As we get quite a number at our feeding station and they move so fast, the biggest problem we have is actually counting them. We usually set up the digital camera on a tripod and take pictures during the hour. We can then download them on to the computer, zoom in on the photos and count them much mo...

Peter, could the TV programme you are trying to recall be "A House for the Future" which was shown in 1976 on ITV hosted by Brian Trueman. This was a refurbishment of a house in Macclesfield. We still have the book of the programme and we are still trying to 'keep the faith' on energy cons...

Last year the temperatures here were just as low but most of my veg survived. I can only put the failure down to the sustained period of cold with the daytime temperatures staying well below freezing. While I am sorry to hear that other growers have lost plants over this very cold spell, as a relati...

Thanks for the information, John. Your method clearly produces good crops. I hope I have as much success, whichever method I choose. All the varieties I will be growing are indeterminate; I'll let you know if I beat 10ft. Can't wait to get going.

Regards, Diane.

I think you might need very large tubs. I tried growing some slips in 15 litre pots (1 per pot) in the polytunnel last year. They seemed to grow well but, unfortunately when I turned them out at the beginning of November, all I found was a tangled mess of very skinny pink 'snakes'. My neighbour grew...

Thanks 'thetangoman'. Yet more ideas to explore.

Regards, Diane.

Hi Chris, I'm not sure if they are what you are looking for but Nicky's Nursery are listing a sugar pea named 'Sugar Snap' which is described as a tall variety.

http://www.nickys-nursery.co.uk

KR

Diane

Thanks for the advice, Primrose. I'm very lucky to have both a greenhouse (inherited with the house) and a conservatory (new addition) so indoor, light space is not an issue. I moved my pepper plants to the conservatory before the severe weather last November and managed to coax them to ripen and ha...

I have never tried this but will certainly give it a go this year.

Would this also work for sweet peppers? I have found some references to people in the US managing to keep plants going for several years, but nothing for the UK.

Regards, Diane

Not sure which way I'll go at present but thanks for the tip, JB.

Regards, Diane.

Thanks GL (if you don't mind me calling you that), another method to try. If I can get organised I may run the two methods in parallel and see which works best for me.

Btw, I have only had a brief look but, your web site looks very interesting with some very useful info.

Regards, Diane

I'm not very disciplined either, I'm afraid. Too many other jobs to do as we have a very neglected plot to tame; the nettles and brambles are winning! The upside is that it produces vast quantities of compostable material and blackberries. A fortnightly feed sounds like a reasonable regime though. L...

Thanks for the advice Tony, I will give it a try. Unfortunately, it will have to be without the heating cables. I’ll just have to wait a little longer for my toms. A couple of questions; I hope you don’t mind me asking.... Do you wash the sand before use and do you reuse the sand or replace every ye...

Hello All, This is my first post to this forum and I’m looking forward to sharing experiences, following all your exploits and hoping to gain from your collective knowledge. I am newish to veg gardening having retired from a tiny garden in town to a large plot in the country. Over the past 3 years I...