Dear All, It says in the KG mag that nets are no use for keeping the caterpillars off your brassicas. This is not true. If you get hold of nets with a mesh size of about 1cm square the butterflies cannot get through it to get at the plants so no caterpillars. The leaves of the plants must not touch ...

Dear All, a couple of years ago I was having shallots stolen, not many at a time (just enough for a salad I thought) so I put a label in the end of the row the day after some had been stolen with the words reminder sprayed with zzzzz fungicide don't eat for 14 days from and the date two days previou...

Dear All, I harvest my softnecks when the stem feels flat between finger and thumb, if it won't deform from round then leave for another week. For the hardnecks generally when the first six leraves from the ground up are yellow. If they have rust try to keep them away from your next crop of leeks as...

Dear Taralistair,
the flowers need to be removed with a sharp knife just below the bud. If you cut off the flower too low it will leave the hollow stem vunerable to filling up with water and rotting the bulb.
Regards Sally Wright.

Dear Old herbaceous, yes you can eat yew berries but you must spit out the seed as that IS as poisonous as the rest of the tree. For those who are not brave enough to try, the flavour is sweet and they are somewhat slimy. Fine for a sample but not something to eat in quantity I think. Regards Sally ...

Dear Fletch, where I work in Cambridge we have an olive growing outside in the ground. It is at least 15 feet tall and has produced some olives but they were very small (could have been the variety). However it is in a sheltered courtyard and has heated buildings behind it and it is in a southfacing...

Dear Kevin,
pepper or Piper nigra (um) (can't remember which ending) is a tropical climber and will grow in this country if you are prepared to keep your greenhouse heated to 18 centigrade over winter.
They have some in most botanical gardens if you wish to go and see.
Regards Sally Wright.

Dear Beccy,
I think they might be used in recipies where cranberries are called for; fresh or dried. Food for thought...
Regards Sally Wright.

Dear Losos,
I would imagine that the fruit are made into jam, conserves, syrups or cordials. Anything really that contain lots of sugar to make them palatable.
Regards Sally Wright.

Dear Losos, seed is the only way to reproduce sea buckthorn. Some points to remember, don't try and eat the berries raw. They are sour and astringent; with the combination of the two sensations your tastebuds may never be the same again. The other point is that the bushes come in male and female. So...

Dear David,
dahlia cuttings root poorly if the cutting base is hollow. Don't know why but I find it's so.
Regards Sally Wright.

Dear Beryl,
try not to sow them too deep. At least part of the seed should be visible. It seems that they need light to germinate.
Regards Sally Wright.

Dear Poppyseed,
the well informed youngsters in horticulture are usually college graduates and try not to be employed by the kind of emporium that places more emphasis on barbecues and Christmas decs than they do on plants.
Regards Sally Wright. HND hort.

Dear Jane,
I sow these about three weeks earlier than the other kinds I grow, ditto butternuts and turks turbans. All three kinds are slower to germinate and get going than normal.
Regards Sally Wright.

Dear Franksmum,
black forest I think.
regards Sally Wright.