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My father tells a story of when he was in the army. A particularly pompous officer lifted the lid of a dish of vegetables and snorted "carrots are not an officer's vegetable" before storming off.I mention this in light of a brief discussion I had

.Watch Joe' Swift's advice on growing basil from seed.Follow Monty's advice on growing carrots in a container.

wins.Before the introduction of the potato to Europe in 1536, the parsnip was a much more mainstream vegetable than it is now. Parsnips are pretty easy to grow by sowing directly into the ground around March and April - dig the ground well as lumps

next year. So here are my allotment New Year resolutions for 2009:I must grow crops that don't require regular picking as I don't live close enough to the plot to get there more than a couple of times a week. That's just not enough to harvest runner

draw up a crop rotation plan. I actually drew a rough outline of where I was going to grow this year's crops in the autumn, before putting in the onions and garlic. Typically, I never got around to finishing it off.My crop rotation plan comprises a

to leave. The beds dedicated to growing hungry crops, such as beans and courgettes will need plenty of organic matter added, such as garden compost or well-rotted horse manure.Beds dedicated to growing root crops, such as carrots and parsnips will not have

first venture into growing fruit and veg, and the many mistakes I made while progressing to the level I'm at today (pretty good, I think). It's been a steep learning curve.For a brief spell, aged 11, I had a vegetable patch of my own. My mother – a

braised with apples? We had that last year, braised with apples — very nice it was too, but I wanted a change this year. Next year I’m planning on growing swede, so we can have mashed carrots and swede for Christmas lunch.If I raised a few turkeys

enough fruit without ever making you despair of finding ways to eat them.May you never accidentally bury your favourite trowel and only find it a year later.May your pumpkins swell to the size of small hippopotami.May your carrots spit in the eyes

Courgette rotCarrot flyGrey mould on soft fruitsBlossom end rot on tomato plants