Thank you for all your good wishes for my grandson. Yes. he says the walking is doing him good, not only physically to get as fit as possible before the op but it is clearing his head and helping him to face whatever may come. He is an experienced walker (he used to teach climbing and river kayaking...

All the best, OH! I am sure we shall all be thinking of you and hoping you will soon be back to your usual cheeky self!

Cold but beautifully sunny here today. And the amazing thing is that, although it is so bright, the moon is clearly visible at this very moment (15.30) in the blue sky. Our grandson with cancer walked up Pendle Hill today, the fifth hill he has achieved in his aim to go walking as much as possible u...

You do realise, Colin, don't you that why potatoes are said to 'clear the ground' is that YOU will be doing the planting, continuous earthing up and then digging to harvest them, so that the ground is nicely turned over for the next crop! But I agree, it does work and we have done it ourselves in th...

Good for you, Stephen! The "attractive Italian young woman" will remember you for the rest of her life and she and partner will no doubt become useful allotment neighbours of yours.

Our entire greenhouse floor is covered with limestone chippings over compacted soil. Any watering drips can soak away and during the hot days of summer I water the whole lots so that the evaporation keeps the greenhouse atmosphere damp. When the chippings get too impacted or any weeds show up, I jus...

Growing our own food during and especially just after the war saved our family's lives, it's a s simple as that. Luckily, my father had always gardened, first with my grandfather on an allotment in the 1930s, then in our own garden and I remember being given a small plot in the very hot summer of 19...

Quite frankly, I am holding my horses in view of the weather forecasts for the next four weeks or so. The dead grasses and flowers in the wild garden need cutting back - but where will the field mice and voles hide when it snows and where will the birds find their seedy food? The rose hedge, hawthor...

Have 100 spuds on order from one shop & going to order same amount from another shop

Are you opening a fish and chip shop, Colin? Or a crisp factory?

Thank you for your answers, OH. You are so right about being able to improve heavy soil. When we moved into our current home almost 40 years ago, it was newly built with the usual builders' garden all around it, heavy and compacted, just covered with a thin layer of 'topsoil'. Since then, we have ap...

All looks good, OH! And what lovely friable soil!
Two quick questions: (1) are the white bits flint? chalk? (2) are the monocots in the third photo small leeks or big garlic?
(Thanks for the new thread, OH)

Time for Midwinter Bits and Bobs, OH?

Happy Birthday, Diane! I hope you had a great day and haven't been spirited away because we need your excellent input to the Forum!

Depends. If the original soil is heavy, I would leave it uncovered for the frost (which is no doubt still to come) to break it up. If the soil is already crumbly and dark, I would cover it with a TRANSPARENT cover like plastic so that any weed seeds on the surface germinate and you can hoe them off ...

I used to have a propagator and always sat the seed trays and pots on a layer of damp sand. The reason I no longer use it is that it brought the seedlings on very quickly (see Primrose's comments above!) and there was not enough light for them to grow sturdily in January/February. Now I wait until i...