As a nation of born-again vegetable growers, we now prepare, as ever, for a year even better than the last. The good gardener is a record-keeper, so that we can avoid the howler of growing the same crop on the same soil each year. Rotate the growing plan so that brassicas are grown on one plot, onions, leeks and shallots on another, peas and beans another, carrots and parsnips another. It’s not a perfect system, but it’s workable and reasonably effective in keeping vigour up and disease down. A simple sketch retained each year will do nicely.