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Harvest globe artichokesStake tall Brussels sprouts to stop them from blowing overDig up chicory roots, cut off their tops and re-pot for forcing, to grow on in a dark shedWrap grease bands around the trunks of apples, pears, cherries and plums to trap

to their baseFlowersGrow early-maturing potatoes in a bag of compostFork compost into beds to prepare soil for plantingChit potatoes Fruit & vegSow cucumbers, tomatoes, aubergines and peppersWater compost with a suitable pesticideSow summer bedding plants

Cut the foliage of daffodils and tulips down to the groundFlowersPlant out leeks and brassicas raised in a seed bedSpread mulch around crops to conserve soil moistureNet developing soft fruits to protect them from birdsFruit & vegTie greenhouse tomatoes

growing from the framework of espalierPick fresh herbs for dryingPick gooseberries, currants, strawberries and other fruitsFruit & vegTrain cucumbers and prune back sideshootsPick off flowers on coleus to maintain their colourful leavesPinch out tomato

of beans, herbs and tomatoes Fruit & vegLine greenhouses with bubble polythene Clean staging and capillary matting to use next yearBring tender agapanthus and eucomis under coverGreenhouse30 minutesDiscover how to grow hyacinths in a pot

, Foeniculum vulgare, produces attractive yellow blooms that attract hoverflies, which prey on aphids.FennelThe strongly scented leaves of mint, Mentha spicata, confuse pests of carrots, tomatoes, alliums and brassicas, and deter flea beetles. But grow it in a

's more prone to infection. Spray with myclobutanil.marrows, courgettes, pumpkins, squashsummer, autumn, winterCommon fruit and veg problemsTomato blightGooseberry mildewGrey mould on soft fruitsSooty mould

I'm beginning to wonder whether growing old heirloom or heritage varieties of vegetables is really worthwhile. My tomato 'Snow White Cherry', sold as a heritage variety by many companies, was a real disappointment this year, and I wish I'd grown

and are so welcome in these cold, long winter months.Tomatoes have been a total waste of time for the past couple of years due to blight so I'm not bothering any more - I'll grow a couple of plants at home instead!I still haven't mastered the art

very favourite garden destinations. I love seeing what we would regard as house plants growing with weed-like vigour on the roadside, or trimmed to form a hedge. Poinsettia always looks wonderful there, not to mention the tangled jungles of Opuntia