I have also had problems with onion sets and shallots from Marshalls, and have taken my business elsewhere for those products. They pack them into bubble wrap lined packages, with no way of breathing, and they arrive as a sweaty smelly mess. I have had to have products replaced in the past, which th...

Our Allotment Society has a two-stroke Mantis, and we garden on heavy clay soil. I agree with the comments that have already been made. We also have a rotavator, and the two complement each other.The Mantis is at it's best on previously dug soils, so for example I winter dig, then use the Mantis in ...

I have just had my seed potatoes brought to me by someone in the next road. They had been dumped over their fence by the Marshalls carrier over a week ago, with a note pushed through their door. Unfortunately they were away, so did not find them until their return. The potatoes do not look too bad, ...

John,

Fortunately it is not white rot, which I have seen, and is not pretty.

I was afraid that they would not store well, si I will take your advice and keep checking them.

My maincrop onions have been dreadful this year, for the first time. The tops have suffered what I suspect to be downy mildew, and have all died back, and the majority have thick necks that seem to be very wet - indeed some have already rotted from the inside. I have pulled them , trimmed the tops a...

David, I was advised to cut off the haulms when they succumb to blight, then leave the potatoes in the ground for three weeks before digging them up. I am not sure why three weeks, but it has worked for me in the past. I am not too sure about this year, as I have never had blight so early, and am no...

Longpod, I have grown them in the past, and treated them as Runner Beans or Climbing French Beans, which I grow in trenches filled with compost, shredded paper and manure, and up stout bamboo poles. They seemed to crop OK, although I have nothing to compare them to as I only grew them the once. I wo...

I got mine just before Christmas, and have planted then in containers in the unheated greenhouse. I had problems with some canes from Marshalls last year, which I felt came too late. I planted them out as described in some of the other postings, and lost half of them. A local nursery told me that th...

Monika,

I have grown Radar, and they are tough old things. In my experience the important thing is root development, the tops perk up very quickly when the weather improves. Having said that you do need to expect some losses.

I assume that they are sets, in which case I usually plant mine out in late March or April, depending on the weather and soil conditions.

If itb is seeds, then now would be good.

I thought that it was a real disapointment - the first time that the BBC has tried to deal with veg in age, and it produces something that looks like Changing Rooms with weeds. Lots of pictures of Carol's car, but no real details about what to plant, when to plant or how to plant. The layout of the ...

Tracie, I suspect that you are seeing your plot at it's muddy worst, especially at this time of year, and that there are less drastic options than land drainage that you could attempt first. I had very badly drained clay soil, and tackled it in two ways. 1) I also put drainage channels in, and part ...

Actuially I think that there is a point here. If the ethos of the magazine is the same as allotment gardeners, we should be looking at recycling materials of all types, and cost effective options. My immediate reaction when I saw Linkabord and Cotswold stone chippings being used was that it must cos...

As with everything, there are pros and cons. I garden on heavy clay, and raised beds mean that I can improve the area that I grow on, and not the area I walk on as well. They improve drainage, and the soil warms up faster. You can also plant at closer spacings, and maintain the yield, despite losing...

Mr Potato Head, that is much better. Well fixed