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plot, the cabbage white caterpillars have joined in. A number of my calabrese plants are barely alive, having been stripped down to the leaf ribs; they're crawling with the (admittedly rather pretty) yellow and black stripy caterpillars of the large

Despite the attentions of the cabbage white caterpillars my Brussels sprouts are doing really well. I think the calabrese acted as a kind of sacrificial crop, as the cabbage whites have gone for these first, the cabbages second and the Brussels last

, 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

to remove without damaging the other plant.Another prolific weed on the plot is bindweed. We've got both sorts - the large white flowered one and the pretty pink flowered field bindweed. I always hand weed the shoots out as soon as I see them but they keep

to the girlie in me with its two-tone red and white flowers. These beans may not fruit (I s'pose that's the right term - it doesn't sound quite right for beans somehow?) as well as other varieties with their exhibition names of 'Enorma' and 'Best of All

!).We've grown the classic round summer cabbage which is moth-eaten or rather caterpillar eaten after the attentions of the cabbage white butterfly babies. Looks terrible but tastes lovely - once you've fought your way through all the ragged outer leaves! All

built me a coldframe/hot box (I know how to pick 'em!). A quick clear out revealed a couple of surprisingly perfect pak choi. It really must be toasty in there! Everything around it is shades of brown mush and white frost, and inside the hot box it

Last summer was not a great one for many of my crops but it was simply fantastic for all of our fruit bushes. Our little shrubs of black, red and white currants fruited their socks off and it was all we could do to keep up with them.We planted

of the cabbage white butterfly caterpillars, cabbage root fly, pigeons, slugs and snails. Maybe it's just as well I've got so many.

as these lovely, helpful insects I've also got a good smattering of the not-so-helpful varieties of wildlife, such as slugs, snails, chafer beetles and assorted aphids.I've also spotted a few cabbage white butterflies hovering around my brassicas. It's hard