Right 1st things 1st My runner beans i've: Frozen them Salted them Pickled them Eaten them Even the cat has had them introduced to her diet (she eats them raw as well as cooked. She also eats raw Sprouts !!) What I need to know is, can I eat them dried like you would do with say Borlotti or Butter B...

I have done the above & have also pruned the roots before the 1st re-potting in spring and have had no problems, if anything it seems to encourage growth, but you do not 'hack off', only trim the 'older' looking roots. You still need to have 90% of the root system remaining.

A quote from the fantastic book by Matt Simpson: 'The plants are given what i call a 'short, back and sides'. This is essentially a close trim. I remove all foliage as discolouration sets in as plants dump toxins into their leaves at the end of the year and extract any goodies that may have been sto...

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Is a gardening pillock a new tool ?


OR..........................

Mr C

You can do this, but not the main lateral. It is always a good idea to change pots every now and again, and this is the best opportunity. Even if you do not need to increase the size of the pot, do so to change the growing medium that it is in as within 3 weeks of being placed in any compost, most p...

Pink Fir Apples are the best spud by far Mine are still in the ground and shall stay there until the 1st heavy frosts are due, whench they shall be dug up, placed into old coffee sacks and stored in the shed up the allotment These are by far the best spud for Spanish Tortilla, and as one of the seed...

Hi Chantel, The best way to overwinter chillies is basically 'Bonsai' them . It seems very harsh the 1st year, but if fed over the winter with a dilute nitrogen feed (Chempak No2) once a fortnight, you will find masses of new growth in the spring . As the years pass the base of the plant will mature...

Johnboy, Its a combination of 2 things really: If you try and germinate chillies, some over a 2 month period and the growing medium is kept in a warm dark place with no air flow the air will go stagnant and the heat/damp will cause mold to form Moulds love dark and warm enviroments. If you really wa...

Hi Chantel, Well well, what a dilemma. Firstly, It seems to me that you may be sowing them very late. I know that the packet will tell you when and where etc, but i find that they nearly always say the same, no matter what it is. I always sow all of my Chilli seeds in the week between Xmas and New Y...

Hi all, Sorry for not being about for the last 12 or so months.......big apologies to all of those that have posted messages and received no replies..........but Now I am back A year older..a year wiser (and now an award winning allotment under my hat). It's been a poor year for those growing chilli...

Good afternoon one and all. For your information Mr Chilli is back and is looking forward to a great summer of all things 'scoville'. Had a very good year (06) with the most fantastic crop of 'Padron de piemento' Other success stories included: Hungarian Hot Wax Thai Dragon Numex Twilight Aji Lima A...

Hi all,
Mr Chilli is back
Check out the growing section for more details

Cheers Johnboy,
Hope you had a good couple of pints, on this St George's Day.

Ciao Mr Chilli

Johnboy, Some interesting words, but one thing that I do ask is the legality to slaughter your own animals. I was under the impression that you were still allowed to do this as long that all of the meat is for own consumption, i.e you cannot sell, barter or give away. I may be wrong, but this is my ...