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first harvest. And by picking them just before you're about to eat you know they're can't be any fresher or full of goodness.Many are cut-and-come-again varieties, so by just picking the baby outer leaves as they develop the centre will be left

Every few days I'm picking handfuls of gigantic, sweet, succulent blackberries. They're delicious, and if I have time in the morning before dashing off to catch my train to the Gardeners' World office in London, I rush down to the bottom of my

much rather take easy pickings.It is an oft-forgotten rule, but the answer to the question 'what do carnivores eat?' is not 'meat' or 'other animal', but 'whatever they can get'. But this does not mean they are constantly on the ferocious hunt for prey

to be most resistant to slugs. Of course, resistance does not mean immunity, but if you pick from this list, it's a satisfying way to repell slugs without extra cost, effort or chemical side effects.Aquilegias

Watch Monty Don as he creates a scented garden using a variety of lavender plants, with suggestions for encouraging bushy growth.summerMore advice on growing herbsMedicinal herbs by Jekka McVicarPicking herbsRaising new mint plantsPlanting herbs

hot spells and provide shading. Promptly pick off any split tomatoes before they start to rot.tomatoessummer to autumnCommon problems affecting tomatoesTomato leaf mouldTomato blightTomato frost damageBlossom end rot

roses to prevent hellebore leaf spot spreadingPick off developing seed heads on daffodils and spring bulbsSprinkle fertiliser over flower beds and around shrubs and roses

Cover rows of strawberries with cloches to encourage early fruitingPlant early potatoes outside in rows, or in large pots of compostSpray fruit trees and bushes with fungicide to prevent powdery mildew disease attacking themPick off faded

Pick dead flower-heads off rhododendrons and azaleasHoe borders to keep down weeds, or treat with weedkillerScoop floating weed out of garden ponds with a netFeed lawns with a liquid or granular lawn fertiliserTrim hedges like privet and Lonicera

privetKeep mowing the lawn regularlyDeadhead border plants, unless you want to collect seedsPick everlasting flowers or herbs for dryingOrder flower bulbs for autumn planting including colchicum, daffodils and other spring bulbsLook out for developing