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Garden compost, bagged compost or soil improverBonemealSpadeWatering can or hosepipeMarch - October 20 minutesChoose a suitable place for the plant in your garden. Using a spade, dig a hole that's slightly bigger than the size of the pot that it's growing in

Plant runner beans now and these vegetables will thrive in the warm, moist soil and quickly twine up their supports. At this time of year you can still sow seeds, which will produce a good harvest of succulent pods, or you can buy young plants

Plant out dahlias into well-prepared soil that's been enriched with manureCut down pulmonarias to just above soil level after flowering to encourage new foliageClip box hedging and topiary to keep it neatRegularly tie tall stems of delphiniums

Dig over veg plots, mixing compost into the soil as you goContinue filling a trench with kitchen waste where you want to grow beansCover rhubarb with forcing jars for an early harvestUse cloches to warm the soil for early sowingsPlant new fruit

Sow green manure crops to fill bare soilRemove pond weedsHoe and hand weed bordersFeed plants such as roses, shrubs and hedgesPrepare soil ready for sowing a lawn or laying turf during September and OctoberSend off for mail-order bulb catalogues

Prune summer-flowering clematis, cutting above a low pair of green budsCut out dead stems of ceratostigma and hardy fuchsiasPrune all stems of Hydrangea paniculata down to about three buds from soil levelPrepare areas in flowerbeds ready for sowing

Blackcurrants are easy to grow and more tolerant of heavy soils than other currant bushes. Just one plant can provide a generous crop of berries. If blackcurrant bushes are kept well fed and watered you could be harvesting fruit a year after

of them. Bare-root rose plantSpadeForkBamboo caneGranular fertiliser, such as chicken manureDecember - mid-March 20 minutes for each rose June - AugustDig out a hole in the soil to the depth of a garden spade and the same width. Put the soil to one side

Blossom end rot is caused by calcium deficiency. Without calcium, a plant's cell walls collapse and die, resulting in the bruised appearance of the fruits. Plants take up calcium from the soil through their roots, so if it's dry, the calcium stays

.So this week I'm improving my soil with home-made compost. This seems a good use of my time as I can stop instantly and pack up as soon as a passing shower turns into steady rain (I'm not a wuss really - I get wet enough at work but I get paid for those