I love the idea of square foot gardening. By following a simple and straightforward formula, anyone with even the smallest of outdoor spaces can grow their own fruit and veg, and it claims to be an idiot proof formula.

I’m absolutely thrilled to have my first gardening article published today in Scottish Gardener magazine.

On Saturday I was lucky enough to be taken for lunch at the Gardeners Cottage in Edinburgh – a tiny wee restaurant on Royal Terrance which is committed to serving food using the best seasonal and local produce while nurturing relationships with the local community and local producers.

I know how lucky I am to have an allotment – there’s many people out there who would chew their right arm off to get their hands on one.

I think it would be fair to say that a unanimous decision has been reached in the peat vs no-peat debate. Gardeners, environmentalists and the government all agree that we should be minimising the use of peat-based composts to preserve peat bog habitats, and instead replacing their use with sustainable alternatives.

Ideal conditions:

• Sunshine, temperatures +1C

• Good company – boyfriend, family, friends, fellow allotmenteers

• Ground conditions that are not frozen or muddy (although I’ve made raised beds in both and they’ve turned out ok)

This weekend I’m going to build a fifth raised bed in the allotment – not to grow more veg, but for cut flowers. I was inspired by Rachel de Thame who last year decided to stop growing vegetables and grow masses of flowers instead.