Your new allotment may be home to many different kinds of wildlife. You'll probably welcome a robin searching for grubs or tortoiseshell butterflies feeding from bramble flowers, but what about the white butterflies homing in on your cabbages or blackbirds eyeing up your raspberries?

Left uncontrolled, many creatures can play havoc with a crop, but for every pest there is at least one predator species ready to step in and tackle it on your behalf. Spraying against pests will often kill predators as well and allow the next generation of pests to multiply unchecked.

Physical barriers can discourage pests without harming beneficial wildlife. Horticulture fleece can keep root fly off your carrots. Mini-greenhouses, made from clear bottles with the top cut off, help transplanted seedlings establish quickly and also keep pests away when the plants are at their most vulnerable.

Brightly coloured flowers such as marigolds will attract hoverflies to your plot. The adult hoverfly feeds only on nectar but its grubs feed on aphids - a major plant pest. Blue tits feed their young on caterpillars, so putting up a nest box may save your cabbages.

Natural England  have produced an excellent guide to encourage beneficial wildlife while discouraging the pests which can be downloaded from the Natural England website.