I don't usually bother to overwinter chillies as I am too mean to spend the money on heating and find that even in a mild winter without it they will rot. However all but the annual varieties will generally overwinter successfully to give you earlier fruit. Check out Rob Smith's feature on heritage ...

I think you are right Pa Snip in that lots of newcomers to allotment gardening don't quite understand the purpose(s) of a raised bed. In your picture I suppose you could say that the only real purpose is to make the place look neater and maybe help with planning (I always find raised beds easier to ...

Glad you like it Fred! Making use of our home-grown talent!

Thanks Westi - I'll take your thoughts on board. Maybe I'll strip the captain of his outfit and put him in a nice winter stew!

Hi Westi. In answer to your question we are here! Sorry, we do tend to get a bit embroiled with putting the magazine together (thanks for all your nice comments about it by the way). We will endeavour to visit more often although certainly as far as this section goes 'Ask The Experts' you haven't ap...

Thanks chaps - I'll give your suggestions a try. Has to be worth it as I'm rather pleased with the crop this year. The vine is about four years onld now and it has been steadily producing more bunches each year. Not enough to make wine though ot I'd send you a bottle for your trouble!

Does anyone have any tips for cleaning up the grapes I have just harvested from my polytunnel? It's my own fault - many of them are covered with sooty mould from an infestation of aphids that I never did get around to spraying. Now the berries are covered and it will take an age to wash them all bef...

No worries everyone - we will lay down some easy to follow ground rules, so there should be no arguments

Hi Folks - have any of you any experience of LED growing lights? I've heard mixed reviews and wonder if anyone out there had tried them, say for raising seedlings, and if so what their experience was. Nice stocky seedlings? Did cuttings root OK? Were they easy to set up? Any advice gratefully receiv...

You're more sane than most of the rest of us Par Snip! Actually since coffee grounds are not an approved pesticide under EU regulations it is already technically illegal to use them as a slug or snail killer. It wouldn't be illegal to use them as a mulch since you are not using them to kill anything...

I'm sure there is a good joke there somewhere Tony - but I just can't think of one at the moment! If anyone else can feel free to post it (polite ones only of course) I guess the dog's fleas would be pretty wired! Seriously though, it has much the same effect on dogs as on us - increased heart rate ...

Some of the bugs in the picture look like aphids Pawty, but if you could send me the original image I might be able to have a better stab at identifying them - [email protected]

I suspect it is like everything else - use it with caution and don't overdo it. Many years ago (and in another job!) an office plant died within days of someone pouring some dregs from a coffee cup into the pot! Not sure who the culprit may have been This suggested to me that black coffee itself is ...

Always room for more of those Pa Snip!

You know me too well Old Herbaceous!