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is the perfect time to start.It's too late to sow onion seed now, but you may find that friends still have some sets left over (my allotment neighbour gave me some surplus red onion sets - 'Red Baron' I think). I also bought white onions ('Marco' F1) from

of different reasons, but for those who dream of 'rus in urbe', having the countryside in the town, the reality is that growing your own veg is going to require a regular commitment of around 10-12 hours a week in the busy season. Think about this before you

I have a confession to make: I haven't been up to the plot for a week or so and, what's more I can't see me getting up there for the next week or two either... I know it's the right time of year to get on top of digging, manuring and tidying

It suddenly feels like summer is gone! The days are shorter almost overnight and there's that autumnal nip in the air of a morning, which is making me think that my summer harvests are going to start drawing to a close very quickly. There was even a

I'm always rather staggered by Jerusalem artichokes. Firstly, by their impressive and evocative name; it makes me think of exotic locations with correspondingly interesting cuisine and highly sought-after seasonal foods of subtle flavour. Secondly

It may have been a lousy summer for growing many crops but the wet weather bodes well for my compost.It's always 'alright' rather than 'wonderful', unlike the stuff I make at work, which is always lovely: friable, richly dark and full of worms, just

. 'Ebony' berries are much sweeter than other varieties of blackcurrant - containing around 15% sugar - which means you can eat them off the bush. I love making blackcurrant compote to throw over porridge in the morning, so this is definitely going to be a

the instructions here and included imperial measurements for those who need it:500g (18oz) fresh blackcurrants, plus a handful to decorate100g (4oz) caster sugar, plus extra if needed3 tbsp water3 tbsp crème de cassis6 sheets of gelatine (12g)350ml ( ½ pint, just

It's been difficult to choose my 2009 weed of the year. Butercups and daisies continue to compete with grass in my lawn, as do those lovely rosettes of plantain. Then there are the dandelions. Oh dear, this isn't making my lawn sound very good is it

as much of my Christmas dinner as I can.Some large garden centres are already selling their new season of seed potatoes, but I usually like to wait a little and get together with friends so that we can coordinate what to buy. 2kg is a standard bag