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as well do a bit of forward planning of my crop rotations and get the relevant beds prepared.I'm really lucky with my soil - it's a rich brown loam, well-manured in decades past, with a tendency towards the stickiness of clay when wet. It's also a bit

I'm as keen on improving my soil with manure as any other allotmenteer. I love it all - chicken, cow and best of all, horse manure. A good dollop of well-rotted manure does wonders for your soil, enriching it with nitrogen, phosphates and potassium

organic matter added to them. The richness of manured soil causes the roots to fork, becoming terrifically deformed and a nightmare to prepare for the pot. But they are really good for the kids' 'make an animal from a vegetable' competitions.My root beds

given plants by my neighbours, which are planted wherever there's a spare bit of earth.But I do try to stick to the general plan, to ensure the nutrient levels of the soil are maintained evenly across the plot, and pests and diseases do not build up

and provide a lovely, springy, dry surface to walk on. This means I don't need to don my wellies if I've just nipped up to harvest a few vegetables for lunch.You can't top dress beds with fresh wood chips as they leach nitrogen from the soil during

to show have been the pumpkins sown in pots on the windowsill, swiftly followed by the brassicas.And even the early potatoes are showing a few leaves above the soil, which means my next job is a good session of earthing up.

.I planted them into a well-firmed bed, which is the key to growing good sprouts. A loose soil leads to 'blown' open sprouts rather than nice, tight little buttons.I've also earthed up the stems as they've grown, which keeps them firmly rooted in the ground

. But of course I didn't. I bunged it in a big pot with a bit of soil and old compost because I didn't know where to plant it, neglected it horribly and only chucked a bucketful of water at it when it looked like it was about to pop its clogs.I really do

as the seedlings are not attacked by slugs. Last year this was a real problem, and many of my young vegetable plants were lost to slugs and snails.When sowing seeds outdoors, it's important to prepare the soil well, fork it to a fine tilth and rake it level

havoc - it's the big ones. I fear I'm losing ground - literally!At least there's no sign of the awful ghost slug, which has been spotted across the Severn in South Wales. This horror eats earth worms, which would spell disaster for many soils