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loudly. I put the theory to test by removing the bin lid, emptying a bucket of cold water on to the heap every day and hitting the bin with a rake whenever I went past. The rat was indeed evicted, but it always returned within a few days. There’s a limit

-rotted manure)autumn or springan hourPrepare the soil by thoroughly digging it over, removing weeds and mixing in organic matter such as well-rotted manure. A week before planting, scatter general fertiliser granules over the area and fork in, then rake

use this technique to grow flowering perennials and biennials as well as hardy annuals to brighten up you beds and borders. Sow into weed-free soil that has been dug, forked and raked to create a fine surface structure or 'tilth'. SeedsArea of prepared

We have a rambler rose just outside the back door, 'Félicité et Perpétue'. No matter how hard I cut it back, it still fights vigorously with the wooden slats of the featheredge fence, tries to smother the garden table and viciously rakes at my

. As anyone who has tried to earth up potatoes with a trowel instead of a rake or draw hoe, or harvest them with a spade rather than a fork, will surely agree.

as the seedlings are not attacked by slugs. Last year this was a real problem, and many of my young vegetable plants were lost to slugs and snails.When sowing seeds outdoors, it's important to prepare the soil well, fork it to a fine tilth and rake it level

can spring up and choke them.I'm really thorough about preparing the bed before sowing, raking the soil to a fine tilth and drawing a drill with my hoe. It's not that straight admittedly as I can't find my line, but that's the trouble with tidying your

will be completely starkers, while another is just turning, so the chore of collection seems endless. Any leaves that fall on borders are left there, but we rake leaves from the paths and lawn (they smother the grass), adding them to the compost heap

to secure them.Provide supportChoose disease-resistant varieties to avoid blackspot, mildew and rust, though in warm and humid summers, even disease-resistant varieties can be affected. Rake up and remove fallen rose leaves to reduce the risk of reinfection

the remaining leaves have now been stripped from the trees and shrubs, so hopefully they can be raked up in one go.