Jenny Mollison: It's my ambition to have a succession of fruit and vegetables all year round

Slightly downhearted that my spinach leaves are not quite as lush as they should be, I went in search of advice.

As an avid collector of old gardening books, I often turn for inspiration to one which dates back to the First World War called Kitchen Garden and Allotment by TW Sanders. Sanders was the editor of Amateur Gardening magazine for over 40 years from 1886. Without the coloured photos with which modern equivalent manuals are illustrated today, he clearly explains quite simple techniques, most of which are still in use now.

The chapter on manures and fertilisers is fascinating. These days we can buy all sorts of liquids and powders, some of them promising miracles. He relied much more on by-products of long-forgotten industrial processes that were locally available. His recommendation of kainit had me reaching for the dictionary. It's a source of potash ideal for use on tomatoes and on sale today although not under its chemical name. In addition to those which are familiar to us, such as animal dung and lime, he suggests using flue dust, leather parings and road sweepings. No-one seemed concerned about contamination in those days.

Twenty five years ago, my favourite TV gardener, the late Geoff Hamilton, was recommending wool shoddy, another industrial waste product probably now consigned to the history books. I once surrounded a redcurrant bush with a sheep's fleece which certainly kept the weeds down and moisture in as it composted away.

One can forget that cultivating an allotment is very intensive agriculture. It's my ambition to have a succession of fruit and vegetables all year round. As raspberries and strawberries finish, brambles start ripening. As salad vegetables run to seed, peas, beans and courgettes take their place on the table. Leeks and kale stand through the winter.

Obviously I am expecting a great deal from a very small space. It's not difficult to see that my peely wally spinach has struggled in light sandy soil with a shortage of nourishment. The long hard winter put paid to time spent digging in compost and leaf mould. I forgot to sow green manures and the nutrients have been washed out of the soil. On the plus side, time spent gathering some sacks of seaweed from the beach last winter is showing results. My pumpkins and squashes are romping away over a large area threatening to colonise my long-suffering neighbour's plot as well.

This article was first published in The Scotsman on Saturday, August 28