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and maincrop potatoesSow turnips for spring greens in March and AprilClear crops once they've finished and fork over bedsBlanch endive by covering with a bucket or large plate to cut out lightPlant new strawberry bedsCut down the ferny shoots of asparagus

Pick ripe apples and pearsFinish harvesting marrows, squashes, onions and potatoesSow broad beans and hardy peasPlant out garlic clovesEarth up leeks to cover and blanch their stemsCut away fruited blackberry canes at soil level and tie in new ones

the soi, and adding compostOrder onion sets and seed potatoesPlant new fruit trees, bushes and cane fruitsStart to plan next year's crop rotationPrune large fruit trees to control their shape and size, and to increase productivityCut out about a quarter

Sow seeds of dwarf and climbing beans in deep pots or cardboard toilet roll tubes filled with compostPlant new asparagus bedsContinue planting potatoes, shallots and onion setsFeed spring cabbage with a high-nitrogen fertiliserRemove forcing jars

that managed to escape the dreaded potato blight were enthusiastically hoovered up by the family months ago ("they're so much nicer than the shop-bought potatoes").But this year, having sown surplus seed from a Gardeners' World growing trial, I'm enjoying

I was pleased with this year's Christmas harvest – much of our Christmas dinner was allotment produce. King Edward potatoes from the garage were roasted, Charlotte new potatoes from store were steamed. Greens took the form of braised leeks and

hand would one day grow into a whole bulb of garlic they were dumbstruck! And we're all very excited about harvesting lots of potatoes from the single seed potato we planted.For so many kids you can see a whole new story start to unravel, and the great

New plants at Chelsea 2008The plant marquee is packed with new, and often awe-inspiring cultivars. Here are some of our favourites from this year's show.Jarava ichu, or Peruvian feather grass, forms mounds of bright green foliage with showy, silver

plants in our video from the Gardeners' World garden at Berryfields.courgettes, outdoor cucumbers, marrows, pumpkins, squashesearly summer Common problems affecting vegetable plantsPotato blightPea and bean weevilsCarrot root fly

Tomato blight, a fungal infection called Phytophthora infestans, spreads by wind and water-splash. It also attacks potatoes, and is triggered by warm, wet conditions, making outdoor tomatoes more susceptible than those in a greenhouse. The crop