Colorado beetle. Fed up!

[Alexis]

Nothing seems to be going right in the veg garden. Bloody Colorado beetle on the spuds. Black fly on the broad beans. Cats rolled on the seedlings. Onion and shallots sets dug up.

It has been decided - next year, no veg. Just an abundance of flowers..... slugs permitting!!!

Going to start saving seeds for a swap. Anyone interested?

[Wicce]

Now come on, Alexis, don't lose heart. Spray or pick off those beetles, pinch out the tops of the broad beans to get rid of the black fly and fence your seedlings to keep off the moggy. Just think of how good fresh vegetables can taste. Flowers are lovely, but you can't eat them.

Kathryn

[Iceni]

Gardening is just a branch of farming so you are expected to moan a lot.

Agree about black fly, on b beans and artichokes.
Mice eat the peas
Too much rain at the wrong time
Too hot for Di except for a couple of hours late evening

But it's fun - just keep saying it.

John
http://www.iceni-it.co.uk

[Jake]

LAST EDITED ON 04-Jun-04 AT 08:51 PM (BST)

I am no gardener but I do sometimes listen to Gardeners' Question time while doing other things.

I remember some time ago that they were experimenting growing potatoes by first planting some in the centre of two old tyres. Periodically they would add a tyre and more soil until they had ten to twelve tyres stacked up. Apparently, when they finally knocked the tower over, the potatoes were absolutely without blemish. God alone (and a couple of others perhaps, but not me) knows whether this works and I accept no responsibility for failure. But, were I trying to grow potatoes, I would use this method as its benefits sound plausible.

Kind regards