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and preparing our beds for planting. This allotment business is not for the faint-hearted.I have a certain routine to preparing my beds for planting, which is dependent on my crop rotation plan. This way I know which beds to add organic matter to and which ones

I am ashamed to admit that I still haven't got all my garlic in. I know the experts say I should have planted it in October or November, but I got a bit distracted by the apple harvest from a neighbour's garden, and spent all my time making jam

revived, enthusiasm has soared and the plot is looking rather good. I've done an awful lot of clearing and weeding and now I've started digging over the raised beds. Garlic, broad bean and autumn onion set planting is only weeks away, so I thought I might

cope with this weather - a thermal vest and a good pair of hiking socks does the trick - but my poor little broad bean plants have just gone in the ground and look a bit horrified. Most of thebean seeds sowed directly outside last year failed

the pretty ones, leaving the others to grow to gargantuan proportions.Broad beans need picking regularly to ensure the plants keep flowering and producing beans, so mine have inevitably stopped cropping. The stems are laden with pods so large they're getting

reputable nursery but your local garden centre will be selling them at this time of year too. It's best to plant these specially-grown garlic bulbs - you can use supermarket bulbs if you're desperate, but they're no cheaper than the 'proper' ones

I've been madly planting brassicas as if they're going out of fashion. Perhaps Brussels sprouts have never actually been in fashion - but they are with me. I greatly missed harvesting my own sprouts for Christmas lunch.This year, to make sure I don

I can't say it's a surprise - I've been expecting the annual appearance of a whopping great marrow on one of my courgette plants. It happens every year, without fail. I try to be so thorough when I'm picking, delving under the leaves, harvesting

It's been a bit wild, wet and windy hereabouts and my dozen or so sweetcorn plants have come crashing down in rather a spectacular fashion. They've sort of collapsed in a circle, reminiscent of the infamous crop circles. (Well we are in the right

have quite heavy infestations. The tips of affected plants are usually covered with the little blighters, which are carefully tended to by a handful of busy ants. The ants 'farm' the aphids for their sweet, sugary secretions, called honeydew. They push