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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

, with fewer bugs to munch, will work harder to rid my plot of those 'nasties' that are left.I'm positively gleeful thinking how much damage this weather is doing to the UK pest population. This might seem morbid, but I've been a gardener for 20 years. I

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

What a freezing start to 2009 it's been. It's absolutely perishing down here in Bath and must be almost unbearable further north, or east for that matter. The watering can outside my back door is solid with ice and even the curly kale is looking

:FOR THE FILLING:10-15 plums, halved1 tablespoon of water1 tablespoon of sugarCinnamonMixed spice1 thumb-length of fresh gingerPreheat oven to 180°C . Cook the plums over a low heat with the water and sugar. When almost cooked, turn off the heat, allow to cool a

.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