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The final installment of the gardening experiment that MacAulay & Co conducted with me as a sort of wet-behind-the-ears gardening guinea pig came to a end, as far as the show was concerned, in late September.

So what exactly did a I make of the last 8 months of green-fingered jiggery-pokery and would I continue with growing veg now the show wasn't popping in to track my progress every Monday? Two excellent questions, which I shall now attempt to address.

Firstly, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would highly recommend that anyone with a patch of land or the chance of an allotment should give it a go - if I can grow potatoes, strawberries, onions, herbs, salad leaves and beans then I assure you anyone can!

The highs? Well, eating my first boiled tatties with lemon juice and mint grown in the garden - the mint and tatties, not the lemons you understand. Also the cathartic effect of communing with nature and also of course all the lovely gardeners I met along the way. Craig Holland, Brian Petrie, Cathy Evans, The Beechgrove Garden team and Jim Jermyn the Gardening Scotland's Show Manager - all gems and their advice and encouragement was invaluable and very gratefully received.

The lows? The weather, the weather and of course not forgetting the WEATHER!!! It was apparently the wettest summer since 1993 and even the best and most experienced gardeners have struggled to cope. However, ironically another low was caused by the weather being too good! After I failed to pick my superb crop of strawberries before going to a Highland wedding in July I returned to find the whole lot withered on the vine... Heartbreaking. A lesson learned the hard way if ever there was one. And last, but certainly not least, weeds... I really did not realise just how difficult it is to keep the things at bay! They lurk around every clump of soil just waiting for you to turn your back for a fraction of a second and then BAM! You turn back and they're slowly making their invidious way up your legs. Well, alright I'm exaggerating for effect somewhat, but only just.

So what of the future? Well if I was to continue with my efforts to grow veg then here was what gardener Brian Petrie advised: "The maintenance for the garden over the winter would be: gather all leaf litter throughout the garden, lay onto your soil once all the weeds and plants have been removed, add some soil or compost to the top and lightly dig in. Once done put a tarpaulin over the entire area and leave until the spring. The tarp should be removed in the spring and you should have a good soil for planting more veg. Remember to turn the soil first with a fork".

However, there are other options which should not be dismissed lightly: firstly, abandoning veg and growing a wildflower garden to benefit the declining bee population; secondly, turn the area into a chicken run which would help feed my son Max's current voracious appetite for eggs! And lastly, to turn the whole area into hard-standing and buy a caravan to put on it and concentrate on travelling around looking at other people's gardens...! Can't say exactly which option I'm likely to go for at this juncture, but we are still enjoying runner beans and salad leaves and there is the future of the pear tree to consider so... Anyway, bye for now and whether you have been gardening for a while or are poised to take the plunge for the first time, I wish you very, very happy gardening! Here are a couple of photos from over the weeks:

Richard Cadey's Gardening Adventures

Richard Cadey reports on MacAulay and Co. Monday to Friday on Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Scotland.