I would like to know what is eating my kale leaves, mostly on the young plants. It isn't slugs or caterpillars or anything I can see. Rabbits, or perhaps pigeons. Maybe deer. But if you've netting over them, that rather discounts all of these. That's quite an engineering project you've got going on...

One bit of information I couldn't find was what do you do about the dry foliage ? I left it on so-far, the few I used I cut the foliage off at the bulb but it seemed all-wrong. When you buy professionally grown onions they seem to have dried and fallen off at the bulb so do I leave the dried foliag...

In the news this morning is the topic of eating more meat than is good for the planet again. Do we? Most of the studies into agricultural consumption seem to focus on beef production, which has become a resource-intensive operation as commercial pressures stack up. Sheep and goats, meanwhile, can b...

Hello Peter and Felix. Yes I'm ticking the box...each time I login but it hasn't made any difference Maybe you have cookies turned off. Or rather, cookies are turned off by default on your new computer's browser installation. You can check for this in your browser's preferences and turn them on the...

Cucumber and mint soup was how my mum would use up overgrown cucumbers. I don't know her exact recipe, but here's one that seems close to it. We would always eat it hot, though. Very nice.

My automatic login thingy has stopped working. Do you think it is due to my using a new laptop? Yes. Automatic login is dependent on your browser holding a cookie, which is a snippet of code which a remote server can read in order to authenticate you. Unless you've migrated over your old settings t...

Clover.

I see pruning blackberries as a winter job, when the briars are quite dormant and most of the leaves have fallen. It's clear then also what you've got to work with so that it's obvious what's already fruited and is spent, and so should be removed, and the new canes are as long as they are going to b...

Brussels sprouts are really nasty. I absolutely love all my other greens, though. For years I ate Brussels sprouts out of a sense of duty or something, but I've decided that enough's enough and they are politely eschewed. And yes, I know about cooking times, and shredding them with bacon, and all th...

Green Grape is the best I've ever eaten. It's just as well the flavour's good because it's not an easy variety to grow, it's sprawling and does not crop heavily, is susceptible to blight. The fruits are, of course, green but don't let that put you off. Tibet-Appel, a Dutch variety, comes close secon...

A colleague of mine conducted independent trials back when Roundup was first released, one involving bindweed and another controlling mare's tail. It was most effective applied in mid to late September in both cases. At this time, the foliage is still quite green and, if it has been allowed to grow ...

If you're aiming to try the pip method, you've rather missed the boat for this season. The flowers need to be cut off as they are developing, but by now they are already ripening. I have some leek seed heads drying off at the moment, and they're nearly ready. When a few seeds are starting to be disp...

I was younger people often tried to grow avocado trees from their stones but I doubt whether anybody ever succeeded in getting a tree to survive or crop because they need much a warmer climate than ours. If you've ever visited Nymans in West Sussex, there's one growing outside there. It's quite siz...

You made no comment re the effectiveness of old stock Roundup nor whether bindweed would be weakened or slowly eradicated with their heads being continually lopped off. Do you have an opinion on either please? M If old stock Roundup is what you have been using so far, and since it has been effectiv...

I'm pleased to hear that you're moving away from raising everything in pots and modules, Richard. When I first started out, I was apt to do this, too — I think it is a common misdirection for many beginners — but I raise only a few things this way these days. My particular favourite gardening book i...