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Unlike the more familiar radish, which is grown for it's roots, the rat's tail radish is harvested for it's crunchy pods. They resemble chillies, but taste like a young rooted radish. Rat's tail radishes are quick to mature - you can expect

Sow seeds of herbs in pots to grow on your kitchen windowsill, such as coriander, parsley and basilLook out for woolly aphid on fruit trees, and spray any with soapy waterThin out seedlings from earlier sowings to their final spacings

Discover the theory behind crop rotation, with Monty's back-to-basics video advice to giving optimum growing conditions for vegetable groups such as potatoes, legumes (beans, peas etc), brassicas (cabbages, cauliflowers, radishes), root vegebles

Grow early-maturing potatoes in a bag of compostFork compost into beds to prepare soil for plantingChit potatoes by standing them in trays in a warm bright position until they develop small shootsDig out problem weeds and emerging annual weeds

Sow peas in lengths of guttering under cover, so you can plant out seedlings in an instant rowPlant out onion sets in rows, spacing them about 10-15cm apartCarefully dig away grass or plants growing close to the stems of fruit trees to reduce

herbs to bring into a porch or grow on the window sillSow broad beans and hardy peas for early crops next yearCheck pears regularly to harvest when perfectly ripeVegetables to sow now include winter radishes, lettuce and salad leaves, spinach, spring

from rhubarb plants and let them grow uncoveredSow seeds of the following crops outside or under cloches: carrots, beetroot, broad beans, salad onions, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, spinach, leeks, lettuce, rocket, coriander, mixed salad

Finish planting out vegetable crops, including tomatoes, beans, courgettes and sweetcornSow summer salads in guttering to grow quick cropsUse netting to protect developing and ripening fruits from birdsTie in new shoots on blackberries, raspberries

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

Shorten sideshoots growing from the framework of espalier, fan and cordon-trained fruit trees back to about five leaves from their basePick fresh herbs for dryingPick gooseberries, currants, strawberries and other fruits as they ripenSupport heavily