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!Now I'm busily into planting up all the winter and spring crops - all my brassicas including kale, cabbages and purple-sprouting broccoli. My young purple-sprouting looks glorious - really well grown and leafy, though I do say so myself. But I always

be surprised to hear that this week I couldn't wait to get up to the plot and start picking. Even Paul braved the icy winds to give me a hand with the harvest. And why were we so excited? Because the purple sprouting broccoli was ready.Luscious green, purple

We've just been allocated more space on the allotment, so we now have a full sized plot. As well as planting many more spuds - which will keep the 'old man' happy - we can also plant the cutting garden my daughter always wanted. Despite

and watering too often!It's all starting to make me think about next season and what my plot might have to offer. Okay the purple sprouting is underway and I've a few cabbages in the ground but not enough frankly. In my book you just can't have enough cabbages

of leaves, only to emerge during the harvest of crops such as winter kale or purple-sprouting broccoli.Hopefully vine weevil larvae and chafer grubs will also be seriously diminished by the cold snap. I'm also crossing my fingers that hungry birds

and potato soup. The green tops add so much flavour to soup and stock and it saves wasting them. My soup tasted much better than the carton of ready-made I bought the week before.The leeks have fared better than my catastrophic purple-sprouting broccoli

're tall and straight, with green curved leaves and beautiful globes of purple flowers. Being a member of the allium family, leek flowers are a magnet for honeybees and bumblebees, which seem to spend hours moving from one globe to another.The flowers

with the idea of bunging in a few extra winter and spring crops such as purple sprouting broccoli, kale and cabbage. And I'd like a few fairly quick croppers to see me through late summer and autumn, but I can't think of anything other than kohl rabi that'll do

to keep things going was my 15-year-old son. It seems that so many of their childhood memories are bound up with relaxing on the allotment. At least he should be allowed a stab at keeping it going with Dad. How could I refuse?The truth is that there is a