The biggest onion in Rutland

Winter is a great time of year for me, not because I love the colour of winter stems on trees and shrubs, or the perennials, but because I get loads of seed catalogues flying through the door and they all require perusing. I still can't help getting excited at the sight of a newly published seed catalogue packed full of colour pictures, and can't wait to see what new and interesting varieties of vegetables they have on offer. We grow quite a few vegetables in the gardens that we don't necessarily eat, but that are incredibly interesting, or just different and worth growing for that reason alone. Mind you, we always find a member of the family or staff that will take them home.

Although I do get carried away sometimes, I have to control myself and opt for the best plants for our heavy clay soil, and ones that will perform to their best capabilities in our organic garden. For this reason I tend to look at F1 hybrid vegetable varieties that will grow uniformly and strongly, making them less likely to succumb to pest and disease damage. My problem is that the F1 hybrid varieties available do not always relate to the varieties I like or want to order, so the variety that will produce the tastiest crop will override any other characteristic. Growing vegetables successfully is all in the planning, so ordering seed has to be dependant on that, but, as with life generally, any plan is open to manipulation if a must-have variety is spotted.

Each year I like to try growing lots of varieties of one particular vegetable and, in recent years, I have tested tomatoes, carrots, beetroot, onions, leeks, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, cabbages and radishes. Next year my focus of attention will be on giant vegetables. I am determined to grow the biggest onion in Rutland - and possibly the largest pumpkin in the Midlands! The seed catalogue assures me that my mammoth onions should get to at least 2 ½kg (6lbs) in weight, be the size of a football and still have an excellent onion flavour. I can't wait! To guarantee the largest vegetables, I feel that it is all in the preparation, so I have pipes ready for my long beetroot and parsnips, as well as plenty of broadsheet newspapers to blanch the long stems of my leeks, and the all-important wheelbarrow to push my enormous pumpkin to the local produce show.

Barnsdale Gardens are the creation of the late Geoff Hamilton, much loved by the public as a gardener and TV presenter during his lifetime. Today, Barnsdale Gardens continues to thrive and win awards in the hands of Geoff's son Nick, together with Nick's wife Sue. The gardens are open to the public from 1 March 2007, and sell a selection of Barnsdale-themed and other garden products online.