I was podding two large buckets of broad beans in the garden this morning at 7. After blanching and freezing them all, I was exhausted and sat down to read the Sunday papers ...... Having examined our sad peas on the allotment last night, I realise they are suffering from thrips and the harvest will...

4.5mm today but no more expected until next week at the earliest. Scorching weekend ahead.

Light rain here for about an hour this morning but now the sun is out again - I think that's it for us.

Our garlic are large and fine this year, especially Mersley Wight, but I did water them copiously earlier in the year and fed them with onion and garlic fertiliser. Instead, the shallots grown from sets (Jermor and Golden Gourmet) are not nearly as good as previous year. I planted all the garlic and...

As you may have read, retropants, we are doing the same. Our garden plot is about 10' x 15'. It is well worked soil and any produce on it has always been plentiful. So, after this year (when we still have autumn/winter brassicas and lots of leeks on the allotment), I intend to get two crops a year o...

I hope you got the 'promised' rain, Geoff. Cloudy here now but no sign of rain, and rather sticky and close.

Froze lots of peas, broad beans and sliced courgettes yesterday and also harvested the first potatoes, pot-grown in the garden. They are Pink Gypsy which we have grown for the first time. They have produced a good yield and tasted great. Even the trees are suffering from the dry and hot weather - ou...

Many thanks. I will just let the plants have their own way up to the roof!

Our greenhouse tomatoes (Gardeners Delight) are setting very well and the plants now have five trusses and one even has a sixth appearing. I believe the usual advice is to have just four trusses per plant but it seems churlish to cut the others off. Am I jeopardising the bottom trusses by leaving th...

Our flowers, especially any yellow ones, are covered in pollen beetles. Having brought a small bunch of sweet peas into the kitchen last night, the windowsill and window was this morning covered in these small beetles. I always thought they were mainly found on oilseed rape flowers but we have none ...

It's probably a bit too late for this year, Paul, but just put "johnboy's method" into the search box of this forum and you will get lots of ideas about germinating parsnip seeds.

Oh no, no, Primrose. I have no idea who filmed it and there no people on it, just allotments and pleasant surroundings.

Thank you for your kind words and suggestions. I don't think I would like a corner of our allotment because it would remind me too much of the 'old days' there! And, yes, Primrose, I remember sending the celeriac seedlings and you reciprocating with some everlasting onions which are still growing on...

To start with the Good: we have been eating and freezing our first peas (Hurst Greenshaft), broad beans (de Monica), courgettes (Zucchini), beetroot (Boltardy), kohlrabi (Olivia - highly recommended!!) and broccoli (Marathon) this weekend, and jolly tasty they were, too. All these were grown in our ...

Old Codger, OH? Haven't heard of him for a long time .......