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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

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

), the beans were stringy, the courgettes didn’t thrive and the lettuce was eaten by slugs.  My compost heap was good though. I’ve always loved a good compost heap.I had a break until a few years ago, when my dad brought me a couple of tomato plants to grow

on growing salad leavesGrow salad leaves from seed - video project with Joe SwiftGrow tomatoes from seed - with advice from Joe SwiftSow salad in gutteringPlant out lettuces

The warmth of spring and summer allows you to sow vegetable seeds outdoors in the soil. Here they'll quickly germinate to produce crops to enjoy this season. Try easy-to-grow salads such as radish, spring onion and salad bowl lettuce. You can also

and disease resistance. Potassium is naturally found in wood ash and deep-rooted plants like comfrey. I grow comfrey in the garden and use it to make a liquid feed for my fruiting crops.It's also important not to let leafy crops, like lettuce, or root crops

carpeted with the things and the air filled with the faint scent of their flowers. That, combined with low rising sunbeams and the lettuce-coloured young leaves, is one of the most spectacular sights you could ever wish to witness.I have been unable

overwintered wild rocket to supplement the odd lacklustre shop-bought lettuce (I know I shouldn't but I am getting bored of winter crops now) and it's really livened things up a treat.I'm also using my salad stuff in my sandwiches for work too - it really must

to what the label says?Nobody?I thought as much.They sowed far too many cabbages, a raft of beetroot and battalions of lettuces. These then grew up slightly congested and choked. The brambles elbowed their way in and I then received a text message asking

and snails are attacking my fruit, but are investing the most energy in munching my overwintering brassicas and winter lettuce.We even found a slug sliming its way across the kitchen floor, having stowed away in some apples we had brought inside to put