Yes, Happymouse. Peas, because being in full time work I cannot give them the attention they need daily, so now that I have finished the packet I will leave them alone until I retire in 3 years time. Also swedes and Kohl Rabi, which both need almost constant watering. I sow them in toilet-roll inner...

Hello all, I must say, I have not had great success with dwarf beans, which I get from the Organic Gardening Catalogue. The first year very few appeared; then in 2004 beans sown from the same year-old packet germinated beautifully and produced a heavy crop. In 2005 I tried another variety, which ger...

Hi Juliet, it seems to me that you are in line for a lovely crop of Christmas new potatoes. My reading leads me to suggest covering the earthed-up plants with straw as the frosts approach, but I suspect they will be ready by the beginning of December, before such frost becomnes serious. Good luck mike

Hi Vicki. Sorry, it is almost a month since you posted. Round about now I am sowing the first rows of winter lettuces, "WinterDensity", "Rouge d Hiver" [sorry, for some reason this font will not allow me to print apostrophes] and Lambs Lettuce and Winter Purslane. The radish &quo...

I learned about Green Manures from the HDRA [now "Garden Organic". The general idea is to sow a green manure of the same family as the previous crop but different from what is to follow. So after brassicas I sow mustard if I'm going to put spuds there next year. As well as feeding the soil...

Do you guys water more in the greenhouse than outside it? It may be that more watering than necessary dilutes the flavour. Greenhouse plants simply have to be watered because of the intense heat generated inside, whereas outdoor plants can tolerate fairly hot conditions on not too frequent watering....

The Italians with allotments near mine in Bedford grow San Marzano and pinch out the side shoots. They also tell me that plum tomatoes need more water than others, because they have a tendency to go brown at the ends of the fruit if kept too dry. This year I'm growing a variety from the Organic Cata...

I've had some degree of success with caulis [All the Year Round] on a Bedford allotment which the Italians have found unsuitable for growing them. I sow them in June in pots or modules and plant out in July/August. I keep the plants well mulched after the first drink, with shredded paper or leaf-mou...

Hi all,

I thought those potatoes were called "keepers". I must confess that I also leave mine to grow, but whatever variety they were I treat them as earlies and dig up all keepers or volunteers round about now, before the overwintered pests and diseases can really take hold.

mike

Hi Deb, Don't worry about your Solent wight, as it's not due to be harvested till July. The Early Purple comes ready in May, Albigensian and Iberian in June. So my Iberian leaves look pretty rusty now, but the Solent Wight, Elephant garlic and Printanor [from cloves saved from a previous order from ...