NB didn't say "ONLY the use of native plants ....." But most of what we do does revolve around promoting the successful growth of vegetables and fruit which are not originally indigenous. For example, I am in the process of harvesting my sweet potatoes. Not too bad this year, but I have to...

Thanks for correcting me, JB. I didn't really mean to imply that ALL F1s were in the same bracket, but I was commenting generally on reasons why certain types of vegetables were grown for their predictability. As one who only grows for enjoyment, I will grow open-pollinated varieties happily, but I ...

oFTEN MY BRASSICAS ARE HARVESTED WITH LOTS OF MINUTE WHITE FLIES, SO WE SOAK THE LEAVES ETC IN SALTED WATER FOR BETWEEN 10 AND 30 MINUTES BEFORE COOKING.

Nor me, Johnboy. But I consider the use of newspaper to be recommended increasingly each year, as what they print is usually sh*t anyway!

I've had my best results yet and I did 2 things differently: [a] I put moire leafmould than usual on the bed in autumn and [b] I used enviromesh all the year round, so I didn't get carrot fly.

I have used fleece successfully for getting a crop of early potatoes extra early. I wish I had done so this year, but I forgot to buy any. I agree that it is easily damaged and I expect a life of only 3 or 4 years. I like your idea, Geoff, and I'll do this with my beans if I remember.

I grew my beans on a bed where I had emtied the contents of my bokashi bin over a 6-month period. I had a good crop. I grew my peas on soil "anured" for the previous crop. Although the peas did do better this year because I had time to water them in dry weather, they never got over 2 feet ...

A [belated] welcome from me too VV and good luck. It sounds to me as if you are in or near country, so a few thoughts occur to me: Gather as many leaves as you can in the autumn and put them into a "bin" which you can construct out of wire netting. My "bin" is about 4 foot square...

Despite all that others have said, I still believe that a letter to your MP, the relevant ministry and the council - and why not the preee as well, will be worth the effort. It may not achieve what you aim for but it will name and shame.

One important point in favour of the old varieties is that they will breed true from saved seed. Otherwise, Natrues Babe has given a fairly concise account of why the new varieties have come to be so predominant - not because they are better but because they are more predictable for the commercial g...

But is the ink in the ballpoint you use to fill in the crossword vegetable based?

That could explain things, JB. I'll certainly dig mine straight in this year, as an experiment, rather than putting it on the heap.

I use newspaper to "earth up" my potatoes and to provide mulch around brassicas etc. Of course, I use quite thick wadges of the stuff and so they take time to get fully soaked and start disintegrating. When i need to clear the bed, e.g. for garlic, I then put the newspaper into the compost...

Dera Elaine, if you have had a frost, then it has almost certainly been the culprit. Don't forget, potatoes are by nature a warm-weather plant. But you may not need to despair if you are growing earlies or replanted earlies for Xmas new potatoes: the foliage will have been executed by the frost, but...

I have also come across people on the allotments who use sweetcorn as a bulk-ading green manure. They just sow it late and dig it in when it has grown into big plants. It is certainly bulky when it goes into the soil, but I don't know how much good it does compared with other green manures such as g...