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’re aiming to show that home-grown crops are more nutritious than shop-bought produce, and that raising your own fruit and veg will save you money, too.To help you grow yourself healthy, we’ve prepared a downloadable starter pack, and a choice of five growing

We've just received our letter of renewal on the allotment lease - it always reminds me of how fortunate we are to be able to rent the land for such a small amount of money. Others might not be feeling so content.  At this time of year some plot

Happy new year – may 2013 be better for veg growers than its predecessor. I can’t say 2012 was my favourite year, and it was undoubtedly the worst I’ve known on my veg plot.I’m starting January with my customary clear out. I always clean

plummets at about 6pm. So yes, the fleece is draped all over the place in the veg plots. A bit of snugly-protection for my sweet potatoes (I'm growing Bearegard and Jetfire this year, it'll be interesting to see how they fare!) and some vital, please

that are introduced each year. It's good to find space on the plot for some spherical courgettes, as well as cylindrical varieties.To complicate matters further, my increasingly eloquent and opinionated offspring have clear ideas of their own. My eight year old

, of course, the ubiquitous Brussels sprouts.The young Brussels sprout plants were given to me way back in the summer by my colleague Steve, a keen veg grower. They were almost decimated by wave after wave of cabbage white caterpillars which have infested

Easter weekend in Bath was beset by bad weather. We had some dull, dreary and drizzly days to contend with, which certainly slowed momentum on the plot. The wet weekend was far more suited to sowing seeds indoors than pluckily plodding on outside

to the vegetables, but the veg garden at the hotel has to look good all the time for the guests, whereas my allotment can be a little rough around the edges. I do try to obey the golden rule of watering, though: water in the morning or evening, but never

-pegged-down horticultural fleece.On a heavy soil, use a fork to lift leeks when harvesting. On light soils you may be able to pull direct. For best freshness and flavour, lift leeks from the veg plot when you need them.AdamKeep the ground weeded to reduce competition

are growing bigger by the day, and I don't want to plant out only to find a late frost damages them.Our Gardeners' World magazine campaign to help you Grow Yourself Healthy moves on apace too, and my own plot has been delivering regular pickings of rhubarb