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Follow Monty Don's video guide to planting courgette plants, which includes advice on planting depth and watering.summerMore on growing vegetablesMonty's video project on planting broccoliHow to plant sweetcornPlanting runner beansPlanting brassicas

I adore home-grown courgettes. They lack that slightly bitter taste and spongy texture you can get with supermarket specimens. My first fruits were a bit late this year, as I’d delayed planting because of cold weather. They were well worth the wait

I can't say it's a surprise - I've been expecting the annual appearance of a whopping great marrow on one of my courgette plants. It happens every year, without fail. I try to be so thorough when I'm picking, delving under the leaves, harvesting

to improve, so then will the crop.Baby courgettes fail to develop. Instead of growing into a long or round shape, they quickly rot on the plant.Pollinate the early batch of flowers by hand, rather than relying on insects. Pick an open male flower (which doesn

's more prone to infection. Spray with myclobutanil.marrows, courgettes, pumpkins, squashsummer, autumn, winterCommon fruit and veg problemsTomato blightGooseberry mildewGrey mould on soft fruitsSooty mould

hours, say a shed, but near to a bright window or lamp. The beetles will fly up towards the light. Grow brassica crops under fleece or very fine mesh netting.shasta daisies, sweet peas, cauliflowers, many ornamentals and vegetablesspring, summer

The weather this year has been far from ideal for raising squashes - my plants are still undersized and you'd almost need a magnifying glass to see the fruits! Courgettes and marrows, though, have had a brilliant year, with the marrows reaching epic

Monty Don demonstrates how to plant out leeks without damaging their roots, offering advice on planting depths and watering frequency.summerMore video advice growing vegetablesPlanting out leek plugs.Growing courgettes.Harvesting carrots

'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

Regularly water crops in pots and growing bags, daily if needed in warm weather Plant trailing tomatoes in hanging basketsFeed young plants weekly with a solution of liquid fertiliserVentilate the greenhouse during the day, but close vents