Thank you for the responses to this article. I have tried organic slug pellets, but they seem to fade and break down very quickly. I think that my main problem - other than living in one of the wettest areas - is that during the summer I am unable to visit the garden that often, due to my commitment...

Most societies/ councils have banned the use of old carpets on allotments. In fact a number of previously recommended practices have since been banned e.g. use of tyres, use of railway sleepers. Stricter rules on health and safety and EU directives on pesticides/ herbicides have all had an impact in...

I was told recently, by an experienced gardener, that it is possible to grow further cabbages from the stem of a cabbage already harvested. He described the method as first of all cutting the cabbage, leaving the stem in the ground, secondly cutting a cross shape across the cut end of the stem and t...

I received a catalogue on saturday from a company specialising in fruit - top fruit/ cane fruit etc. A new introduction to the catalogue was a dual purpose apple, called 'Bardsey'. As the name suggests, this tree originated from the Monks' orchard on Bardsey island. The parent tree is described as m...

On 'Beechgrove Garden', the presenter said that chillies could simply be placed ( whole ) in a freezer bag and put straight into a freezer. I have never known anyone who has tried this, most people dry them or preserve them in an oil. Anybody frozen chillies successfully? I may derive some pleasure ...

I was watching German television today, when I saw an article reporting the deaths of at least a thousand blackbirds in one area of Germany. This was described as an epidemic, which had not yet peaked. Dead birds are currently being examined, but the current hypothesis is that they have been infecte...

Last year, I estimated that there were in excess of 150 butterflies at one time on my buddleia bush. I counted 55 peacock butterflies but there were almost equal numbers of both tortoishell and red admiral types. I generally see these butterflies regularly but I also see 'speckled woods' darting aro...

A recipe in my cookbook indicated that I would need about 1/8th of a celeriac root. Unfortunately, that is about what I got, when I lifted the root out of the ground! Not for the lack of water in this part of the country ( South Wales Valleys)

Once again, a bumper crop of slugs this year; no doubt encouraged by the un-ending wet weather. Despite all barbaric acts known to man ( and this woman ) they continue to thrive and proliferate. I have a number of predators - resident hedgehogs, newts and lizards, but no visible impact made on the s...

Last year, I remember hearing about the spread of 'trichomoniasis' in greenfinches. The report stated that the infection was visible as birds appeared to have food debris around the beak, I think that the consequence was choking and subsequent death. I know that this risk extends to other finches, f...

I often see siskins, both on my allotment and in my back garden. On the allotment I have noticed them regularly enter the bird feeders through the portholes and feed on the seeds from within the feeder. In the garden I notice that the pair rarely seperate, keeping a constant 'dialogue' going between...

I grew Kestrel in addition to other varieties last year. I was so impressed with the potatoes that I ordered a sack of them this year. Until recently the potatoes were growing well, as expected, but in the past week they have shown signs of 'going over' well before time. The plants themselves have n...

When I first took on my allotment (some 7 years ago), I didn't realise that the soil was contaminated with white rot. My first experience of this problem was pulling up an onion, only to find the base of the onion still in the ground, but the leaves and top of the bulb in my hand! Very disappointing...

@ Nature's Babe As I garden at an altitude of above 350m above sea level, the gardens regularly get frosts until the second week of June. Last year we had a hard white frost in the third week of June, with frost returning on the 15 August. As our 'summer' is a short affair, I tend to grow most plant...

I wanted to add to my earlier comments on the above subject, given what I observed today, on inspecting the plants again. Now that nearly every mature flower ( still attached at this point ) has a hole in the end of it, all bees are now accessing the nectar in this easier way. I added this as it mak...