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James Alexander-Sinclair's blogs on the subject of small trees but wanted to share my own experience - not of growing trees in the garden but in large pots.Acer shirasawanum 'Aureum' is a stunning small, slow-growing maple with the most gorgeous palm

growing strawberries in pots. If I had more space outside, I'd build a 'berry bed' with a proper net-clad frame over it to keep birds away from ripening fruits. Blackbirds in particular have a nose for strawberries. They're not very good at sharing, so

is the Latin and they have the most divine scent. The secret is to grow the long-stemmed Spencer varieties and to keep on picking them: pretty much every day. If you stop and let them start seeding then they will flower much less vigorously.But, I don't want

growing them this way but I only need a few plants as Paul isn't keen on broad beans - too many massive, chalky old ones when he was a lad.If I have any more problems with growing broad beans I may discuss them with fellow allotmenteers. My neighbour Vic

'll also add compost to the bottom of the trench before planting the potatoes, as they're such greedy, speedy growers.Onions really love growing in firm ground, so ideally, it should have been prepared in the autumn or winter, then left to go really hard

A greenhouse or polytunnel allows you to grow a wider range of plants, and extends the growing season. Once the structure is in place you'll need to kit it out with a few essential items, listed below.You’ll have more success raising your own seeds

to town and urban spaces, and as a hardy annuals they are easy to grow from seed. Their popularity has also made them a favourite for cover mounting on Gardeners' World Magazine over the years – you may even be growing our '20th Anniversary Mix' sweet pea

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

from slugs and snails) and planted them out when they had a good clump of leaves. I always grow lettuces in a well-drained (and less slug-prone) bed close to my shed, so I can keep an eye on them.I tend to try a few new lettuce varieties each year

, they're certainly easier to peel than grapes).But don't despair if your beans have matured more than you would have wanted. Just cook, peel and mash the beans into a tasty puree.Broad beans are a simple crop to grow, but you do need quite a long row