Of course slugs are always a prioblem, but if the leaves look torn then the culprit is almost certainly sparrows. Since the dry spring of 2012 they have developed a real taste for these seedlings. Netting need to be very thorough; they are clever, agile little chaps and will go through gaps to get what they want. Isn't nature wonderful (if at times very irritating)?

For more tips on recognising and prreventing bird damage, click here.

Old country lore says that putting a short piece of cut rhubarb stem, or torn up rhubarb leaves, in the planting hole when planting brassicas will prevent clubroot. Another version says boil the leaves in water and pour the water in the holes. "Does it work?" We're asked . . .

The idea is, apparently, that the calcium oxalate found in the leaves kills the fungus. However, when tested at the University of Edinburgh in 2008, it was found that the use of rhubarb had no significant effect. What little effect it did have was due to the calcium, which increased the soil pH slightly.

The usual way of keeping clubroot at bay (apart from being very careful when buying plants) is to practice good crop rotation and lime the soil well before planting. The lime (calcium carbonate in the case of powdered chalk) has a much more powerful effect in controlling clubroot, but crop rotation is also very important. Rhubarb has no noticeable effect.

For more about crop rotation click here

Some types of squash are more resistant than others. This is "Tromba", a summer squash very like courgette in flavour, growing not far from the silvery plants above. By September, when all other squash plants had at least a touch of mildew, "Tromba" was still totally disease-free.