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When I first started growing shallots I did so on the advice of Sam, on our allotment (aged 90 he was still tending his plot twice a day). He told me to plant shallots on the shortest day and harvest them on the longest. I'm a bit more haphazard

an allotment or know anyone who grows good quality artichokes, the best things to do is to ask them for an offset, which is the only way of ensuring an exact same copy.Dividing artichoke plants is easy - just take a sharp spade and splice down one

-fruiting raspberries do need staking: tie them to a fence or wires or they will flail about.We used to grow both kinds on our last plot, but since we now have a large strawberry bed, the first half of summer is well provided for. Half of our raspberry bed contains

of September (these are especially chilled seed potatoes for autumn planting). When growing potatoes in containers it's a good idea to add some granular organic feed at planting time, since most composts only contain enough nutrients for around a month. When

blackberries into large colanders.I say all this wistfully, because I still haven't found a good jam-making blackberry that I want to plant on the plot. An allotment friend has kindly given me a rooted cutting of 'Black Butte', but I note from the details

August can often feel like a tricky time on the allotment. Lots of things like salad potatoes and beetroot have been harvested, leaving large gaps or whole beds free. Then there's the interruption of a summer holiday - should you sow anything new

bread and chutney one of the great culinary combinations?One of my favourite pickles of all is Delia Smith's spiced pickled runner beans recipe. It's made using runner beans, onions and turmeric.If you want to get cracking and grow your own chutney, now

was a full and frank discussion about our individual approaches to vegetable growing (I had no idea he was harbouring such deep resentment over the scarcity of kale). So, it looks as if, under the power-sharing agreement, the allotment will be used

We've just been allocated more space on the allotment, so we now have a full sized plot. As well as planting many more spuds - which will keep the 'old man' happy - we can also plant the cutting garden my daughter always wanted. Despite

There's a simple way to find out which summer berries are worth growing: eat them! Everyone has different taste, so what appeals to one person may not to another, which is why on the weekend of the 3-4 July, RHS Wisley is inviting visitors to taste