Thanks John. Have just popped out to follow your advice. But when I slotted the seed packet back into my seed box I noticed that it was dated 2001, so it will be interesting to see if they actually germinate. When you only need a few plants it seems rather a waste to buy a packet of seeds. I know th...

She's still here! And yes, I am getting rather attached to her although I suspect she comes from a very aristocratic environment. Won't touch our next door neighbour's white sliced bread, but is very partial to a crumbled slice of Vogel wholgrain loaf!

Well, I wouldn't pay money for anything which came out of a cat's bum, but do eat what comes out of a hen's bum ! (Alan got there first!)

Yes, I once bought one of those solar fountains too, try an oxygenate my mini pond. It only lasted a few weeks before it gave up the ghost.

I've had about 70% germination with White Gem from last year's seed using the wet tissue method. I probably would have had more but went away for 4 days over Easter & my second batch of seeds germinated this way dried out in the loo rolls. However, I soaked them thoroughly on my return and belie...

Never grown them before and just want a few. Will they survive being transplanted into the ground after being sown in modules or will transplanting mean the roots don't swell & develop properly?

Now I've seen the ultimate in idiotic kitchen gadgetry - a strawberry slicer for £3.99 in the latest Lakeland catalogue. Who buys these things? Reminds me of the vegetable chopper I bought at a Ideal Home Exhibition 30 years ago which looked wonderful when being expertly demonstrated, but which rott...

Sounds an interesting alternative option Lurganspade. I'm trying to visualise exactly "how you hold it in place with heavy chord at the correct distance". Can't quite figure out what you do. Could you explain to a "thickie" like me in a little more detail please? Thanks.

As I was the person who originally mentioned these types of hoops and cloches and made contact with this company, I can say that I've used them for about 30 years now and find them very easy to store when not in use. I've still got the original hoops and sheets too. They're looking well-used but hav...

Trying to decide whether it's worth dragging my automatic irrigation system out of the garage where it's been stored during winter and setting it up again.Maybe I should just let the rainclouds do their work. It's such a performance unblocking all the little water nozzles every spring which have got...

I have used home made compost for sowing seedlings in the past but found it generated a lot of weeds which is the last thing you want. Obviously my compost heap hadn't heated up enough to kill them all off.

Oh dear, I'm such a mug. She's back again looking all expectant and I've just been out and thrown her a handful of dry oats which she's gobbling up greedily. I'll no doubt be back here posting in due course whinging that she's gobbled all my lettuces.

It doesn't worry me except that I do feel a little guilty about my occasional extra hour in bed when I see some enthusiast is busy at their computer at some ungodly hour like 5 a.m. when it's actually 6 a.m. Right now I'm enjoying my car clock showing the right time which it will until October when ...

Plumpudding - I can only comment on the meanderings of our visiting duck in our vegetable patch. Most of it is still unsown at the moment because of the cold weather, but she has meandered all over it with her size 10 webbed feet and pecked at our remaining row of Swiss Chard, so I can only hazard a...

Thick snow here too. Boy, am I glad that I covered those lettuce seedlings up with cloches! Can't remember when I last saw snow here in April.