Hi Geoff,

Well, what a cheerful bloke Dr Bostrom must be to live with! I'm going to retreat into the garden and stack logs now....

MW

Hi Alan, Many thanks for the link, it certainly brings the uses of modification into focus. As long as research on effects is done and it reduces the use of pesticides which are, in my opinion, more harmful to the wider environment I don't see a problem with it. I can't see anyone objecting to 'wild...

That figures Monika, I reported them flying over the Isle of Wight about a week ago, just got to Yorkshire!

Hi Johnboy,

It's a fascinating subject and has great potential if used in the right way, I'm just a cynical old thing when it comes to large corporations!

I wish I had more to time to read up about it so any pointers to sites with information would be well received.

MW

HI CJS Don't cut them off!! That is how raspberries grow, unlike blackcurrants or redcurrants they don't form a bush but fruit on the new growth that appears from below ground every year. You should cut away the growth that has fruited at the end of the year. I don't know the variety you have but if...

Geoff Hamilton was my favourite too. He was a trained gardener who knew what he was doing. MD is a jeweller turned presenter who objected to a grower living near him putting up tunnels for his strawberries after he'd moved to the area, put me right off him. Haven't watched GW for years as it became ...

Hi Johnboy, Point taken, so I spent some time this evening trawling the internet to 'bring myself up to date'. I decided to do a bit of research on varieties of GM soybean. I found a list of 15 which are currently seeking change/approval; 9 are Monsanto; 2 Bayer; 3 Pioneer and 1 BASF. 1 was for inse...

Seeing more swallows flying over down here on the island so should be with you up country any time soon.

MW

I would feel happier if they modified a cereal crop to withstand drought or be resistant to disease but unfortunately they seem to concentrate on modifying crops that will withstand being sprayed with their products. It's a great shame that advances in technology are being wasted in this way. No are...

Limiting couples to one child in China led to many baby girls being abandoned. It might help if all countries spent money on food production and education rather than huge weapons programs, but that's just me being an idealist.

Absolutely Shallotman!! Seeing a now ex-sister-in-law drain a pan of potatoes, look at it and tip 3 or 4 straight in the bin horrified me. My face must have been a picture as she said 'There were too many, they only go to waste anyway.' I was taught to use everything by my mother and grandmothers, I...

During the last Foot and Mouth crisis my other half wrote to our MP about the lack of controls on food imports and how we both felt that Britain was losing control of being able to feed its people. The letter was passed on to whichever dept was in control of food at the time and we had a communicati...

I do like the description of a 'lumpy' wind, good word!

I've got my towels pegged very tight to the line this morning as there's a 30mph wind blowing in off the channel. Very fresh! But I agree that all of a sudden things are greening up.

MW

My other half walked the dogs on Sunday morning and saw a swallow...just the one. Has anyone else noticed the lack of cuckoos over the past couple of years?

MW

Hi Beryl, Camellia roots should be fairly fine with no big tap roots to worry foundations, could block a drain if it's above one and the pipe has a crack so they can find their way in. 24" is a bit close and it'll probably lean forward. That said, they don't grow very fast so I can't envisage y...