Handy hints for growing perfect vegtables

Practice a three-year rotation of crops to achieve bumper yields, avoid a build-up of root pests and diseases and make full use of manures and fertilisers.
Sow seeds in spring when soil temperature is above 10°C (50°F) and you can rake it to a crumbly tilth.
Work in Proctors Growmore and Blood, Fish & Bone fertiliser before sowing or planting to speed up growth and encourage weighty and early yields.
Shield early sowings from cold winds, heavy rain and pests by covering them with plastic tunnel cloches or polypropylene film.
Work in soil insecticide before sowing if wireworms, milipedes and other soil pests are a problem.
Thin lettuce, spinach and seakale beet seedings early, and at intervals, before they jostle for space and grow weak and leggy.
Enrich the soil with Proctors Garden and Potato fertiliser where root crops are to be grown.
Hoe regularly to behead seedling weeds before they emerge
Water freely in dry weather to encourage robust growth, and conserve soil moisture by spreading black plastic or 3" of garden compost or old manure between rows.
Harvest crops at their prime;
- Peas and beans when pods are full but seeds bulge through.
- Sweetcorn when kernels are filled with think creamy juce.
- Beetroot before they are cricket ball sized.