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my car has a big boot and I can remove the rear row of seats to fit it pots of tomatoes and crops, summer bedding, compost, plant supports and much more.That's the joy of this show – bringing the pages of Gardeners' World magazine to life to both

and Adrienne, on a post and wire support in front of my greenhouse.The wet June weather has had two effects. Firstly there is a lovely crop of healthy new canes developing from the base that I'm training in. These will carry next year's crop. Secondly

point brought home to me recently when I was bowled over by the efforts of children from my local primary schools.I'd been called in to lend my support to judge a Compostable Garland Competition, and what a difficult job it was. Clearly these school

soon germinate.I do prefer sowing in small pots in my greenhouse, and then planting out seedlings, but if you really don't want the hassle just sow them directly into the soil in May at the base of a support. Once shoots have grown about 15cm tall

greenhouse in April the seeds germinated readily, sending up long shoots carrying tendrils that catch onto anything close-by for support. Achocha isn't hardy so I waited until conditions had warmed up before planting out at the base of my fence and fan

, and this is given its own tall vertical cane for support. Don't let plants scramble and make their own way to the top, but snip off every tendril you discover (almost a daily job) and attach shoots to canes with special ties, or wire rings. Any tendrils left

or outside, but require support and need their side shoots pinching out regularly.Plant growth and habit is only one characteristic, as fruit quantity, size, colour, quality and flavour are far more important. Now we get down to the nitty-gritty of choosing

, day and night, to support optimal growth.Alternatively, I could buy young plants in April or May. They cost a little more than seeds, but are still fun to pot up and grow on.Now, where did I put those seed labels?