You could always join the NUT and strike with your fellow teacher.

Um, I hate to be a pedant, but eggs do not come out of a chicken's bum! They don't poo eggs!!

Think about what you both like to eat. Most veg are easy to grow in raised beds, but obviously it isn't worth filling them up with stuff like onions or maincrop potatoes which will occupy your beds for most of the growing season and are cheap to buy. Think about veg that are expensive in the shops. ...

yes, you're right, Johnboy. I slosh water all over the place! If I know I'm not going to get to the plot for a day or two it always seems to be the best solution. This year I will try to water more directly and when needed, and maybe ask for some root trainers for my birthday!

I have one and I do use it. The little pots rot down very quickly, but this also means they disintegrate beforehand too. They also take some time to make if you're after lots - a good thing to do in front of the TV!

Thanks, Richard. I'll be down to do it tomorrow then!

I have a four year old hazel on the allotment. I would like to coppice this to give me hazel poles. When do I do this and how low do I cut the branches?

I've also been troubled with this pest, so this year I am building an enviromesh frame to sit over my crop. Some say you can cut down the foliage and your leeks will regrow pest free. I have never tried this so cannot say how effective it is. Oh, and don't forget to rotate your crop!

No help to a rusty wheel owner, but if you have a punctured wheel try taking it to a car tyre place (not the likes of Kwik Fit). We did this with ours and they patched it up and reinflated it for nothing! Sadly it subsequently got burnt by vandals.

My beds are 1.2 x 2.4m in the centre of my plots and much longer around the perimeter of the plots. I put two rows of spuds in them at about the recommended spacing. I usually push sticks and string around the perimeter of the beds to stop the worst of the flopping. For earthing up we are lucky that...

You will get better results if you plant the bigger cloves and eat the smaller ones. The resulting bulbs will be bigger

I'm not sure that some crops are obviously grown in drills, its all a matter of personal preference. I grow all crops in beds, including spuds and roots. If you do want to grow in rows, they are best running north-south. That way everything gets an equal burst of sunshine

I agree with Colin. They're much handier frozen than dried. However, if you do want to dry them and whizz them up for chilli powder it is easily done. I use my blender and put the whole dried chillies in (minus the green stalky bit). Put a damp cloth over the hole at the top of your blender though, ...

I think they can also be blind because they're not planted deeply enough

I rediscovered my aged garlic crusher two years after 'misplacing' it. Sadly it was beyond restoration, which is a shame as the replacement one is rubbish.