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satisfying week.Today I sorted out the autumn raspberries: pruning, clearing and feeding the bed. Autumn-fruiting raspberries produce fruit on new canes, so they should be cut to the ground in February to encourage them to produce this season's canes

taste fruit - the elements that go to make up the experience, which got me thinking about taste buds.Does age affect taste? Do smokers taste more or less than non-smokers? It was a fascinating subject to research.One thing that scientists still can

After buying a plum tree for the allotment, I started to think about other fruit that I have a soft spot for. So I couldn't resist ordering a morello cherry tree.Sour cherries never seem to be available to buy, so I have to rely on the generosity

the bushes when we first took on the allotment three years ago so they're only really getting productive now. But the amount of fruit they produced last season took us well and truly by surprise - I still have a freezer drawer full of mixed fruit summer

the last quarter and the new moon.Plant leafy crops in period one, fruit crops in period two, root crops and perennials in period three, and take a break in period four (do housework, hoeing, pruning, making raised beds. Don't plant anything unless you

as their root systems aren't that big. The same applies to seedlings, but for lots of plants it's also essential to water them when they're in flower and early fruit set, as this helps to increase the size of your crop. Potatoes, beans and peas and most fruits

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

.The allotment seems to be the ideal solution. There the fig can have its head and enjoy some space to expand. It will make a lovely, fast-growing, leafy plant for my plot and will add to the selection of fruits I already grow. Figs sucker terribly from

Brambles are the unsung heroes of the fruit garden.A couple of weeks ago I was spring cleaning my store cupboard when I found a stray jar of blackberry jam trapped behind the mountain of marmalade. The pleasure I got when we opened it for breakfast

physically eat and deciding whether to give sweet potatoes another go. This is the time I order shallots and potatoes, bare-root fruit bushes and all my seeds for spring and summer sowing. It just gets it all out of the way and then I can relax and wait