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Landrace Gardening by Joseph Lofthouse is an interesting book about this kind of thing.

Women bearing 5,6,7 or more children are not unusual even now. Not all will survive to become adults particularly in countries where contraception aid, maternal and general health care is poor or non existent as well as a poor economy. Men can obviously father many times that number and it...

It needs a good prune, I'd remove perhaps half the branches coming from the base, any crossing branches and any obviously dead growth. I wonder if it could be a red currant rather than a black currant.

One thing I would do if I was planning my garden anew is to put a paved path all around the outside, wide enough to stand a stepladder on or push a wheelbarrow. It provides safe access to the back of the borders for weeding and to hedges and fences for trimming. You think it is going to take up...

Something I’ve done for years but a few years back, the Levington compost I got was so damn woody that the germination was really poor. Usually, I’d just scatter some seeds on the top of a pot full of compo then rake them in with my hand. Got a different method now.

So just had a look what tomato seeds I have.1x Gardeners Delight 2x Red Cherry (free with Gardener’s World Magazine)** 2x Roma 1x Alicante** 1x Red Cherry 1x Hildares* 1x Marmande (opened)*Expired 2024 **Expired 2025

Thank you for the replies, really appreciate the insights and advice

The bulbs in pots are beginning to do their stuff. Just need a bit more sun for the daffodils to come out too.

I think I poked them vertically into the compost. If I remember rightly they're quite big and easy to handle individually. If you have lots of seed you could try different ways and see what works for you.

I use pencil, then at the end of season I collect all the labels. The ones that didn't break from the light get washed (using sponge and soap), then I use eraser to clean whatever written.

The last one for now, was on the Thorny olive tree that the bird table and hanging feeder are on. It's another variegated leaf plant. It's quite early in the year to be trying this, but I've got nothing to loose.As you have probably noticed from all the bird photos recently, they have become...

That's what I hoped And actually it's easy enough just to tug out and dispose of the extra bits should you not need them.

I’d be surprised if Beth Chatto’s gardeners use slug pellets or insecticides . Birds tend to be vocal here in the morning and out looking for worms mainly early morning and at dusk. Sound for me also includes wind through the trees and swishing through dried grasses in winter.