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that hitting is allowed if it means squashing a horsefly before it attacks!Apparently eating garlic helps to fend them off, and, interestingly my son is rarely affected. But he doesn't eat any more garlic than the rest of the family. Last week we ate tomato

, but my thoughts are turning to the Mediterranean, and summer holidays. I like to imagine what I'll be growing and eating in the summer: masses of zingy tomatoes, sweet and crisp peppers, juicy cucumbers and buttery salad leaves. Oh, and warm ratatouille

individual bulbs of garlic into pots, then transplanting them later on.Everything else is starting to move too, the tomato, pepper and aubergine seedlings are responding well to the increased light levels. I planted a few potatoes earlier but had to protect

Next week, from 29 March to 4 April 2010, is the inaugural Gardeners' World 'Grow Your Own' Week'. Gardeners across the land will be encouraged to teach others to start growing their own fruit and vegetables. I've taught my children to grow

to cause a lot of unnecessary worry – and unnecessary spraying. It can be alarming when a plant doesn’t appear as you expect it to (think of those curious, rather unpleasant looking grey-brown patchy folds on the flower end of many beefsteak tomatoes

by brown rot. They were still delicious, though. The first plums were all harvested yesterday as they too were targeted by wasps.There has been a steady flow of blackbirds into my greenhouse - presumably after the tomatoes. I really adore blackbirds

and removing algae from between the panes, using a combination of strong water jets and a slim piece of plastic cut from a margarine tub. Then, having finally cleared the last of the tomatoes from the bed, I removed any lurking traces of grey mould from

Madeiran climate!After 10 days in the company of more than 100 keen gardeners, I feel refreshed and invigorated. The calabrese I planted the day I left has doubled in size, and the last-minute tomatoes that I planted also seem sturdy and unstoppable. So

the sun's rays, burning leaves beneath them. This effect is exacerbated if the plants are in the greenhouse. I think this has happened to some of my ripening peppers.Some crops, like tomatoes and chillies, can develop low calcium levels if they have been

We had a good time, but in the same breath I have to say it's great being back - Matt Biggs and I have just returned from hosting the Gardeners' World magazine Gardening Cruise with 128 fellow gardeners. These trips are always packed full of great