It is always recommended that when you plant out brussels sprouts you firm them in much harder than when transplanting other seedlings. A firm foot pressure around each plant. This is partly to ensure that the plants do not get rocked by the wind, and to ensure that the root area does not become loo...

Really pleased to stay level this week as we had a long weekend of eating out in France over the bank holiday.

Two problems with ants, they can disturb plants by nesting and digging out the soil round the roots, and they can encourage and even "farm" aphids on your plants.
Oh and if they are red ants they bite!

Otherwise I leave them to do their thing.

With a bay tree it is worth looking to see if it is sooty mould. Does the black wipe off of the leaves? If it does then it is mould growing on what is politely termed honeydew or aphid/scale insect poo! Look at the underside of the leaves and if there a small brown raised dots like tiny limpets them...

We use canes with string between and cds strung on over the plants at the allotment. It seems to disrupt the flight paths enough to put them off.
A scarecrow a la Julian?

Pot them up and start a business selling them. People love ground cover geraniums and the black widow one is lovely!
In the lawn regular mowing should control it.

Good luck from another low income family. Lists are definitely the key to working on a low budget. And working together as a team. Don't feel guilty or let OH feel guilty about bringing in little. It is an opportunity to be with the kids for a while. It is also a chance to learn new skills - I learn...

Yes. Just think wet and dry mixed really.

On the subject of healthy eating for kids I have been trying some experiments at the toddler group that I run. Because drinks are a big issue at the moment - Squash and fruit juice have lots of sugar -bad for teeth and empty calories, or artificial sweetners- not good if avoidable. I have been makin...

Still on the fasting diet, have started going swimming once a week and still going to pilates class once a week. Hubby is still losing weight steadily . Mine has slowed but is a steady small amount which is fine by me. I have got about a kilo and a half left to loose and then the challenge will be t...

They say eat as many coloured fruit and veg as possible for a balanced diet. For my Child Nutrition course I had to post a photo of a "colourfull" starter recipe. http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad360/hyhawkes/2013/IMG_4402Small_zpsb53fc3a7.jpg I thought this looked colourfull !

Sorry not posted for a month, it's been working all hours here at the moment. We have done loads on the allotment, put some things out early and only lost a couple of cucumber plants to the frost this week. I have some spares still in the greenhouse so no problem. Rather than write a huge list here ...

Forgot the obvious of course. You could put it to grass and strim it or mow with a hover mower. Looks particularly good if you get snowdrops and primroses to grow in it.

Certainly a terrific amount of blossom on the trees here. Heres hoping for a good crop.

How steep is the slope? The trouble with most plantings on a slope is as LL says that the soil gets washed off as soon as you expose the surface and it takes a while for new ground cover to lock it back in place. A good weed suppressant fabric as LL suggests is a good idea if you are going to plant ...