Now that we’ve lost the light in the evenings and the mornings are usually cold and damp, it makes it very hard to find motivation to spend time in the garden.

Just on Friday morning I was out there in my PJs, wellingtons and hair thrown up in a messy bun getting soaked in the rain – all before work. Many of you know that I adore my little garden and I’m so proud to have transformed it from a blank space in to a prosperous little fruit and vegetable patch. This year, as strange as it’s been for everything surrounding Covid-19, I’ve fallen in love with gardening and have developed a passion for growing my own food. Next year will undoubtedly be bigger and better but I’d love to know if you have any tips and if there are any plants that I should be focussing my energy on!

Tomatoes: these are the gift that keeps on giving! My favourite fruit to grow as their yield is so fantastic. I’ve still got twelve out of thirteen of my original tomato plants, a mixture of Red Alert, Red Cherry and Gardener’s Delight, still growing fruits and I must have had over 300 tomatoes from my garden. I use a lot of tomatoes in my cooking and will also pop them like sweets now I know how good a homegrown tomato actually tastes. Next year I would like to try and grow some bigger tomato varieties – any suggestions would be welcome!

Cucumbers: for anyone following my Instagram stories you’ll know that I’ve had a LOT of cucumber plants this year. For some reason I just can’t keep them alive and I do everything I can! Is there some magic trick?! Can any seasoned gardener help me?! I’ve had about 11 plants in total and I’ve managed to grow 2 cucumbers. My Grandparents have harvested up to 20 cucumbers from that number of plants so I know my yield isn’t normal.

Runner beans: Another disaster. I had 3 plants that produced a total of 2 runner beans. They were watered and cared for but produced a lot of flowers and nothing else. Obviously I need to work on getting natural pollinators to my garden (which means flower shopping!!!) but has anybody else had an AWFUL year with their beans?!

Melons: I’ve had 6 melon plants, 2 of which actually produced a form of melon which quickly went rotten. A heartbreaking find as I was so excited to taste it but I have harvested the seeds ready to try again next year. I still have 1 melon growing that is currently slightly bigger than a golf ball so stay tuned…

Chillies: these hot little rockets are great to grow and will be returning in 2021. I had 4 plants and I’m still harvesting! I did have to google why my chillies were turning black but, do not panic, that is normal. I’ve got a mixture of red and green chillies, all super-hot, that I throw in my pasta and curry dishes – I just love spice!

Strawberries: a very short-lived crop but I will definitely be creating a strawberry patch in 2021. The 3 little plants I had produced a few strawberries which I quickly ate – I think I need to invest in about 20 more plants!

Potatoes: I harvested quite a few small potatoes this year from a barrel planter and I’m definitely going to be planting these again. I’ve really enjoyed roasting these in a little oil with some salt and the skin left on.  They’re dead easy to grow – you literally just leave them and drizzle some water every so often.

Carrots: I’ve still got these to dig up – fingers crossed that they’re delicious!

Salad planter: earlier this year I created a planter out of an old palette – an idea I saw on Pinterest. I must admit, the salad I did harvest from this was lovely but I didn’t plant anywhere near enough seeds! A lesson learnt for next year.

Pumpkin plant: I’ve had 0 pumpkins. I’m not sure why but I don’t think I will try again next year. I did buy the plant on a whim and I’ve had loads of flowers but nothing has materialised.

That’s my roundup done. I’ve had a mixed bag of luck this year but, for my first every try at gardening, I’m pretty proud of what I achieved. I’ve got lots of ideas for next year and the moment I get a bigger garden I am creating a huge allotment space. Keep an eye on the blog for updates.