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It may have been a lousy summer for growing many crops but the wet weather bodes well for my compost.It's always 'alright' rather than 'wonderful', unlike the stuff I make at work, which is always lovely: friable, richly dark and full of worms, just

Making good compost has become something of an obsession for me lately. At idle moments, I've found myself contemplating the two heaps on my allotment. Affectionately called 'hedge heap' and 'new heap', I've been considering what else I could add

.So this week I'm improving my soil with home-made compost. This seems a good use of my time as I can stop instantly and pack up as soon as a passing shower turns into steady rain (I'm not a wuss really - I get wet enough at work but I get paid for those

It's this time of year when the allotments become a frenzy of activity. Everyone is digging, composting and manuring like mad. My neighbours Mr and Mrs Ron wait until Easter, then till and plant their three plots within a week. The rest of us just

to leave. The beds dedicated to growing hungry crops, such as beans and courgettes will need plenty of organic matter added, such as garden compost or well-rotted horse manure.Beds dedicated to growing root crops, such as carrots and parsnips will not have

fuel for the compost heap I say.But my fave cabbage this season - the cabbage I would crown king - has to be the savoy. Ours is one of the Franchi Sementi varieties, 'Cavola Verza', and it's a beauty. Big, bold and wonderfully wrinkly to look at

and let them run slightly amok. Ours do a lovely job of screening off the compost heap at the shady end of the plot where we'd struggle to grow anything else. And they pretty much look after themselves which makes them my kind of plant!

in March. Not this time though! I'm determined to forge ahead this winter and have planned a couple of projects to get my teeth into, including building another compost heap and painting the shed. Not only have I convinced myself that these projects

then add a layer of compost or manure and let nature do all the hard work for me (all the little critters and earthworms draw it into the soil, leaving me to get on with other jobs).But for some, even forking over the soil can damage its delicate structure

the plot. We're now planning to plant some spuds and build a compost bin this weekend.