We’ve been working down to our allotment a couple of times in the past few weeks, mainly raking up mounds and mounds of leaves that fell last autumn.

In the summer, much of the plot is in dappled shade thanks to lots of big, tall beech trees. Because of this, a lot of what we planted last year such as tomatoes and peas didn’t produce bumper harvests. This year, we’ve been looking into shade loving vegetables.

Vegetables and herbs with lots of dark green leaves are an indicator to shade tolerance. Spinach, kale, lettuce, parsley, coriander will all do well. There’s a saying I’ve come across which is a general rule of thumb for growing fruit & veg: “If you grow it for the fruit, you need full sun. If you grow it for the leaves, stems or sprouts, partial shade is all you need.”

• Pak Choi ‘Crunchy Colour Mix’ (150 seeds): £1.99, Suttons Seeds
• Beetroot ‘Rainbow Beet’ (250 seeds): £1.99, Thompson Morgan
• Horseradish (2 thongs): £3.99, RHS
• Purple sprouting broccoli: £2.05, Amazon
• Radish ‘Bright Lights’ (400 seeds): £2.09, Plant Me Now