Hi I'm leaving my broad beans until the pods go black - they are a bit wet at the moment but there will be a few days to dry them before the end of the month. I just put them in a brown envelope and keep them inside in a cool dry place. Last years saved seed produced excelent results - my mother in ...

Hi

Horrible wet, cold and north-wind weather on Saturday - today sunny still and warmer - it's the contrats that make days like this so good.

Hi Stephen

Good one - took second resding to get it. One of those kids was up her last week and made the local paper - and because a lot of them went to school here we know what you mean.

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Here on the Moray Firth in North Scotland the lowest air temp. so far has been plus 2 degrees - bit of ice on car wndscreens but no massive damage to plants.

The best ever year for runner beans with Charlotte spuds a close second. Broad beans, carrots and parsnips also good and the sprouts are coming on very well. Shallots much bettr than last year and sweet corn in the tunnel as reliable as ever. The tagic disaster were the peas - the leading shoots of ...

Hi

We were surprised to see a couple of swallows last weekend in Moray - North Scotland. Think they have been taking the newspaper reports of global warming a bit too seriously.

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I made this once and it was excellent but have lost the recipe. Although I know I can try to make it up from first principles it would be good to get a recipe that works well. It has to be relish not the heavier chutney.

Hope you can help.

Hi Thanks for the replies. Tigger - I would love to get a pasteauriser from Lidl - but they don't seem to get up to our store. I guess that it can be done with a lsrge pan and thermometer? I'd be interesed in your friend's method. Thanks. Alan - yes I agree that there is no need to preserve immediat...

Hi PAV I'm in N.E. Scotland and grow sweetcorn in a polytunnel - outdoor attempts are not usually sucessful up here. I'm just back from checking them - the trusses are brown and the corn is yellow - I reckon a couple of days before they are ready. I think that you have to be patient, hope for warm w...

Hi I bought a reasonably heavy duty juicer earlier in the year (about £100) which has been fine for small quantaties that are used within days. But the apples outside are nearly ready and I plan to produce a lot of juice. What is the best way to preserve apple juice and to prevent it turning brown? ...

Hi I've been busy in the last year and have only been able to dip into the Forum. Delighted to see that JB is still raising important issues and provoking debate. As a pragmatic grower I agree with his intelligent perspective on the SA - but don't quite understand the personal dislike of MD. But the...

Hi I'm not voting because I would prefer to receive the magazine in the middle of the month e.g. the May edition in mid April. I'm not wanting to sit on any fence - but the question should have provided this third option - two fences if you like so that some of us could sit comfortably on the ground...

Hi Josie Don't worry your plants will grow which ever way you put them in - that is their only purpose in life. At this time of the year it really doesn't matter because they will sort themlelves out - which is more than I can say about the old guys picking a fights over your question. I know whose ...

Hi Monika Several years ago I made a wire leafmold bin under a beech tree. Everything seemed fine until I discovered that roots from the tree had grown up and into the heap making it very difficult to use the bottom layers. Since then I have used the same method as Johnboy and it works well given at...

Hi I always keep as many seeds as possible. I have an older house with a small store room on the North side which has a slate floor and slate shelving - originally called the "dairy". It was designed to maintain an even cool temperature before the days of electricity. The seeds are kept in...