Hi all, I was just wondering having spent a lot of time this weekend up the lottie and noticed the absence of buzzing whether anyone has had any broad beans set yet. I guess they need the bees due to the shape of the flowers, all the currants and gooseberries are fine but the beans are a bit of a wo...

Hi, Pigeons are the least of my worries as we now have bunnies on the allotment! So in netting everything, even potatoes they had a go at, the pigeons cannot reach anything but I have learnt to use hoops to stop the overweight birds sitting on the netting. Just waiting for the badgers , maybe they w...

Hi Primrose, Am a bit like you with regard to fertilisers and tend to stick to chicken manure pellets and comfrey tea (Tomorite) and seaweed as a general pick me up. I do have various partly used samples of Vitax etc which I will eventually get round to using but once you have to start measuring out...

Mine don't look too happy either I tried to harden them off inside by night and out by day but the cold wind made then very unhappy so back indoors. I usually reckon that by potting on they get enough feed until they are in final positions when I start to feed. I usually give a seaweed spray if nece...

Hi All, OK we all have fears now about contamination and quite rightly. But those of us with dogs are responsible in the main and worming is a simple way of keeping these parasites under control. My plot is plagued by rabbits and neighbours cats so I adopt a careful attitude with salads. I grow them...

Hi, I tried all methods last year and not a parsnip. So this year I sowed in the ground a couple of weeks ago having put a mixture of compost and sand in the trench and two rows up...... Having said that I was at a talk by the Chairman of the NVS Barry Newman the other week and his method was to sta...

Hello All,
I grew Romanesco last year and found it much easier than cauliflowers and just as good in cooking. I spaced the same as for Brussels but on our clay loam can get away with closer spacing than the text books, I.e 18 - 24 inches.

Hilary

Hi Monika, I now always start my first peas off in gutters as per Geoff Hamilton and then once they are in sow the next row. My allotment is exposed and clay loam so I prefer to start the season off sheltered and protected at home. We have rabbits, badgers and pigeons and of course slugs. At least I...

Hi,
I seem to recall that they like high humidity? You can buy plants from the Eden Project so may be worth dropping them an e-mail and seeing if they can advise. There are two types of coffee bean and it may helpful to know which you are growing.

Good luck

Hilary

Plumpudding,
Having apples when most folks this year were struggling round here to get a decent crop and then finding them not keeping is really annoying. Haven't checked my few - but if they start to deteriorate I will most probably double cook a batch and freeze half.
Hilary

Hi Primrose, It has been a funny year with seeds - some tomato Ferline took three weeks to germinate and I was about to give up hope. Like wise the new potatoes have been slow to come up - considering you can plant parsnips early on in the year I would give them a bit more time and if no show then r...

Thanks everyone - looks like a more relaxed attitude towards parnsips is required! I am trying direct sowing and the pre chitting method with loo rolls and see which ones come up best. I suspect the weather determines the results more than anything I will do!

Hilary

Thanks Fred - if I cannot find more info on the boards I will go back to the chitting on kitchen paper but use the rolls as you suggest. I think the idea of the boards is that they keep the seed cool and damp and allow for a more uniform germination.
hilary

Hi, Does anyone have any details of how to sow parnips using a board to cover them. All the details I can find are very sketchy and I was just wondering how wide/thick should the board be. Presumably you take it off at first signs of germination. I have until now used kitchen towels to germinate the...

HI OH,
Thanks - no slug damage so far but will keep on checking. I will go and cut the tops off since I doubt if the tubers will grow much more.
Hilary