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from 'Green Globe'.The best cultivar I have ever grown was 'Gros Vert De Laon', which I bought from a market in Normandy. Sadly, I left the plants on my last allotment, because it was too much effort to take everything with me. It was only afterwards

'allotment bodging'.In fact, he almost takes too much pride in it and is liable to get rather carried away in the perfection of projects. He also gets frustrated by Lizzy's and my attitude of "oh, that'll do."Paul is of the school that 'if a job's worth doing

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

was depressing to see from the window, especially remembering what a pretty garden it had once been.So, last season I decided to take a few short cuts on the allotment in order to give myself more time to change things at home. I cadged spare plants from friends

and mushy – especially on the allotment. Overnight my nasturtiums, courgettes, squashes and pumpkins perished. Their remains looked messy and certainly didn’t reflect my autumnal efforts at weeding and tidying. Poor Ron next door has lost his rows of cutting

. Next week I'll cut the heads off and hang them upside down in a paper bag to collect all the seeds. Then, in 2010 I'll be sowing my own leeks and parsnips on my plot. I can't wait to see how they grow.

Where does the old season end and the new one begin? For allotmenteers it can feel like something of a continuum - these days you can buy excellent plug plants of winter lettuce and oriental greens that will take you right through winter, if you

blackberries into large colanders.I say all this wistfully, because I still haven't found a good jam-making blackberry that I want to plant on the plot. An allotment friend has kindly given me a rooted cutting of 'Black Butte', but I note from the details

the instructions here and included imperial measurements for those who need it:500g (18oz) fresh blackcurrants, plus a handful to decorate100g (4oz) caster sugar, plus extra if needed3 tbsp water3 tbsp crème de cassis6 sheets of gelatine (12g)350ml ( ½ pint, just