I've just had a look in my Girls Own Book of Nasties and the only thing I can find with that reddish stripe on it's bum (sorry!) is a solitary wasp called Cryptocheilus affinis which provisions it's solitary nest with insects or spiders for it's hatching young by paralysing it's prey with a sting......

I've grown Spanish Globe available from the hdra seed library against the outside wall of the greenhouse and they are lovely, fleshy middles with a smooth flavour with a hint of sharpness.They have 4 or 5 to the truss and and first looked like they would have greenback but it disappears totally when...

ummm.....what's 'working class terratorialism' then? ....and which 'middle class plonker'thought it up?

I was told Hemp seeds were also good...has anybody any clue as to what you do with them?

Presumeably it's the harder growing conditions,Brenjon,but I think that this year has been particularly noticeable with the heat.I agree that the flavour is mostly better on the outdoor ones but we're so keen to get the early toms in the greenhouse! Perhaps we come at this from the wrong end and wou...

We've got a new service down here,if it's non-emergency police for just your sort of problem you ring 101 to report it... if anyone comes I don't know!

I've grown them for the first time this year too,I look forward to digging the first spuds but Javelin was so poor,the quantity was lousy and the taste mediocre.I left the other row and moved on to my Charlottes which are much better.I will dig them up but it just reminds me what a waste of space th...

Thanks Clive,if they were where I think they were then I should imagine that their hair stood on end!

If they are enormous and pale then they have gone over the hill and will be full of seeds and taste horrid.They wont get any better, you would do well to remove them to the compost heap and feed your plant up in the hope of it carrying on fruiting afresh.Pick them when they look a bit smaller than i...

Clive,I didn't know that website existed,I've been having a look but I can't get it to replay anything,how did you do it? Mind you it could explain why there was a procession of cars going up the hill to the far end of the local cemetary (called Mount Joy,would you believe!)where they would have had...

Yes,you can eat them small,Compo,or better still next year grow a small fruited one like 'Rocky' which crops incredibly well with lots of 3"long cues (no,they're not gerkins!)just right for children's lunch boxes etc. If the colour is going a bit yellowy then the cue has been on the plant too l...

I was peeling some of my newly dried shallots ready for pickling when I noticed some frass on the top of the bulb,further investigation revealed a little grey/green caterpillar that looks remarkably like the leek moth one. Has anyone else encountered this or do you think it might be something else?

If it's been grass and weeds you may want to leave it turned up rough for the winter to give the birds a chance to clear out things like wireworm otherwise they'll be into your potatoes next year.It's always worse after it's been grass.

Oh dear,the web site committed the unpardonable crime of calling soil 'dirt'. One of the first things I was told in the growing game was that soil was what you grew in,dirt was what you got round your shirt collar! The squashes sound interesting though,I've never tried the spagetti ones,perhaps next...

Last night I stood by the landing window between 9pm and 10.30pm and watched the most fantastic display of lightening I've seen for a long time,only about 5mins of rain though......