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Christa says: "In these times of Credit Crunch one hobby is really taking off, and that's growing your own."

Bradford allotment holder David Bottomley is the man who has been showing Christa how to get her hands dirty, but in a good way.  He's a man who really knows his onions - he's won prizes for them - but he believes anyone can grow their own if they really set their minds to it: "With patience and a little bit of know-how, they can grow things like this." Christa believes she doesn't possess a lot of patience but with a little bit of help from David, she feels she might just make it all work.

David tells Christa how to grow onions

Christa first started work on the Bradford allotment in October 2008. This was the time for feeding the ground and doing lots of digging but, as she helped David harvest his parsnips, Christa had a chance to see that all the hard work would have its rewards. But David's given Christa a long list of tasks which have to be done if she wants to end up with a healthy crop.

Saving money is not the only benefit of having an allotment. It may be a place to make new friends and even spot wildlife. For many, it's a much better option than going to the gym. And your council has a legal requirement to provide allotments for the public - Bradford Council, alone, has 1,293 allotment holders in 40 working sites across the district but, such is the popularity of growing your own veg, only seven of these have vacant plots and there are a hundred people on the waiting list.

To find out what should be happening in the fruit and vegetable garden at this time of the year we've enlisted the help of BBC Radio Leeds' gardening expert Graham Porter. Every month Graham, who has been giving advice to West Yorkshire's gardeners for quite a few years, will be telling us what he hopes to be doing in his garden.

LATE AUGUST & EARLY SEPTEMBER 2009:

Apples: Time for a summer prune

What a bumper crop of blackberries we seem to be having this year! A combination of a warmer early summer and some decent rain a few weeks ago. Once you have harvested the last berries and open frozen them in readiness for combining with some delicious cooking apples, you can prune out this year's canes completely, tying in the new canes ready for next year. Cut out any badly placed or weak ones and space out the good canes to give then plenty of light and air to ripen the wood before winter. By the way, if you are looking for a good cooking apple for this area, Howgate Wonder is one of the best and it keeps until January if stored properly.

Apples and pears can have their summer prune, if you have not already done it, cutting back any long new lateral growths to about four buds – this allows light and air into the tree to help with fruit ripening – leave the leading shoots until you do any structural pruning and major branch removal after the leaves have fallen and the fruit has been harvested.

How tall are your Brussels sprouts? If they are starting to lean a little, now might be a good time to provide each plant with some support and you can firm them in again with your heal. While you are in touch with these harbingers of winter, check the foliage for signs of cabbage white butterflies and deal with the caterpillars in the usual way.

How are your tomatoes doing?

If you have not taken the growing tip out of your vine tomatoes yet, I would suggest that you do it now as any new flower trusses are unlikely to develop good tomatoes this late in the season. Remove some of the lower leaves to let light and air in to ripen the lower trusses.

Have your cucumbers done well this year? I have heard lots of examples of plants producing male flowers so keep an eagle eye open for them as fertilised cucumbers are not for the salad bowl – they are better on the compost heap! Cut back any side shoots to three or four buds to help the plants put their energy into developing cucumbers. Keep watering up and damp down the glasshouse floor at midday to help discourage mildew.

Finally for this month, transfer one good idea to a gardening friend today and you might get one back. If you have found a way of growing a particular crop this summer that suits your location, pass it on to another allotment holder or a neighbour so that everyone benefits. 

This month, Graham's been looking at these web sites:

Joining in!

Don't just leave it to Christa, David and Graham! They want you to join in by sending in photos of the fruit and veg you've been growing, and if you've a good allotment story or some useful tips, then Look North also want to hear from you.

Tune in to Gardening on BBC Radio Leeds every week - and why not ask your own gardening question! Join Tim Crowther and Joe Maiden on Sundays 9am - 11am and join Graham Liver and Joe Maiden on Wednesdays 11am till 12 noon. You can find them on 102.7 FM, 92.4 FM, 95.3 FM, online or on DAB.