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I have a confession to make. After raving about the arrival of the purple sprouting broccoli and extolling the virtues of winter veg in my blog last week I realised that I had forgotten to mention red cabbages. Not only are red cabbages easy to grow

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

. I potted on my peppers and tomatoes, as they kept drying out in no time, their root systems filling the tiny pots. They're now potted into 2 litre pots and should grow nicely. I only grow a few tomato plants on the allotment, as we seem to get quite

Buds are breaking and daffodils are emerging — slowly, but surely, spring is doing its thing. But I won't be shedding the thermals quite yet, as it's still a bit chilly first thing. My thoughts are turning towards planting, and I've been tweaking

have been a bit chilly, but you won't find me complaining — or my lovely little seedlings that are starting to grow.Everything on the plot is pretty rosy I must say. All the onions and shallots I planted are sprouting away happily. And only a few

It's been a chilly week down here. Every morning we've had frost, not to mention snow, sleet and hail, followed by glorious sunshine. I'm not complaining, but this weather has come as a shock after the balmy temperatures of the past fortnight.I can

't get caught out by cold winds and chilly nights. Although they're quite small, they'll grow like mad once planted, and will need plenty of room. I usually only put a couple of plants in a 1.2m by 3m bed - any more than that and they start getting out

's still September! We harvested the last of the chillies and pulled these final few pak choi for Sunday lunch and patted Paul on the back, marvelling at the creativity of his construction. Wonder what else we could grow in it!

To say that I'm delighted with my new cold frame would be the understatement of 2008. You might recall that Paul made it one afternoon last summer from some old windows and a few banister spindles from our old staircase.Okay, it's not that new

urge to grow and flower profusely.My idea back in the autumn was to plant it with a few salad leaves such as mustardand rocket that might overwinter and give us some early, spicy leaves to make a few winter salads, as well as some parsleyto keep us