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the polythene and protect it from friction and heat – it should increase the life of the cover by up to a year. Clear any stones from the ground and unroll the cover, sliding it over the hoops so it sits evenly over the frame. Fix it to the base rail or bury

and cuttings if you can enclose a small volume of air around their pots and trays, using a covered propagator. An electric heated propagator or mat will increase the speed of germination and rooting. Prices start at under £5 for an unheated propagator

in half by wind and rain. In the end I had to tie each plant individually to a short cane.I'll use the same contingency plans during 2013, raising plants under cover in line with my Seed Sowing Masterplan. Do you have one? If not prepare it now, including

lake on my lawn once again. It’s happened a few times this year, with relentless rain falling on already saturated ground. I can’t recall this happening before, and it’s quite a change from the scorched and cracked earth caused by droughts in previous

. Easy to look after as no thinning out or supports are needed. The same plants crop for three to four weeks, so sow a row every three weeks to keep yourself stocked all summer.Dwarf French beansCover well- prepared ground with paper or a plastic mulch

in my shed. Those in use will benefit from an overcoat, so during the coldest periods I’ll keep them wrapped in bubble polythene to help provide insulation from cold.2. Store hose reels under coverHose cart, fittings and nozzles are easily damaged

whipped up. So I’ve been battling the elements again, trying to re-fix my cloches and pop-up covers to the ground. But the soil is so wet that the usually efficient pegs just don’t work. I’ve also had to tie in a large wild rose, whose flailing stems had

it at the base of a slope, as this is often a frost pocket where coldness lingers – that doesn’t make for successful winter growing.Level groundIf you want to grow crops all year round, it’s best to line up the ridge of the structure to run east

soil as possible and store the energy-packed tubers in a dry, frost-free place until spring. I have decided to try a bit of an experiment this year and am going to leave some of my dahlia tubers in the ground. Instead of digging them up, I will cover

-growing crops, such as lettuce, radish or spinach, between big, slow- growing crops, such as sweetcorn or winter brassicas. The idea is that the quick crops use the spare space before their neighbours grow large enough to cover the soil (don’t try this on deep