Deter birds from pecking out your garlic by scattering twiggy prunings over the soil where the cloves are planted. Carefully place the prunings inbetween cloves, put back any that have been disturbed

On your fruit & veg plot

OF all the vegetables, I think it is ...

Fancy growing something a bit unusual? Then give chickpeas a try. They need a sheltered, sunny site with free-draining soil. Warm the ground with cloches or fleece before sowing. If you have heavy cla

Not only does growing your own carrots produce sensational flavours that delight the palate, but it also opens up the possibility of an extraordinary range of colours. For this trial I grew 12 varieti

Time to wake up! Olga Grieves is getting busy as everything is springing to life