I contributed an article to Kitchen Garden, in 2009, on how we gardeners should be able to cope with most weather problems brought about by climate change. Mostly because we did so already! Though to be fair the probable increasing randomness and severity of the future’s weather will test us. The whole point however was that we already have tried and tested methods for dealing with unfavourable conditions. We know what we can do to mitigate late frosts, drought, flood, high winds and so on.

At this time of the year our memories are still fresh and we can recall how our harvesting went over the last few months, our successes and failures and so on. If we are sensible we note which crops did us well, which varieties performed above average and which below. Over the years we select and choose those ones that fit our needs most closely. Hopefully we don’t waste our efforts growing crops we never use and even more hopefully we don’t run out of favourites too soon.

Fifteen years before this I had just finished writing my first book on Companion Planting. Back then even 'Organic' was widely misunderstood and not considered scientific by some. So I could almost understand the hostility of the supposedly 'science based' gardeners to such another piece of 'muck and magic'. Of course even back then I found it strange to say the least that allegedly scientific people would dismiss companion planting effects out of hand.