Nature Features

You probably realise by now that money doesn't grow on trees - well at least that's what we're always being told.

But what about trying to find a way for your garden to help you manage the cost of rising prices and higher levels of debt?

Food accounts for a huge proportion of the weekly household budget so possibly one of the easiest, and satisfying, ways to save money is to grow your own fruit and veg.

Each Friday, BBC Leicester's roving reporter Julie Mayer will be putting her back into helping you dig your way out of debt, by visiting Western Willow Allotments on Broughton Way.

It's all about turning down shop bought produce and turning attention to making the ground work for you.

Listen: The Ninth Part

The inclement weather is doing wonders for the garden - in most instances, but not every plant welcomes prolonged periods of rain.

So could the precipitation be responsible for some strange goings-on in the garden of one local resident who asked her friend - Marie of Melton, to contact BBC Leicester in the hope of diagnosing the problem.

Marie forwarded BBC Leicester's Tony Wadsworth a picture of a cucumber. Tony also thinks it's shaped rather oddly!

Armed with the picture, BBC Leicester's Julie Mayer consulted our 'alloteer' Jane Johnson on our adopted allotment at Broughton Astley.

Listen to her findings...

Listen: The Eighth Visit

What does Charlotte, Desiree, and Nadine all have in common?

BBC Leicester's Julie Mayer has been popping into our allotment in Broughton Astley to get a few tips on how to grow your own.

The team have dealt with beetroots... carrots... raspberries and now it's spuds!

This time BBC Leicester's Tony Wadsworth thought he would visit the plot. He joined Jane Johnson and her five year old son Ben who had a question for him!

Listen to find out what that question is...

Listen: The Seventh Visit

Do you know the difference between a courgette and a marrow?

A marrow is a lot larger than a courgette, but apparently they are actually one in the same vegetable! To put really simply, a courgette is just a small, immature marrow.

But how do you grow them?

BBC Leicester's Julie Mayer visited our adopted allotment at Broughton Astley to get some tips...

Listen: The Sixth Visit

It's that time of year - sunshine, tennis, and lovely fresh strawberries and cream!

But it's not just strawberries in season - there's raspberries, gooseberries, blueberries, loganberries, blackberries... is this making you're mouth water?

Of course it's not just humans who love to eat the crop. Gardeners have to battle it out against bugs and birds.

BBC Leicester's Julie Mayer was joined by allotment holder Jane Johnson, who showed how to grow summer berries...

Listen: The Fifth Visit

Love it or hate it...

Fresh beetroot seems to be enjoying a revival as people are discovering there's more to this great British vegetable than they thought - but how do you grow it?

BBC Leicester's Julie Mayer went to our adopted allotment in Broughton Astley to find out...

Listen: The Fourth Visit

When it comes to your fruit and vegetables would you rather have home-grown or shop bought?

BBC Leicester's Julie Mayer has been digging deep for fresh produce at our adopted allotment in Leicestershire.

She's picked out carrots and strawberries for the consumer test.

Julie headed to Hinckley Town Centre to find out if you can taste the difference between home-grown produce against shop bought...

Nigel, Julie and Jane

Listen: The Third Visit

They're among some of the most popular root crops grown and consumed in the world but they're also among the most difficult to cultivate!

BBC Leicester's Julie Mayer's visited our adopted allotment at Broughton Astley to ask Jane and Nigel Johnson why carrots are so difficult to grow…

Nigel said the main problem is that they are attacked by insects such as carrot fly.

There are many different varieties of carrots, but they suggest trying Nantes to start, which is a good one to use in salads or raw because of their sweet taste.

Jane said her boys find her carrots too carrot-ey, "When you've got used to buying from the supermarket they've been in cold storage, so they tend to loose their flavour.

"Whereas this crop, because it's an early one, have got a lot more flavour it and they just find it too strong, they're not used to the flavour."

Jane Johnson

Listen: The Second Visit

BBC Radio Leicester's Julie Mayer donned her wellies again as she headed down to the allotment to help you save some cash by digging deep and growing your own.

This week she joined Nigel and Jane Johnson, and Bryan Rayner at their Allotment in Broughton Astley...

Bryan is a little bit of a cabbage fanatic - he full-heartedly believes they are the best vegetable and grows twenty different varieties from seed:

"If you go down the market or the superstore they never put the variety what it is, and if you as them, they haven't got a clue - 'it's cabbage'."

Nigel and Jane have been working their allotment for four years and grow an array of products - including garlic which is now in season after they planted it back in October.

Listen: The First Visit

You can meet all kinds of different people working on their own piece of land, from the very young to the more mature generation.

Julie Mayer got her wellies on and headed down to the allotment for the first time...

Kira from Braunstone is 10 years-old and when Julie visited was helping out at her Grandad's allotment during the school holidays.

She was planting eight inch high pepper plants that had been previously grown in a greenhouse from seed. They were expecting to be able to pick the finished product in September.

Julie also visited Stanley Moore who has been growing vegetables for the last 60 years - so he should know his onions!

When it comes to tools Stanley believes that the old styles can often be the best - some of his own tools are over 70 years-old and are now unavailable:

'People don't know what they are!"

Check back every Friday afternoon to find out what Julie's been getting up to down the allotment!