For growers of climbing beans, I believe that French climbers are self-fertile but runner beans need to be fertilised. Certainly in the past two poor summers I noticed that in cooler wet weather when there was a lack of bees, I had considerably more flowers on my French climbing beans which fertilis...

One useful thing worth knowing which not all young drivers are made aware of is the national "Pass Plus" scheme which I believe is sponsored by the Driving Standards Agency. It's aimed mainly at young drivers who have just passed their Driving Test but who are very inexperienced, and it gi...

We've got a freebie I don't quite know what to do with. A year ago our local council, in error, delivered us a wheelie bin when we are actually a Black Sack area. It's still stuck in a corner of the front garden. We already have two compost cages and 4 water butts so if anybody can suggest how I can...

Young lives lost are particularly tragic, especially when they have everything to live for, and so much potential still to achieve. It must be so devastating for their parents. The sad reality is that we are seeing more young drivers killed in accidents these days because more young people are now d...

Smurfy - one thing that surprised me about the compost in the potato bags was how quickly it warmed up if located in a sunny spot, so assuming that the potatoes are all harvested well before the end of summer, I might try experimenting with re-energising the compost with some shredded newspaper, gra...

Yes I too watched this programme with dismay. Whilst I was aware that dairy farmers often brought their cows under cover in winter I had no idea that some milking cows spent the whole of their lives living in these conditions. I think many people will have been shocked and surprised by this. What al...

Once advantage of growing a single seed variety would presumably be less work involved in thinning out, but ulless the varieties have a good flavour and are not prone to bolting it may not be worth paying the extra price.

Poor little hamsters. Any creature which managed to survive that ordeal deserves a second chance. Don't think I would have the heart to dispose of them after that either.

Yes, I generally feel pretty bad about killing any insects, apart from wasps and bluebottles. I've even been known to stoop down when walking on pavements to rescue worms to prevent them being trodden on. We finished the Spring Clean on our garage today and Mother Mouse is still there. She has pinch...

I don't know what kind of comments, or the volume of them which the BBC are receiving about the current series, but I would hazard a guess that the disapproval level by now must be enough to ensure that the next series contains either different presenters or a a new producer. This one just isn't cut...

This morning we started a long overdue clear-out of our garage, having earlier discovered a mouse had been nibbling through the bag of peanut stored there for feeding the birds. We came across a mouse's nest in carefully shredded up newspaper with six perfect little babies who had just opened their ...

I did wonder about that myself but strangely, the tomato plants which I've been able to leave overnight in my mini plastic greenhouse up against the house wall don't seem to have been affected in the same way. Whether heat absorbed by the brickwork during daytime has meant that temperatures in here ...

Well, it would have needed more than a whole bottle of wine to wipe away the taste of some of the nonsense from the Malvern Show on tonight's programme. Can anybody tell me what part "fashion" has to play in such an event? The mere sight of watching the Show's presenters ponce around on a ...

I was reading the article by Katherine Crouch in the May edition of KG and saw the photo of Red Orach which I have never come across before. Has anybody grown this? The comment was that it was good for use in salads or as a substitute for spinach. I love the idea of having red leaves in salad but be...

Having experimented with growing seedlings both in nursery rows and in modules, now that I have a mini plastic greenhouse to give them a kick start, I have to agree with Johnboy that starting seedlings off indoors does produce much healthier plants, and more of them. Last year I sowed my kohl rabi i...