Lovely to see your update and I too will be intrigued to discover how you get on with your cheap fruit bushes. Enjoy seeing your photos. I do like being nosey about other peoples' vegetable plots. They always seem to look much more inspiring than my tiny garden patch.

Colin - not a bad idea ! Probably this is a good way of sterilising the soil too. I once read that the best way of sterilising kitchen "wiping cloths" was to bung them in the microwave for a quick blast, so I don't see why it wouldn't work with soil. Am just wondering whether a 10 second b...

Thanks everybody. I'll hold off for a few days. Johnboy, I've always been a little puzzled by the practice of "potting on" and wonder what difference it makes to very small seedlings in terms of their growth? I sow peppers, aubergines, chillis and tomatoes in 3" pots, (two to a pot) a...

I was planning to sow my peppers and aubergines today (to germinate on a lounge windowsill to get an early start) but the sowing compost, stored in a semi-exposed potting shed area is very cold. I was wondering how much cold compost delays the gemination process and whether it would be better to lea...

My two clumps of sorrell have certainly survived the winter well and there still seem to be lots of fresh looking leaves in them. Had some in soup last week, and they also blended well in a Chinese stir fry on Friday.

After reading this I think I'll try the non-blanching method with part of my next crop - it will certainly save time. I was under the impression that the blanching process was to kill/neutralise any enzymes or other deleterious matter which may have been on the skin in its natural state (i.e. insect...

When I have surplus runner or French beans to freeze I chop them into two or three inch chunks and after blancing, dry them on a clean tea towel and "open freeze" them on a tray in the freezer until they're hard. I then bag them up into convenient size bags. It takes a little longer than b...

This solution probably won't be appropriate for a large area of garden covered with stone chippings but last Spring we had a pebble fountain with a large number of big pebbles. The stones, which were mostly a beige shade had become very dirty and covered with geen and black algae. I removed them, so...

Oh, he's so beautiful. I'm told that African Greys are really friendly pets. Have you taught him any naughty words yet?

No allotment, and no proper garden shed either as I didn't want to sacrifice growing space for a shed. Have compromised by having a "potting shed" area running along the length of our house sandwiched between the house wall and the adjoining 6 foot fence, It's about four feet wide, with a ...

I'd be tempted to try and grow the things that are most expensive in the shops. Tomatoes will grow in growbacks or large containers and three or four climbing runner beans or French beans in a large tub will provide a good yield. Cut & come again salad leaves will allow you pick just enough for ...

Just posted in the Animal section that I came across my first frog this morning too. It wasn't croaking though but if a few more mates arrive, I'll look forward to the concert.

I know it's silly to be so excited, but the first frog of Spring has just appeared in my mini pond today. I was worried that our neighbour installing new ground-tight fencing would stop them migrating from other gardens into ours as we don't have many suitable over-wintering hibernating places so in...

Hello John, Yes, I did contact them and they seemed very helpful in enquiring about what my specific needs were as they thought they might be able to help me. However, I didn't need to follow up as I subsequently had a clear-out of my potting shed area and found several more old sets of the wire hoo...

Mike - glad to know the cardboard worked well. We've just had a number of items delivered in cardboard boxes, so I currently seem to have a good supply of it. Unfortunately I suspect I might be a little too late in the season to make use of it now unless I could put it at the base of my climbing bea...