THE last time I remember using a Haynes manual was to sort out the inner workings of my old Morris Minor.

It's not a book range I would have thought of looking at to sort out my gardening.

But now they have produced the Haynes Home-Grown Vegetables Manual.

And Steve Ott has produced some useful hints and tips in this manual.

Among the top tips are:

Place tall plants, such as tomatoes and sweetcorn, at the back of the bed, at the north end if south facing or the east end if it faces west. That way you will not shade the low growing crops.

You can create a raised bed of any size or shape, but make sure you can reach the middle of the bed without straining or stepping on to the soil.

When transplanting seedlings hold them by the leaves not by the brittle stem.

If your seedlings have stretched out a little (become etiolated, is the technical term) bury the stem so the seed leaves are just above the surface of the compost. Maintain watering but do not allow the compost to become wet. To tell whether you cuttings have taken give them a gentle tug to check for resistance, which indicates the roots have grown.

Alternatively turn upside down and look for signs of roots growing out through the bottom.

When weeding with a hoe, always work backwards particularly if walking on the soil. That way you won't inadvertently 'replant' seedlings which may re-root.

The Haynes Manual is produced by Haynes Publishing, at Sparkford near Yeovil in Somerset. It costs £17.99 hard back. See www.haynes.co.uk