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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

to grow fruit and veg. We have runner, French and broad beans, spinach, chard, courgettes and some wonderful raspberries originally grown by my granny.The runner, French and broad beans were heavily infested with blackfly when I visited two weeks ago. But

platter of sandwiches. We both agreed that we felt a craving for greenery at this time of year.It might be too cold to grow your own salad leaves in the garden right now, but I'm tucking into lettuce, baby spinach, rocket leaves and a whole lot more

like rocket, watercress, and a range of warming mustard leaves. Baby spinach leaves provide more texture and flavour than lettuce too.Growing young salad leaves doesn't take much space and they're quick, only taking about a month from sowing to your

rocket and claytonia, spinach beet, French and runner beans, and turnips.Alan Titchmarsh had some helpful advice in the February issue of Gardeners' World magazine, too, encouraging us all to grow more veg. His top four space-saving crops were spring

in exactly the same way as spinach - almost any recipe containing spinach could contain nettles as an alternative. For a simple side dish, they're best steamed for around five minutes.Spring greensAs well as being delicious, nettle tea is reputed to help

fruits.Both greenhouse and garden are developing well, proving yet again just how much fresh produce can be grown in our gardens. And that's the aim of our Grow Yourself Healthy campaign, to show people how a little planning can turn their gardens

of salad leaves possible; lettuce, spinach, pak choi, mizuna, beetroot, watercress, parsley and chives, as well as tomatoes, beans, courgettes and new potatoes. Although I've tried growing them, I haven't had much success with either sweet potatoes or soya

.Radish 'Scarlet Globe' or 'French Breakfast'Miners' lettuce is so easy to grow it has naturalised in some areas of the UK. It provides a steady salad crop from October until March, and tastes similar to spinach.Miners' lettuce/winter purslaneOriental salad leaf

rightly - and while not unpleasant, they were certainly an acquired taste.Dandelions grow bigger, with longer leaves, in wild areas than they do in lawns, where mowing keeps them flat and close to soil level. Apparently, the French often eat them as a