Skipper's Inbox

'Modus' seems to be still available in the USA, but for other varieties, try this website page for ideas:
http://www.tozerseedsdirect.com/seeds/dwarf-french-bean-seeds/

yours are very fresh so the water causes more swelling of the potatoes. i remember my mum cooking them on a very low simmer rather than a rolling boil. shop ones had had chance to 'firm' up.

Hi Skipper you can certainly sow your bean seeds directly into the ground... we never start our off in pots as there is no room in the greenhouse for veggies! If you want to give them a good start plant today or tomorrow which are, in moon growing terms, good days for fruits!

the temperatures have fluctuated a lot. also seed does not last for ever. i forgot to put unsowed seed back in the cool coalshed. they stayed in the heat & the cold of the greenhouse all summer & winter. none of them germinated this year.
so this might be the problem. or they were too wet and rotted off.

Try ringing them or e-mailing Customer Services for info. and poss. stockists??

If you mean Vine Weevil treated compost I don't know if that exists but there are very good V.W treatments available I used to have a great problem with them but for two seasons sprayed my pots with the treatment I purchased and have no problem now. If you grow Begonias, when you take them from the pots put your glasses on!!!! and go through the peat systematically and kill every maggot you see, thats where my odd ones hang out
Also check by running your fingers around under the rims of any pots you have during the summer, if the Vine beetle is in residence that is where you will find them.

vine wweevil is something you dont want surley

Just what is 'vine weevil compost'? Vine weevil seem to prefer compost with peat but will thrive in anything!

hi skipper,
we grew gladiator parsnips last year ( and the year before that).
no canker , huge parsnips as well . had a few forked ones this year, but they were a later crop in a different area of the same raised bed.but overall we rate gladiator and will be growing them again this year.
hope this helps...........steve

Parsnips need deeply dug soil in which to grow, fresh manure is not recommended. You can bore holes and fill with prepared soil for long show parsnips.
Canker starts with cracking after a long dry spell, then heavy rain. A dressing of Lime on your ground should be done 2 or 3 weeks before sowing.
I have also used salt at 2 ounces per square yard.
Parsnips do not transplant.
Like all crops, preparation of the ground beforehand will give you the best results.

Root vegetables will fork in their haste to 'gobble up' nutrition if the soil is too rich. You really need a stone and grit free not ultra nutritious soil.

Is it stoney where your planting them........that could be the reason for Forking...............

Unless of course the rotten ones were the remains of the original seed potatoes. We still find them sometimes when we dig up the crop.

probably due to the wet summer!! just make sure all the ones for storage are dry and sound.........steve

Japanese Knotweed does flower when it reaches about 4' in height, small white fringe-like flowers. The new shoots are red and like a small spear when they emerge. The stems arch over, is this what yours is doing? It also grows very quickly, almost as you are looking at it!!! if you have got it, it's extremely difficult to get rid of - we never did eradicate it completely from our previous garden. Repeated doses of Glyphosate helped to keep it down, but as you say, the roots are very deep.