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and cooking crops. Do let us know in the comments section of this blog if there are any harvesting tips you'd like us to cover.Finally, do join me and a host of other experts on the ‘Grow Your Own’ Garden at BBC Gardeners' World Live (15-19 June 2011) for more

the seedheads may be highly ornamental and can be left on the plants for their display, but checking them regularly to collect some of the seed once it's dry.SeedheadsSecateursPaper envelopes or paper bagsPenSeptember - October10 minutesWait for seeds to ripen

they simply become bird food!Crops are planted in beds about 1m wide with a narrow paved path between each for easy access. I've just finished digging the beds, adding plenty of homemade compost deep down in the process, and now I'm planning what to grow

worthwhile. A short row of raspberries just 1.2m long has produced several pickings, used to add tasty home-grown vitamins to my morning bowl of cereal. Blackberries are now taking over, and I'd thoroughly recommend thornless varieties to give regular

The common, quick-spreading fungal disease Botrytis cinerea strikes in damp, humid weather, and often enters the lettuce through a cut or tear in a leaf. Affected leaves are inedible and should be thrown away but not composted. The worst scenario is when the lettuce is attacked a...

Rust is a fungal infection and there are many different types that tend to be specific to particular plants and spreads by means of dust-like spores. The fungus is encouraged by a humid, moist atmosphere and grows on the surface of the leaves

Sap-sucking aphids excrete honeydew, sometimes seen as a string or web of stickiness. This can drip down on to lower leaves and on to other plants. A dark or grey-green mould then spreads across the honeydew. It's unsightly and prevents light and air from reaching the leaves.Blac...

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

results with shallots in the past and they pickle well if there are too many to eat.For greens I'm sticking to cabbages (red, savoy and winter types) plus a couple of beds of leeks, because I love them so much. I'll also sow a few herbs and salads like

plants will attract a wide range of pollinating insects.Pinch out the growing tips of the plants to encourage bushy growth, then hang the finished basket in a sunny, sheltered site where you can enjoy its scent.May - JuneJune - September20 minutes