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I was starting to wonder if we would get a frost this October. The weather’s been so meek and mild of late, with winter looking a far way off. Global warming, I thought, has led to unseasonally balmy weather on the hillsides of Bath.But now we

I'm really loving this freezing weather. My hands and feet aren't very happy, though, despite my recent investment in 'serious' socks. What's making me so happy is the thought of all those garden pests perishing during the frosty nights.I'm hoping next year my plot will be free o...

frost here the other day - well not in balmy Bath but up on the hills just outside the city. As it gets colder, weather forecasts can be indispensable. I've been finding the seven day, localised forecasts on this site (top of the page) really useful

We seem to be getting all possible November weather at once. It's a constantly changing merry-go-round of rain, wind, sunshine and frost, all on the same day, if not in the same hour.It’s all rather Wuthering Heights up here on the wind

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

in the pond where I work. There is no sign of birds nesting in the blackthorn at the plot, although it's hard to see through the swathes of blossom covering the tree.Activity at the allotments, however, has been regular and sustained. This week all my

. But it's uncommonly cold at the moment and everything is suffering. The leeks and parsnips are frozen into the ground and are impossible to harvest, but a good frost is thought to sweeten the flavour of parsnips so the wait should be worth it.My Brussels

plums from Italy. The only British plums I've tasted this season are from my neighbour on the allotment.It's all rather depressing really. The majority of consumers are either too busy or too indifferent to write to supermarkets demanding that they stock

.Set your seed potatoes out in egg boxes or trays with the 'rose end' facing up. (The rose end is the end with the most 'eyes' in it.) Place them in a light, frost-free room - the greenhouse or spare room is fine - and leave them be for a few weeks. It takes

and parsnips shot into glorious growth, triumphant at having survived the frosts and the cold. I left them to it, I was busy sowing seeds, getting the potatoes chitted and planted, and preparing the beds. Before I knew it, the leeks and a solitary parsnip were