I noticed one, I think D.T. Brown, have sent a postcard in my magazine for you to return if you want a catalogue. They must all be trying to cut costs. It is a good idea though as you seem to get two or three of some of the same ones most years if you buy a few different gardening mags., plus the on...

I would like a gardening assistant who is nice and strong and pleasing on the eye, and who does exactly what I ask, not his own interpretation which doesn't remotely resemble what I want doing.

Funny, my washing machine also died last week. My new one has already been delivered and has a free 5 year guarantee, so should be £600 well spent! Next 7 weeks' pension should just about cover it - still I've plenty of veg and eggs so shouldn't starve!

The young shoots make lovely nettle beer. I find the shoots a bit of a funny texture as greens, but they taste OK. Then as the others say, they dig up easily enough as they are quite shallow rooted. The only problem is getting them out of cracks of if they've grown between things. You just have to b...

I don't see a problem, if you are using something that is yours (prunings - or pee) and making something that you are going to use, (compost) then it isn't waste is it? Surely it only applies to what is thrown away and has to be got rid of by somebody else either by composting or some other means. O...

The frost killed the shoots of some of my potatoes in the greenhouse in January this year, so if frost is forecast I would definitely cover them with fleece or newspaper, and then uncover them again if the weather warms up.

I just pruned them back to short stems just above a node and they have sent out new shoots from there. I don't feed them over winter so they don't put on too much soft growth. I've just tried out what I think will work, but it is only trial and error, so if anyone else has any suggestions on this I'...

A few years ago a local landlord used to put a few nibbles on the bar on Saturdays as a treat. One day he decided to buy some haggis but didn't know how to cook it, so his wife put it in the oven. It exploded and we were served with a tray of crunchy haggis crumbs. They were quite tasty though.

I've not had a problem with beans, but the squashes and pumpkins have been pathetic, I've had a few, but was trying lots of new varieties out and didn't get anything off some of them. I also only got one aubergine from 8 plants in the greenhouse. The cauliflowers in particular and all the brassicas ...

Ginger is now accepted back into the flock but has been demoted in the pecking order. She has made friends with the two youngest Cream Legbars which she had been bullying before, and best of all she is laying every day.

I'm glad I was patient - she came very close to being the Sunday roast.

My plants were quite badly affected by whitefly this year, but I hung a yellow sticky trap near them and when I'd pruned them hard back that cleared the whitefly completely. The new growth they've put on is clean.

I've grown some Alberto's Locoto - Rocoto chillis from seed the year before last and over-wintered two plants in a cold conservatory. I pruned the plants quite hard in autumn as they had grown quite large. They start into growth when the weather warms up in spring and are in flower by April/May so y...

I've also had quite a few different kinds of fruit trees from Deacons and agree with Pongeroon that they have an amazing selection. They have all been very good trees too. Just reading through their catalogue makes you want to plant up dozens of them. I'm trying to stop myself getting any more, espe...

The later ripening apples last longer in store. My best ones are Newton Wonder for cooking - they are still on the tree, and Saturn, a late eater. Did you see Toby Buckland on Gardeners' World storing them in plastic bags with holes in. I think he put about 8 apples per bag and then stored them in a...

Glad you said that and not me OH!