New shoots and seed sowing
Hello all. Saima here from the production team. I'll be blogging and keeping you updated with all the latest Gardeners' World news and I'll also try to answer any questions you might have about items in the show.
We're all extremely busy at GWHQ preparing an action-packed show for next week which will be coming to you from the Malvern Spring Gardening Show. For those of you who have yet to get your hands on our free seed packets, the Dig in van will be at Malvern, so you'll have a chance to come along and collect them there!
In the meantime, with the sun set to shine through most of the UK over the bank holiday weekend, why not share the delights of your garden using our Flickr page? For those not so lucky with the weather it's the perfect opportunity to start sowing those seeds and to join in with the grow your own grub campaign!
Enjoy
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~23~RS~)
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In the last programme the team were planting carrots in containers. What kind of compost was used and what was the proportin of washed sand to compost please? Have containers ready to go !
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Hi Samia. Don't know if this has any legs as an idea but we keep hearing how there are waiting lists for alottments, but on my site in Crawley there are spare plots that know one will touch as they paricaly shaded and over grown. Don't know if you could do anything to persude someone to take it on and show them it's possible to grow there dispite it not being ideal? I'd be up for acting as a "mentor or buddy" not that I'm an expert by a long stretch, but I like the idea of helping some get started.
sedward27@hotmail.com
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Hi Saima. I don't know how long you have been on the team for GW but I am looking for some information about a topic featured last season or the one before. In one of the programmes there was a shed/observers hide-out in a wood or nature parc. They showed how the sides were covered in logs and the roof was converted to a green roof. I covered the walls of my chickenshed also using logs +- 15 to 20 cm long. two walls are ok but the other two keep collapsing. Logs keep falling out. Now I would like to find out if they did anything special to keep the logs in place. I have tried several things so far but nothing seems to work permanently. I don't want to use any sort of cement or such. I get a lot of positive comments about the shed but nobody knows I need to get the ladder out every month to rebuild the walls. Can you help?
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Hello all.
Please find the answers to your questions directly from the team!
Metalkettledrum - its best to use silver sand and not builders' sand, mix it 50:50 with a good multipurpose (ideally peat free). If there are big lumps in it, its worth passing in through a riddle to break them up. Hope that helps and do let us know how you get on.
MRSEDDERS - Unfortunately, we can't help you with your allotment as we've already found our sites to feature on the Dig-In campaign. But - can we suggest you contact the Allotments Regeneration Initiative (http://www.farmgarden.org.uk/ari/) or the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners www.nsalg.org.uk - two fantastic organisations who will undoubtedly be interested or able to help. Good Luck!
Ginjosie - this was done by angling the logs downwards and slightly inwards towards the shed, so they were held by gravity. You could also try wiring the logs in with green garden wire. If you have lots of small logs you could fill gabions with them - if you're unfamiliar with gabions you can find information via a search on the internet. Good Luck!
Saima :)
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Hello, I'm really looking forward to seeing the small backgardens section (sorry can't remember exactly how it was described). Any news on when they get started on?
Also looking forward to seeing some plants in Greenacre - it's not very pretty when it's all mud and concrete!
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Hi Saima, don't know if you can help, but I signed up for the 'Dig In' campaign free seeds the day after they were mentioned on Gardeners' World, but have never received them. Have they all been sent out now, or am I likely to get any? By the way, I really like the new format of the show - there may be a lot of complaints in the press about it, but isn't that the way of all things new? And my husband will watch it now - he never did before!
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Will the dig in van gona visit Scotland at all ?
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Hi Saima,last year I grew some tomatoes(gardeners delight),this year I am attempting a range of differrent veg,including aubergines(early long purple 2).They are 10cm tall now,but flop over(not upright like tomatoes plants)and the bottom leaves of some are starting to turn yellow.I potted them up into 10cm pots today.When I pot them into the final large container can they be planted deep like tomato plant to help them be a bit more sturdy? Also i grew sunflowers and cauliflowers indoors, but they get about 5cm tall and the leaves start to shrivel and die! Any suggestions welcomed
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I'm also attempting to grow plenty of vegetables - from the confines of a London balcony! It's going really well though - I've uploaded pictures to my gardening blog http://londonvegetablegarden.blogspot.com
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Hi all
Please see responses
Dear Witchletmum, over 180,000 requests were received in just four days, which was an overwhelming response. As a result the BBC Learning Campaigns team that runs Dig In had to order more seeds, which means some people will be getting them late. However, by now everyone who applied and got through to the success page on the website should have either had the seeds or an email saying they will be delayed. If you haven't had either, you can contact the website by emailing digin@bbc.co.uk - we'd be happy to hear from you.
If youre a new gardener and looking for tips or if youre an expert with tips to share, why not join in with our discussion at (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/digin/), where you can follow Sara Cox as she grows her veg for the first time.
Dear fluffywelshsheep, we'd love to take the Dig In van everywhere across the British Isles, but we're limited as to where we can go by the availability of BBC Big Screens. Currently there are none in Scotland, which is why no Scottish dates were initially planned for the tour. However, the team are looking into ways to add a date in Scotland, so it is worth checking the On Tour page at (http://www.bbc.co.uk/digin/on_tour.shtml) regularly for news.
Dear aniblogger, don't grow sunflowers and caulis indoors! Sow caulis in modular trays in a cold greenhouse, and sunflowers are best sown direct, unless you have a slug problem; in which case sow them two seeds to a 3 inch pot on a bench in the greenhouse, get them to about 6 inches high and then plant out. This is because bigger plants are a bit tougher and more able to cope with the occasional nibble.
Hope this helps.
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Hi there,
I'm not sure if this is the correct blog but at our house we are surrounded by fabulous poppy fields. Is it possible to gleen seeds from these abundant wild flowers to sow in the garden?
Thanks in advance,
Ric and Joanne
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Hi RicandJo
Yes this is possible, but legally speaking, you must ask the landowner's permission first. Its best to sow poppies either in September for an early summer display, or in spring for a midsummer display. Hope this helps
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This is my first year gardening and i bought a load of spring and winter plants ( small plugs) for my hanging baskets and borders I am bringing them on in the greenhouse, my question is I am not sure when to plant the baskets up and put them out is it before Winter or after, in the Spring and plant my borders.
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