Back to aubergines. I don't have a problem growing these and usually get a good crop, and I have tried different varieties over the years. As you might know, they tend to need a long growing season so I sow aubergines in mid-February. I don't sow tomatoes until March. I use a small heated propagator...

We keep Norfolk Blacks but I find that the hens are not reliable egg sitters so we hatch ours in an incubator to make sure we have enough to grow on. Ours gobble back just as LL describes. In fact any loud noise sets them off.

I have kept bees for some years but still hesitate to call myself a 'bee keeper' as it is just one strand of our smallholding activities. We get a harvest each year and go through all the basic operations. Sometimes I catch a swarm. I have had mixed fortunes trying to split a colony. But bee colonie...

I should have got the order correct.

Yes, I agree with supermarket pot grown basil, parsley etc it can be very economical to separate and pot up to grow on. I was thinking more of the hard wood shrub herbs like rosemary and sage where you get a couple of stalks.

It makes sense to me to have sage, thyme and rosemary, at least, growing perennially in the garden. Its painful to see small sprigs in cellophane for sale for £1.75 or more in supermarkets.

In Chinese cooking garlic, ginger and chilli are sometimes referred to as the holy trinity as so many dishes start off with them when cooking. I agree with the way fresh root ginger elevates a dish. I usually grate it rather than chop it to extract a stronger flavour from the same amount.

We are a the southern edge of the Fens in West Suffolk. Our soil is very sandy as a result of the outpourings of retreating glaciers. Just two fields away the soil is black and peaty. The sandy soil is easy to work but dries out very quickly. Thats one reason why I add copious amounts of compost eac...

One of the big benefits of growing your own as far as I am concerned is that you can grow fruit and vegetable which are free of chemicals. I admit it can be a bit of a battle sometimes. I have to go to great lengths to produce a successful brassica crop, for example. But when I look across a field o...

This looks to be a comprehensive guide LL. In terms of growing your own to keep food costs down, I would emphasise the importance of preserving harvests so that they can be consumed over the year as well as avoiding wasting inevitable gluts: storing, freezing, dehydrating, pickling and fermenting, p...

Being married to a Chinese we have always had a rice cooker. We regularly eat rice. By trial and error the amount of water to add is soon fine-tuned. Best not to serve the rice immediately the cooking switch clicks off and turns to keeping warm. Leave for about ten minutes. Your point about rinsing ...

This is always a tricky one, especially when, like yesterday temperatures remained below zero all day. Usually, I fill up the drinkers in the house in the morning and this is normally okay if temperatures rise above zero during the day. Yesterday I had to go out a couple of times with a watering can...

I think that chickens, like humans, prefer the easy option and so may be choosing the lower perch for convenience. At night, particularly at this time of the year, its is dark when they are roosting so I doubt the window is putting them off. They might start using it in time once they get used to th...

I have been with Green Flag for the last three years after doing an online comparison at that time. My premium this year is £60. That's without home start.

LL - I did build a quail house but we put some of the ones we hatched we got a second hand rabbit hutch which is a good sized one.
That’s a good way of using quail eggs, Sandra.