My grandson is in the band. They are doing a fundraiser for a trip to New York. Can you help out?

When you think you’ve harvested your last potatoes, carefully dig over the veg bed, collect those that were still lurking under the surface, and then dig over ready to plant some green manures. These green manures are useful in many ways; they protect the soil from erosion over winter, reducing the potential of any leaching of mineral and nutrients, and also protect soil structure, as well as boosting nutrients when dug into the soil. They also provide a green carpet that helps provide shelter for beneficial insects through the winter, such as ground beetle, and if you leave a patch to flower they are loved by pollinators – Phacelia tanacetifolia for example, is one of the best nectar sources for the honeybee, bumble bee and hoverfly.

Bean and pea plants that have finished their harvest can be cut back, leaving the roots to be dug in to the soil to provide extra nitrogen for future crops.

Continue to feed tomato plants until all the fruits have finished growing and ripening. If your tomatoes refuse to ripen in miserable weather, then you could make a delicious green tomato chutney.

Sow spring onions – these will be ready to eat before the frosts get going in most parts of the country. Even if frosts are forecast, they are fine under glass or plastic to harvest through late winter and autumn.

Remove any crops that have finished leaving unneeded areas clear – weeding and tidying for the winter. Keep an eye on your brassicas for butterfly eggs and caterpillars; these will most probably be under the leaves.

Sow Swiss chard, winter spinach, broad beans and hardy peas.