ceris hughes

Rotavator Tines

Hi Emma,

I also bought a rotivator last year and was so pleased with the results I did my father's lawn as well as his grows wonderfull, (he doesn't describe it this way), moss which i use for lining my baskets. unfortunately after a few weeks his lawn was completly covered in creeping buttercup which had never happened before. I presume the tines had cut through the plants and distributed it over the rest of the lawn. Any idea how to avoid this again without using chemicals?

Welcome to the fruit & veg forum

Reg,  the only way i've found to get the upper hand with couch grass is to use the fork gently underneath it and loosen quite large sections before pulling it out by hand. dont tug if there 's any resistance and go back to forking. if you leave just a piece in the ground it will start all over again. it's backbreaking but really rewarding.

Talkback: How to grow orchids

I've tried the stem cutting back to a healthy node, kept it in the bathroom under the sky light and recently started to feed it with an orchid feed. I've been waiting for more than 2years for a result!!  However the plant,(& ariel roots) are looking healthy and robust so a bit more patience.....  I was given another phalaenopsis that was looking quite stressed, the leaves drooped after a day and still are 6 months on but it's still in flower to my amazement.  I read that while it is still in flower to nip the ends of each stem so as i thought it wouldnt survive because of the leaves i did this and now have lots of new bud stems forming.  It's vital to do this before the flowers fall, will upload a photo if luck continues

Bramble invasion

oxygenating weed