I do have available lots of manure I can use to prepare the soil prior to planting. I am concerned however about that amount of liquid a transplanted bush needs. My wife showed me an Amateur Gardening article, which suggests transplanted plants needs lots of liquid to help get them established 'rapi...

NS would be the most natural direction based on where my plot is situated. From what I can make out, the whole area is a fantastic sun trap and is particularly sheltered from strong wind. A PS to this posting is therefore: Have any of you been able to blag old sleepers off of Network Rail? These thi...

But I assume you water them in? So why not some comfrey tea to help them over the trauma?

I am about to started implementing a series of raised beds on my new plot. Should I align them east-west or north-south? Your reasoning would be most appreciated.

I don't think it is anything supernatural. I suspect I may have chanced upon a micro-climate brought about by a lack of the freeflow of air around a certain area. The more open an area, the more positive I feel about it! Dying and decaying wood (which is a particular feature of the part of the new p...

Do you feel differently about different parts of your vegetable garden? At my old allotment, there was an area of gooseberry bushes and an old, spreading cherry tree where the atmosphere felt 'different'in the sense that I instantly didn't like that part of the plot. At my new allotment, I am carvin...

Just for a laugh, I think I shall plant some Japanese knotwood on one or two of the surrounding plots, then lean over the fence and say: "Your's is definintely a lot worse than mine is!" Do you think they will appreciate the irony? Of course, I will deny it was me that planted it....

Apparently, in Kent, these are protected species, so allotments cannot, in theory, be sold off or redeveloped if these creatures are known to live there. I know we have the first two, while a very old ex-plot holder actually left because of the presence of the third, so we are all right. (Famous las...

OK, so I am nearly in a position whereby I will soon be wanting to move a great many established plants across to my new allotment. Question: now that frosts are beginning to hit, does this mean that the plants will all become dormant? I'm going to try and move a tayberry that has been in position f...

I don't often get depressed when agitating my vegetable patch, but today I did. I was clearing some ground on which to site a compost bin to house my burgeoning collection of leaves. This involves turning over the ground and, with each flipped over sod, having to get down and pull out twitch (couch)...

Allan, I went to my garden centre once and asked them where they kept the leaf mould. Of course, you can't buy it commercially. Afterall, who would try to sell what already grows on trees!! Regards Barry PS. Really missed out today, the Council had got to my favourite trees before I did and cleared ...

The reason I mentioned this is when I took over my original allotment at another site, I remember being told exactly the same thing by all the old lags. While my allotment might look a challenge, theirs had been well nigh impossible to clear!

I recently took over a new allotment. Over half the area was covered by brambles -a real jungle, with junk beneath. It would be quite a challenge for anybody, but I am enjoying bringing an old, abandoned plot back to life. However, why is it that whenever any of the other plot holders comes over for...

I had thought we were going to be blight free this year, given the hot conditions during most of the summer. However, NW Kent really got it in the neck during September, when several blocks of rain caused massive outbreaks of blight. The previous year, blight conditions had appeared throughout the s...

I spent a good lunch time today. I drove my car to beneath three massive trees, got out some green, drawstring plastic bags and filled them full of leaves. I shall be back tomorrow and the day after that until the Council finally despatch a truck and clean them all away. It's a race against time! I'...