Just when we are having a heatwave - been up to +3.0 today but falling again. Snow not far away in Windermere.

We used to have ours emptied by farmers but that is now definitely illegal and if caught the farmers can lose subsidies / farm payments so the ones round here won't do it any longer. I think I would carry on reporting but six months out of sync if it happens. Blame the state of the health service, h...

There are things called the General Binding Rules that are an absolute nightmare to follow, the way they are applied varies according to how long your tank has been installed. Whether you have to make your system compliant is also vague but what seems to be definite is that you either have to be com...

Don't think I'll be cutting grass for a while. I'm having a modification to my septic tank system done to make it compliant with the latest legislation. Been an absolute nightmare with all the rain and the stuff the digger has been unearthing, highlight probably the blades off a hay mowing machine. ...

Premier Seeds Direct looks like the best of this weekend's seed deals. Black Friday sale! Enjoy a 10% discount on all our vegetable seeds, with over 700 varieties to choose from. This offer is running until the end of the month. Don't miss out on the chance to stock up on high-quality seeds for your...

There are two depths, I only use the deeper ones. I use them for peas (2 per cell), broad beans, runner beans, sweetcorn, sweet peas and gourds every year. This year I experimented with leeks. Instead of sowing them in a pot then lining them out to grow on before putting them in their final place I ...

Lovely Autumn morning after a bit of a ground frost. I hope the leaves last a bit longer, our valley has been beautiful this year.

We grow them every year outside for salsa and pickle. We used to grow mixed ones and always thought the green ones did better so the packet we have used for the last few years is green only.

All we forage for are blackberries and sloes. With you on fungi TB, never touch them wild or cultivated.

I've been using homemade John Innes type formulations for a few years simply using leafmould in place of peat. My commonest potting mix is 5 parts soil, 2 parts leafmould and 1 part sharp sand. I add base fertiliser and sometimes lime and/or extra potash or phosphate depending on what I am using it ...

Usually they are nearly all well used apart from the remaining two letter box ones, I've never had much success with those and am gradually putting standard fronts on them, but this year there were quite a few that looked like they had little or no use. There seem to have been plenty of young tits a...

Well that's my annual room service and repair of my 28 bird boxes completed. Well 27 really, as I started on one a mouse popped its head up in the hole so I took pity and left it in peace. Made a change from all the slugs, why do they climb up into the boxes?

I don't think rhubarb needs full sun. Mine is against a fence on my Western boundary so it does get quite a lot though one end of the bed is shaded by the polytunnel, it grows well. What it really wants is a heavy very rich soil so putting it in to replace a shrub will take quite a bit of work. Dig ...

Why when you strip out heavily blighted tomatoes are the side shoots lush green and full of flowers?

Well that's my hands wrecked - just picked over 4lbs of sloes.