This does need saying. The human race is unbelievably selfish in the way it devours ever diminishing resources and is destroying the habitat of lesser species. We can't continue indefinitely the way we are going. It takes brave people to stand up and point out the inevitability of where we are going...

What does everybody do about the green mould which sometimes develops on compost in trays of seedlings? Is it due to over watering (of which I suspect I may be guilty in the desire not to let my seedlings die of thirst). Does it cause any harm? Would it be better to aerate the compost where possible...

My next silly question. Does it have to be the sideshoots you use to generate a new plant, or can you snap off the main stem of a leggy plant and use that instead ?

Last year a pair of mallards visited us for several week, the female staying longer than the male although she had her nest a few gardens away. We only have a tiny pond and she completely wrecked it with all her paddling about. I loved watching her. She loved pecking up all the seeds which got blown...

Interesting information Geoff. Have only just got round to reading this. I like trying out new varieties with a small growing space I find myself relying mostly on reliable old favourites and just putting in one or two newcomers at a time. The main problem with tomatoes, in this case, is having to b...

Have just inspected my leek seedlings which are about 6 inches high in a tray of Levington's General Purpose compost. They seem to be going rather yellow. Can anybody suggest what is going wrong and what I can do to resolve the problem? I don't know whether planting them out now, even though they ar...

PS And when I ever do have weak or straggling seedlings which end up being consigned to the compost heap I always say "sorry" to them before ending their life. How crazy is that? If they were animals rather than plants I wouldn't be able to do it. I even stoop down on the pavement to pick ...

Peter, I suspect this is a topic that many of us agonise over. I personally hate to throw away anything that has struggled to life and in the past I've tried to give away surplus veggie seedlings or just dot them into small bare patches in my mixed borders wherever there's a few inches of space. (Co...

I'm intrigued by this business of using the sideshoots to produce new tomato plants and wonder if anybody who has done it could give us a complete idiot's guide to doing it. Do you just pinch out the sideshoots & plant them? Do you have to put them in water until they develop roots (as one does ...

I can see they might be useful for people who have large amounts of regular pruning to do, or for weak women like me who find it difficult to prune through thick stems, but for the average gardener it's just one more thing to remember to keep it regularly on charge it it's to be any use. Sounds a bi...

I understand your point but if the cars are stationery and parked they won't be emitting fumes except for the very brief time when they arrive and depart. I've always taken the view that I wouldn't want to pick blackberries from a hedge which bordered a main road because of possible car fume contami...

Not sure I can offer much practical advice. The only suggestion I can make is to hedge your beds and put half your seedlings in the poly tunnel and half outdoors. I don't think apricot trees are particularly hardy but once the seedlings have established themselves I suspect they might be hardier as ...

A week ago I sowed mini cucumber seeds in pots to germinate on a west facing window sill. They're already up so I'm not sure that a heated propagator or putting in the airing cupboard is necessary.

done digging - it's a rather sad reflection on modern day food sourcing that so few people actually seem to have seen runner beans growing that they don't know that you plant it and let it run up a cane, isn't it?

Mike - the unexpected freebies always taste best