A web of veg.

Ann Kelly|15:27 UK time, Wednesday, 10 June 2009

After my visit to Sara's last Thursday, I've come down with a bad case of grower's envy. Because of her worries about her squash, I'd expected to find a bunch of shrivelled, sad-looking sticks on her back step, not the big, beefy, happy plants that I found instead. And I definitely didn't expect them to be twice the size of mine - take a look at the picture if you don't believe me!* And when I saw her forest of lettuce and beetroot, I felt more green-eyed than green-fingered.

So, this week, I'm going to take a back seat, and point you to some sites full of real experts out there on the web. One of the lovely things about gardening today is that so many other people are doing it, and are so willing to share their experiences - over the garden fence, or online. If any of you have a suggestion for a good site, then do let us know in a comment.

GardenAction. For nice, no-nonsense advice on veg growing, often with pics, try the veg pages here. If you're worried about pinching out the side shoots of your tomatoes, this is the place to to go.

Allotment Growing. I can heartily recommend this site, even if you're just growing a few veg rather than a whole allotment-full. It's full of tips and advice, and has an especially good section called What To Do Now in the Garden, which does what it says on the tin!

GardenOrganic. If you're interested on growing organically, you should definitely check this one out. Run by a charity dedicated to promoting organic growing, it's full of advice, especially about compost. They're quite obsessed by it, so this is the place to go to find composting tips.

Self-Sufficientish. This is a site for those who fancy taking the good life to the next level, but don't fancy moving to the middle of nowhere. Run by a pair of brothers from Bristol, it covers everything from veg growing to home brewing to keeping livestock. It also has forums, and information about campaigns for more allotments.

BBC Gardening. Nearer to home, don't forget that there's a great gardening site on the BBC, and a lot of very busy messageboards, some of them even discussing Dig In!

RHS. And finally - for the moment - you can't beat the Royal Horticultural Society's site for finding out about plants. They've got a good grow your own section, but where this site really comes into its own is when you want to find out just what that lovely flower you saw in your neighbour's garden was.

* If you're wondering what that strange thing is that my plants are in, it's my "hardening-off house", made out of a plastic cage for a guinea pig or something. I put the plants in it, then put the clear plastic lid on at night and take it off in the day. Easier than bringing them in and out when I'm getting them used to conditions outdoors.

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About this blog

The Dig In campaign has finished now. Thanks to everyone who took part in the campaign throughout 2009 and 2010. We hope you enjoyed growing the Dig In seeds, especially those of you who are new to growing vegetables. This site is no longer being updated, but it is still packed full of useful information about growing veg.

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Expert authors

Our video expert is Blue Peter gardener Chris Collins. He's a qualified horticulturalist and award-winning gardener, who's presented shows on everything from allotments to Chelsea - check out his website for details. He loves sharing his experience with growers old and new!

Gareth Austin is resident gardening expert with BBC Radio Foyle and lectures in horticulture in Northern Ireland. Gareth has made it a prority to encourage gardeners throughout Northern Ireland to 'reclaim the space' and start growing vegetables in any area they can find.

Maria del Carmen Casarrubios is a tutor and practical instructor at Capel Manor College, Regent's Park. She trained at Capel Manor and Writtle College in Amenity Horticulture and has 20 years' experience of working with plants. Sally Smith

Sally Smith is a freelance gardening researcher and lecturer. She headed the advisory team at Garden Organic for many years. Pest and disease control by organic means is her speciality, Sally says: "Managing your soil is key to solving nearly all gardening problems, look after your compost heap, it's your most important asset." Sally Smith

Brendan Little trained at National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Brendan runs organic gardening courses, works as a garden designer and is in the BBC Radio Ulster Gardeners' Corner team." Sally Smith

Karen Kenny is the Eastern Region Rep for the National Society of Allotment & Leisure Gardeners as well as on the management team of Suffolk and Ipswich allotments where she runs a site. Karen is also an accomplished lecturer on most gardening subjects, including allotments.

Peter Horrocks has an allotment in Newcastle. He's the regional rep for the National Society of Allotment & Leisure Gardeners in the North of England & Scotland, the secretary of the Newcastle Allotments Working Group. Plus, Peter is secretary of a ten-acre allotments site in Newcastle, considered by many to be one of the best in the city.

Ben Raskin is an advisor with the Soil Association, as well as helping to run 22 acres of organic vegetables. With over 16 years of horticultural experience, including running market gardens and working at the Welsh College of Horticulture, he's an expert on organic matters.

Beechgrove Potting Shed is Radio Scotland's top gardening show, giving tips and advice to Scottish gardeners - and the odd Dig In grower - every Sunday.

Zoe tends the Dig In website. When she's not in the office you'll find her gardening on Hampstead Heath and in Regents Park.

Ann "Dig In" Kelly looked after the blog from day to day until May 2010. Bitten by the gardening bug a few years ago, she has progressed from a few growbags to a great big polytunnel. She hates slugs.