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Apart from planting wind breaks or creating heat-retaining walls, there is not an awful lot you can do to significantly change the climate of your site (short of building an enormous Eden Project-style dome over it). You can, however, radically improve your growing conditions – by improving your soil.

Soil quality has a direct impact on the health of your plants. By making small adjustments to this, you can dramatically change not only how well your plants grow but even which species it is possible to grow on your site.

To improve it, you first need to figure out what kind of soil you have, and the good news is you don’t need a ‘CSI’-style lab to analyse it. Just grab a handful of soil on a dry day and give it a good squeeze. Then ask yourself:

A Does the soil break up easily, feel a bit gritty, and filter through your fingers?

B Does the soil clump together, look slightly shiny, and roll easily into a firm sausage shape?

C Does the soil roll into a loose, fragile, sausage shape?