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Hailey, Oxfordshire

Eric Robson and the panel are the guests of Hailey and District Gardening Club in Oxfordshire. Answering the questions are Bunny Guinness, Bob Flowerdew and Pippa Greenwood.

Eric Robson and the panel are the guests of Hailey and District Gardening Club in Oxfordshire. Bunny Guinness, Bob Flowerdew and Pippa Greenwood answer the questions this week.

The panellists debate the pros and cons of 'double digging', offer advice on cutting back a Hebe, and help one questioner find a way round the lack of water supply on his allotment.

They also reveal the most exotic fruits and vegetables they have successfully grown in their own UK gardens, diagnose an unwell Conference Pear, and offer planting suggestions for a memorial trough.

And Pippa Greenwood analyses the latest RHS annual Top Ten Pests and Diseases chart.

Producer: Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett

A Somethin' Else production for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4.

Available now

43 minutes

Last on

Sun 18 Mar 2018 14:00

Fact Sheet

Q – Is ‘double digging’ worth the effort?

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Bunny – I am more of a fan of ‘no dig’ – it is less work and I think you get better yields

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Bob – If you’re working for someone else make sure you’ve got plenty to do so double dig as much as possible!

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Q – I’ve got two Hebes which are 4-5ft (1.2-1.5m) high and wide.Ìý Can I cut them back?

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Pippa – I’ve never cut one back hard myself – I would recommend a lighter approach.Ìý

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Bunny – They are easy to grow from cuttings and you can then trim them back every year after flowering

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Q – We have no water supply on our allotment.Ìý Which edible plants should we grow?Ìý We have good soil.

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Bob – Grow perennial vegetables like globe artichokes, rhubarb, asparagus.Ìý There is also a perennial kale and cauliflower. Also carrots and parsnips (if they have germinated) they will find water.Ìý Avoid salad crops.

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Bunny – I do cut-and-come-again lettuce and celeriac without needing to water at all.Ìý

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Pippa – Tomatoes would be good.Ìý Herbs don’t mind low water; it’s erratic watering they don’t like.Ìý Some of the smaller-fruited outdoor varieties of sweet pepper like Redskin would work.Ìý

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Q – We’ve been growing veg in raised beds but the council have asked us to move to ground-level planting.Ìý Can we grow anything that would be a deterrent to dogs?

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Bunny – Could you fence it?Ìý Globe artichokes might put dogs off.

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Pippa – Stepover apples

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Bob – Stepover gooseberries would be better

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Q – What is the most exciting exotic fruit/vegetable that you have successfully grown?

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Bob – I would have said pineapple but I’ve now fallen for Feijoas – the Fruit Salad tree.

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Pippa – Okra (‘Ladies Fingers’)

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Bunny – Green chickpeas.Ìý Wasabi.Ìý Physalis (Little Buddha).

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Bob – It takes a lot to beat a good strawberry

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Q – We have an espaliered Conference Pear which has been in the ground for 10-12 years and we’ve never had more than eight fruits in a year.Ìý What’s going wrong?

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Bob – It could be Pear Midge.Ìý ÌýGive it lots of mulches.

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Pippa – It could also be Apple/Pear Scab.Ìý

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Q – We’ve been tasked with planting out a memorial trough.Ìý What will look good in November?Ìý It’s 2ft wide x 8ft long x 3ft deep (0.6m x 2.4m x 0.9m)

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Bunny – It would be difficult to get poppies at that time

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Pippa – Little Euonymus plants would be good.Ìý

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Bunny – My Dahlias and Canna iridiflora were still going strong in November last year.Ìý ‘Thomas Edison’ variety for the Dahlia.Ìý Then swags of ivy around the edges.Ìý

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Pippa – Keep a few plants in a protected greenhouse as a back-up plan!

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Bob – Small pot-grown hollies.Ìý Elaeagnus.Ìý

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Q – We practice permaculture in our garden and we really like beer.Ìý How can we propagate our dwarf hops (‘Prima Donna’) to get more beer?

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Bob – You should be able to separate the buds from the crown.Ìý But I think you should just buy more plants; it’s safer.Ìý

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Q – I have a Medlar (Mespilus germanica) that was planted six years ago but now I’d like to move it.Ìý Can i?

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Bunny – If you have to move it I would do it now before it grows again.Ìý I would be reluctant though.Ìý Buy another on – I’d recommend an Iranian Medlar.Ìý The standard is Mespilus ‘Nottingham’ and that gets quite a lot of rot.Ìý The Iranian one is better.

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