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and March.I'm well aware that the more responsible and organised vegetable gardeners will be shaking their heads and tutting - I bet the likes of Adam Pasco and Pippa Greenwood had their garlic tucked up in its beds months ago - but I know I'm not the only

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

and winter roasts when there's been nothing else available.But now the mornings are getting lighter and brighter, the raspberries are starting to leaf up on the plot. I must confess I'm getting a tad bored of my usual selection of vegetables.So you might

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

I know I'm in danger of becoming a bit of a bore, raving on about my winter vegetables - but they have been truly marvellous. So it felt sad to harvest my final leeks this week. What a fine specimen I had left until last - tall, straight and pale

the lid off the frame if I leave them much longer.Their ample growth has caused some chuckles among the other plot holders, but I must confess to being rather proud to have grown mustards that could be entered in a giant vegetable contest. You can

-sized vegetable that could be seen from space. I wouldn't mind so much if marrows weren't so tasteless, but they're not a patch on sweet courgettes. After years of inadvertent marrow production, I've discovered a good Sophie Grigson marrow soup recipe,and marrow

to them to improve the compost.I'm considering collecting all my tea bags and vegetable peelings at home to put on the heap - I could easily add a fetching little compost crock to my Christmas list! And what about all the neighbours' compostable waste

beans and courgettes, which produce inedible, gargantuan produce at the earliest opportunity.I must grow more vegetables that are suitable for storing. Potatoes, butternut squashes, onions and shallots are great storers. They're no trouble to grow

themselves, and some salads and lovely rocket which seems to have sprouted virtually overnight. So I'm well set up for the barbecue season (and the autumnal stew season, too).My next big job — particular important with root vegetables — will be thinning