[pat CottamMember]

Living on the North Devon coast most people here use seaweed on allotments and gardens.Best collected before dogs get to it! Fortunately some Parish councils are glad to get rid of it,especially after storms.

If you spread it really thickly, I’ve done it on large areas around 4″ – 8″ deep and make sure no areas are uncovered it will be barely noticeable by spring. Unfortunately you often find once rotted, Tinsel,fishing line, netting and worse but it is so worth it.

Some people put it with newspaper in their Runner bean trench.

Did find that the improvement wasn’t so much the first year from having been spread but the second. Onions did really well. Also use SM3 Seaweed extract from org. gardening catalogue.

[pat CottamMember]

Really enjoying topics in forum and everyones experiences !

Have no power in gardens but in JanuaryFebruary have lots of polystyrene lids from grocery boxes of chilled broccolli etc donated by greengrocers. Mostly sow in modules but pots or trays with a flat surface place on flat polystyrene. Gives a little warmth can’t say if it works really well, but has never done any harm.

[pat CottamMember]

Thank you for your pearls of wisdom earned over time and error!

The salad actually looks happier and healthier in these conditions .

Always have salad in the wings,not always at the right time or quantities it seems.

Havn’t quite got the knack on quantities, as you say down to experience.

How many leaves are you generally leaving on the plants to allow for a plus one after picking?

Learn a little bit more each year!

[pat CottamMember]

Forgot to mention I only save the best seed from the best plants or with flowers colour and strength of stem or plant.
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With salad I only chose from the plants that were slower to bolt and kept the characteristics I wanted. I only want to select the qualities I wish to grow again.

Beans I always check and throw away anything I don’t like the look of.size,damage,colour possibility of mould etc

Grew some really red deertongue lettuce (not self saved) and noticed several plants did not come true.Grew like trifids,green in colour not the beautiful dark conker brown of usual plant. Also new flower seed did not come true to markings on packet so have saved seed from the only two plants that did.

Some things I have to grow at a distance in case of cross contamination like Dill and Fennel.

I’m certainly no expert but you pick up things by gleaning information and giving it a go!

[pat CottamMember]

Hello Charles,

The seed was saved in a Polytunnel.

Can’t say I’m skilled, always save any seed from any plant I can by experimenting. From an extremely small seed to a small plant to a very tall beast was worth the wait and as you know it seems quite a long process but astounding.

Can see that it would work outside in a sheltered spot with watchful eyes,as after all that wait the finches would have a field day! Main savers in large quantities were Australian yellowleaf,Bi-colour oakleaf,Amorino and pinnochio a small cos.There are better contenders as well of course so this year,seing the vast amount of seed off one plant, will experiment with several others segragated around plot, one of each type and see what disasters or joys happen in 2011!

Unlike other flower and veg seed which you can identify as being different, the salad seed seemed to be either white or dark which needs careful identification(wise after the event)!Also I usually store in a tin trunk as have had casualties over the years from small furry guests.

Have vast quantities of beans in containers which deffinately are of good quality and germinate well, even, after being discovered years later.

I would say to anyone wanting to try it just leave the plants alone and let nature take it’s course without worrying what it looks like in the process.It’s nowhere near as difficult as you may imagine.

[pat CottamMember]

Fencing and proper deer fencing comes to mind first.Has to be very high and costs of course.

When we were in Sweden noticed lots of unwashed fleeces around garden veg. plots. Were told the strong smell of lanolin kept the deer away. If they are hungry can’t imagine it would work. Same sort of principle I suppose as Badger muck to keep away Moles.

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