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, frost-free positionFruit & vegPlace potted-up dahlia tubers in a heated propagatorStart raising crops from seedPrevent seedlings suffering damping-off diseaseGreenhouse30 minutes to sow and 30 minutes to pot onFind out how to sow successfully from seed

Unlike the more familiar radish, which is grown for it's roots, the rat's tail radish is harvested for it's crunchy pods. They resemble chillies, but taste like a young rooted radish. Rat's tail radishes are quick to mature - you can expect to harvest your crop within six weeks.R...

for varieties that produce all-female flowers, such as ‘Bella’ F1, ‘Baribal’ F1 or ‘Saturn’ F1. These varieties will form fruits without you having to pollinate the flowers by hand.Good quality compostSmall potsWatering canPlant labelsApril - May10 - 15 minutes

, 'Becky', as it promised to yield large, orange fruits with a good flavour. It did. I let my partner get on with carving them for Halloween, while I set to making pumpkin curry, pumpkin soup, and roast pumpkin risotto. I do love a pumpkin curry

Last year I was watching the gorgeous Valentine Warner on What to Eat Now, extolling the virtues of the British plum. Off he went to Brogdale, home of the National Fruit Collection, to compete with the wasps and gorge himself on soft, ripe plums

follow.The other feature my garden lacks is fruiting shrubs. I have an ornamental cherry tree donated by a neighbour, but I've yet to see if it produces fruit (it's single-flowered though, which is promising). There's a redcurrant and a native honeysuckle

on the best vegetables to grow for beginners.How to... grow fruit and vegetablesAlys Fowler has picked out her top ten vegetables for beginners to grow. These plants require minimum maintenance, suffer from few pests and diseasesand will produce a decent yield

potassium-rich liquid fertiliser to encourage flowers and fruit set.AdamYou can also make a liquid feed using the leaves of bracken, clover, groundsel, nettles, borage, chicory and strawberriesMore advice on feeding your plantsMake a nettle feed in a

Plant runner beans now and these vegetables will thrive in the warm, moist soil and quickly twine up their supports. At this time of year you can still sow seeds, which will produce a good harvest of succulent pods, or you can buy young plants. Either way, you'll get a delicious ...

An automatic watering and feeding system will take the strain out of watering plants and crops for you this summer. Simply set it up and top up the reservoir every few weeks - adding some liquid feed at the same time - and you can sit back and watch your garden grow, or go on hol...