As my third year of allotmenteering draws to a close, it’s time to assess my accomplishments and failures.

It’s pointless to strive for perfection when you grow your own — there are too many variables. Every crop is brought to life and nurtured or “natured” by a combination of factors: the quality and variety of seed, the gardener, the soil, the location, the weather.

There are curses along the way in the form of slugs, insects, foxes, birds, diseases, hailstorms, droughts and football-fetching children. Then the blessing of the successful end-results outweighs it all, especially in the kitchen, where finally the gardener is in control, as the cook.

HIGH POINTS

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If we are going to change the lamentable way most people eat it will have to be by making it fun

Guy Watson

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• Super Squash One of the greatest revelations of the year was the bonus vegetable provided by all the pumpkin and courgette plants — the succulent leaves. Fried with garlic and chilli, they are my new favourite cooked green.

This has inspired me to make my squash patch even bigger next year. The courgette plants can be overwhelmingly productive, but you just have to pick the fruits when tiny and sweet, and enjoy the young leaves, which keep coming as fast as the courgettes, at the same time.

The occasional overgrown marrow-size specimens make excellent chutney and wonderfully velvety and flavourful soups, so I won’t be cutting down the quantity. I’ll be putting in more pumpkin plants, too, for the constant supply of leaves and a couple of plump pumpkins per plant, which store brilliantly indoors once harvested.

• Colourful Companions This year I really went for it with the companion planting -- flowers such as marigold, calendula, nasturtium, sweetpeas that vie for the attention of flying pests and attract good bugs like ladybirds and bees. The gorgeous patches of colour were ever so pleasing to the eye throughout the growing season and made the allotment an even more satisfying place to hang out.

• Choice Varieties This year I made some really good choices for certain varieties that thrive in my clay soil and London conditions. “Chanteray” carrots are a stumpy, round variety which did well in my clay soil, fattening up beautifully. “Chioggia” beetroot had a very successful season and tasted as sweet as sugar, as well as producing delicious, colourful greens. “Aquadulce” broad beans were early and prolific; “Rocket” potatoes provided a crop of spuds that lasted for months, from sweet new babies to good fist-size bakers — the perfect choice. Growing “Elephant” garlic and five other varieties from The Garlic Farm was a first-time thrill. We grew enough to keep away an army of vampires which we are still eating, and we are replanting some for next year.

• Home Grown We don’t have a greenhouse and I’m not sure how soon we’ll be able to splash out on one. So, this year I grew some chilli plants at home in pots in a sheltered spot near a sunny wall. I grew some of the same plants on the allotment in the ground in a rather exposed spot, and the difference was transparent.

The plot plants were mere dwarves and produced one small pepper each. The home-grown plants grew into lush, leafy bushes absolutely dripping with juicy fruits, and even now we’re still enjoying them in cooking and as ornaments, though we have moved them into the house. This year’s Christmas tree will be a Korean pepper plant, already complete with natural decorations to which we’ll add a few! Next year I’ll try more sun-loving plants at home.

• Composting Rewards Three years on, and our kitchen-waste compost bin finally delivered some first-class, well-rotted, texturally balanced nutrition to go back on the plot. Most satisfying and worth the wait.

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