John,

Many thanks for that. It was really helpful. Will dig up what I have on Saturday.

Mel

The spinach we planted last year has just started growing again. Do you recommend growing it for a second year or will I be better off composting it and growing fresh from seed?

When is the best time to put horse manure from my heap on to our allotment? I made the heap last autumn and covered it with plastic. It is not the ideal sort as a lot of it is sawdust. Also, if I don't have enough if I used freshly delivered muck how long should I wait before attempting to grow any ...

Molly - or anyone do you still have the recipe please? We're spending Christmas with two chilli mad friends and I think it would make an ideal pressie for them.

Sally Thanks.

I'll give this a go at the weekend. It would be such a shame to waste what I have done so far. I have even got an acknowledgement and apology from the Delia Online website to say that the instuctions were printed incorrectly in the recipe that I used!

I did my first ever lot of pickling courgettes a couple of weeks ago and 1. forgot to add the 8oz of sugar required and 2. forgot to buy some wax paper seals for my sterilised kilner jars. Am I wasting my time thinking I may be able to enjoy some reasonable pickles in a couple of months time?

I'm just about to take advantage of our allotment's supply of free manure to make a heap. However I've never done one before and wonder if I need to put anything on the ground first and once covering it with black plastic, how long does it take to rot down?

I've planted several plants of courgette 'Parador' on our allotment from seedlings raised indoors. They had a week or two to harden off and have now been in the soil for another two or three weeks. They look quite healthy apart from some of the older leaves are yellowing. I consulted my back numbers...

Hi Seedling,

Unfortunately my partner doesn't really like them much either- I let him see your reply and he said that perhaps he should have planted them instead of me!

Still I do and I've promised my foodie work colleagues with loads of free organic veg when it's ready.

I've just started growing butternut and pattypan squash on our allotment and I'm wondering, given reasonably good conditions and attention, how many squash are we likely to get per plant? Also, although we have a reasonable amount of space, do other readers find it preferable to grow their squash up...