We all know too well what an effect the exceedingly cold winter has had on our gardens and allotments. Well, news reaches us from the National Trust Bluebell Watch that the bluebells we expect to be seeing around about now are in fact not going to appear until May.

The warm winters and springs over the last few years has meant bluebells appearing as early as the first of April last year. The National Trust say that this year the bluebells are likely to all come into flower at once for a shorter period than usual. We can’t wait till the bluebells come out at the bottom of our allotment, why don’t you let us know when yours start to flower.

Good new for allotmenteers in Manchester. Thousands of pounds that has been collected from criminals has been donated by the police’s payback scheme is being given to an allotment project in Wigan.

The Norley Hall allotments will get about £5,000 to spend on a project to help youngsters who have been involved in anti social behaviour to give a little something back. They will grow produce and flowers which will be given to local victims of crime.

The scheme has been running for a while now and the area has seen a notable decrease in petty crime and anti social behaviour as a direct result.

Just when we thought that spring had finally arrived, the heavens opened and destroyed just about all the seedlings we had planted out - a day in the life of the allotment gardener.

With the winter in the UK proving to be one of the worst in decades we thought that by the end of March we should be safe in the knowledge that things wouldn’t show a downturn, how wrong were we!

In hindsight there are things you can do to stop calamitites like this:

1. Start your seedlings under cloches or in the greenhouse where they are not susceptible to excessive rain or wind.
2. Plant out only established plants that will be able to take a degree of bad weather.
3. Be ready with covers if the weather starts to turn.

You will always lose a few seedlings in the early months of spring, especially in the UK. But when the weather finally gets better the fruits of your labour will finally be rewarded.

Chitting potatoes is an allotmenteering institution. It must be done every year and it must be done properly.

When you but your seed potatoes it is no good to just put them in the ground, they need to be kept in a cool light place for their eyes to start sprouting. This can take anywhere up to around two weeks to happen.

When the eyes have sprouted you will notice about 6-10 shoots from the potato – now is the perfect time to sow them. If you want a few large good quality potatoes it can be a good idea to rub off a few of the sprouts so only about 3 or 4 shoots take. Otherwise leave them all on and harvest the small potatoes early for lots of yummy early spuds.

If you haven’t already decided which crops to sow this year, then there is no time like the present. You can order your seeds online now and they shouldn’t take too long to arrive. If you have been following a strict crop rotation pattern over the last few years, you might already have planned your beds for the coming year. If not, here are a few ideas of crops that you can start off with now so you can enjoy yummy veg over the coming few months.

If you warm the soil using cloches or even black plastic and are sure that frost is not going to strike your crops down before they get started, you can plant - broad beans, leeks, onions, shallots, peas, parsnips, spinach, carrots, lettuce and Brussels sprouts out now. Make sure you dig in some well rotted compost from your compost heap before you start and you will soon see the shoots starting to emerge.

At last the winter seems to be finally over!!!

We can start looking forward to a great allotmenting year ahead which promises to be another year of great times and great produce from our plot.

Before we can be really sure that winter has given up we can still do a few things on the allotment to get ready for the year ahead.

• Remove debris from last year and turn the compost heap
• tidy shed
• plan crop rotation for this year
• sort through old seeds and discard any that are unusable

Some crops can be started off now under glass or in the greenhouse. Spring beets and even carrots and broad beans  can planted under cloches or in the greenhouse now and planted out in the next month or so.

Things are slowing down at the allotment after the glut of fresh produce we had during the summer months. The cabbages and Brussels sprouts are still going strong and we hope to crop them in the near future, but we have now removed all the potatoes and carrots and stored them for the winter months.

Most of your time at this time of year is spent clearing the beds in readiness for next year’s plans, so why not get together with some of your allotment friends and celebrate the bountiful harvest we had during the summer months.

You could arrange a late summer barbeque and use some of the fantastic produce from the allotment to create wonderful salads and amazing side dishes. Why not celebrate the end of summer with a bang? You could have a bonfire and buy fireworks to turn your party into a real celebration. You could use solar lighting to create a great atmosphere down at the plot and see off the summer in style.

It is always worth checking with your allotment association if they will not mind the event taking place at the allotment. Some associations don’t mind if you can prove that numbers will be strictly limited and most people who are at the event are allotmenteers themselves.

If like me you have used loads of herbs over the last couple of months your plants could be looking a little wilted or even threadbare. If you have not been tempted to overuse them, then now can be a good time to take cuttings. Woody herbs like Rosemary, Thyme and Sage go mad in July and produce loads of great new shoots.

If you are new to taking cutting don’t worry because these herbs are really easy. Fill a pot with a good potting compost and take cuttings from the shot tips about 4 inches long. Remove the bottom leaves and dip the cut end into organic rooting powder. You can fit about 4 or five cuttings into a 5 inch pot, then water well. Place these cuttings in your cold frame or greenhouse and after about seven weeks the cuttings should have established themselves enough to be transplanted into individual pots.

July is one of the best times of the year regarding the amount of crops that are ready to be harvested. The strawberries will just be finishing but the raspberries will be in full swing and blackberries are just around the corner.

The first courgettes will need picking whilst they are young and ripe and don’t forget to use the flowers as they are great stuffed with soft cheese and lightly battered. Early potatoes will feature heavily now on your menu and when mixed with some spring onions, chopped parsley and home made mayonnaise they are great a potato salad.

All your the leaf vegetables will now be big enough to pick such as wild rocket, and cut and come again lettuces. The more you cut them the more tender new growth you will get.

Don’t forget to use all the veg whilst it is young and tender. The taste will be much better than you get in supermarkets.

Many allotment holders are now choosing to grow their vegetables in raised beds. This is quite a new phenomenon and has many advantages and disadvantages. Discussed below are a few points that need consideration.

Advantages

Raised beds are in essence low maintenance; they can be weeded quickly and easily. You also have clearly defined boundaries for your crops meaning forward planning and hence crop rotation can be much easier. If they are raised sufficiently, people who have difficulty bending can work the beds meaning no more bad backs.

Disadvantages

They can be quite free draining so may need to be watered more regularly. They also restrict the amount of area you can grow vegetables on your plot. This will of course mean that you will have less produce. This may however not be a bad thing if you have difficulty looking after your plot. You will have to provide some sort of paths between the beds which can of course cost money; otherwise the weeds may take hold.