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and other crops to keep them growing stronglyStop cutting asparagus by the end of June to allow the ferns to formThin out heavy gooseberry crops by removing the smallest fruits, and use these for cookingMake successional sowings of salad leaves and radishes

Keep picking summer-sown salads to prevent the plants running to seed Plant garlic cloves outside or in modular seed trays ready to plant out later this autumnCover herbs like basil and parsley with cloches, or bring potted ones under cover

as they ripenEase onions from the soil with a forkFinish pruning trained forms of apple treesFruit & vegPlant prepared hyacinth bulbs in special hyacinth vases Sow parsley in modular traysWater crops in growing bags and potsGreenhouse30 minutesLearn how to layer

Growing herbs from seed discs is a simple alternative for anyone who struggles with sowing small herb and salad seeds. These are filled with seeds for herbs such as basil, chives and parsley, or salads such as mixed leaves, mesclun or rocket

of thinning the seedlings releases the carrot's scent. Plant strong-smelling crops, such as garlic, onions, shallots and leeks adjacent to the carrots. Follow a strict crop rotation plan, avoiding growing carrots on the same site in consecutive years

the dead bits of rosemary and hope it pulls through.In the meantime, my annual herbs (basil, coriander and flat-leaf parsley) are coming on well. These I grow in grow bags with the tomatoes, along with more chives (which I once read can help improve

parsley, dill and rocket as they're no trouble to grow.

The whole world seems to be teeming with life at the moment: the birdsong is delightful, the snails are on the march (in spite of my discovering at least three huge hibernation areas during the winter) and the plants are growing at phenomenal speed

When growing edible crops, it is essential to use your plot efficiently, especially if space is limited. It’s no good growing an unusual variety with a tiny yield if it takes up space that could be used for a more productive crop – particularly

and climbing beans to flower and set seed. Several herbs readily do this too, like coriander and parsley. As the picture (top left) shows, flowering coriander attracts many beneficial insects, like hoverflies, which feed on its pollen.In fact coriander often