MAY/JUNE DIARY

There is still plenty of time to sow more salad crops such as lettuce, mixed leaves, radish, plus spinach and swiss chard, successional sowings of carrot and beetroot.

This is also the time to start off quick growing half hardy veg such as french and runner beans, courgettes, cucumbers, and any members of the squash family. If you have a polytunnel, cold greenhouse or cold frame, you can sow 2 seeds in 4" pots, about 1" deep. Water well and leave to germinate - they should be up in a week or two. When they are growing strongly, harden them off by putting them out during the day and bringing them under cover at night. Otherwise you can sow them directly into the ground during the last 2 weeks of May. A good way to give them a warm start is to make a hot bed - a heap of manure with about 4" of good garden soil or compost on the top. Sow the seed directly into the top and water well. The manure will heat up the bed and keep the plant warm and moist as it begins to grow.

If you have grown your own tomato plants from seed and have kept them under cover, you can start hardening them off the last two weeks in May (see above) before planting in their final positions during the first week of June.

MARCH/APRIL DIARY

The next couple of months are probably the busiest of the gardening year. Seed sowing is a priority now - carrots, beetroot, spinach, etc. can all be sown direct into the ground from March onwards.

The March winds have dried up the surface of the soil so it is "friable", i.e. it can be raked into a fine crumb texture or "tilth". Then draw a hoe or trowel in a straight line along the bed (preferably in a north/south direction to get maximum light) about 1 cm deep for small seeds such as carrots and lettuce and 2.5 cm for large seeds such as peas. Sow thinly - this prevents wastage and also helps to discourage pests which can be attracted to the crop when removing overcrowded seedlings.

Any crops which are liable to slug damage, such as lettuce, cabbage,etc., can be sown in seed trays or even in individual small pots (2 seeds to a pot, then remove the weakest one later on) and kept in a cold frame or greenhouse until they have germinated. When the second set of leaves has developed, they will need "pricking out" - carefully potting on to larger pots so they have room to grow.. Yoghurt pots with a couple of holes pierced through the bottom for drainage and the cardboard centre of toilet rolls placed in a large pot so that they stand up, can all be used for sowing seeds.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY DIARY

Frosty nights mean the birds and other wildlife will struggle for water and food, so make sure you put containers of water and seeds out for the birds. Do not remove seed heads when tidying up the garden for the winter - they can provide valuable nutrients for the birds.

When the weather is cold and wet, this is a good time to clean your tools and pots ready for the spring season. Its so easy to forget this time consuming job in the autumn, and the organic gardener needs to keep everything as clean as possible to prevent disease creeping in. It is also a good time to look at seed catalogues and order your seeds in good time to guarantee you get the varieties you want, especially the vegetabless that need a long growing season which should be sown as early as possible under cover, such as tomatoes, peppers, etc.

Mid-February is the time to sow your tomatoes, peppers, chillies, aubergines, etc. if you are going to grow them under cover. If sown now they will need heat especially at night.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER DIARY

Tender plants will need protection throughout the winter months - mulches of straw or leaves will help. In the greenhouse, extra insulation may be necessary, using bubble wrap.