something vaguely comforting about this time of year – it’s as if we’re ‘all in it together’. We can enjoy some bright warm days but we