“Whatever space you’ve got, it starts with a pot”, the Horticultural Trades Association is telling us this year – and for many gardeners it ends with a pot as well. If you’re a fan of going potty on the patio, weeding on the windowsill or battling bugs on the balcony then here are some more exciting edibles you can grow in containers this year.

City farms and community gardens do sterling work, but in the current economic climate, ingenuity is required to generate income to sustain their activities. FCFCG (The Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens) tells us how some of their members have been trying to plug the funding gap.

Disability needn’t mean that you cannot enjoy gardening. Angela Goddard from Gardening for Disabled Trust highlights how gardeners have benefitted from the work of the Trust to sustain their pleasure in growing plants and vegetables and getting out and about in the garden.

Pruning is sometimes seen as one of the ‘dark arts’ of gardening, with complicated instructions and diagrams making it harder than assembling flat-pack furniture. But if you know why you’re pruning your fruit trees, and what you want to achieve, then it need not be such a stressful winter chore.

Until recently, a pile of boiled white rice was perhaps the most far-flung carb to grace our dinner plates. The humble potato was our everyday staple, easily grown in British fields.

A sense of King’s Cross’ food heritage is returning: commuters stroll past living walls and micro orchards; food gardens float on canal barges; and diners are flocking to the new Grain Store restaurant and its wonderful edible terrace garden.

If you’re just nutty about nuts then you might be thinking about adding some to your garden, but it’s not as easy as you might think. A lot of our favourite nuts are tropical plants, and although there are several nut varieties that are hardy enough to grow in the UK, most of them make very large trees and aren’t suitable for small gardens. You don’t have to miss out entirely, though, as there are one or two nuts that will fit the bill.

Once condemned to the footnotes of gastronomy, the humble pickle has now become the epitome of foodie chic.

The more time you spend with your plants, the more likely you are to spot pests and diseases. Swift action in the early stages of an attack can often save your crop.

Once the dread menace of school dinners, greens are having their moment of glory. Packed with nutrients, they have captured the imaginations of chefs and celebrities alike and can now be found in every guise from green juices to crisps. When it comes to growing greens, there’s a huge variety to choose from for each season so you can reap their benefits all year round.