Search - Articles

, assessing their intelligence and measuring their sensitivity to heat, cold and light. He breathed on them while chewing tobacco or cotton wool soaked in vinegar to test their sense of smell. He proved that they have no sense of hearing by shouting at them

that will flower next year. And so the cycle continues. All I had to do, many years ago now, was sow the poached egg plants in the first place. And I pass on this 'tried and tested' advice in the hope that others will sow and grow this cheap and cheerful annual

I found a winged, black ant in the garden last week. The child inside me said "Flying Ants Day!" but there was no sign of any others. Perhaps it had just left the nest prematurely to test the atmospheric humidity, or was impatiently hoping to find

, the sine qua non for any plant. The award was first introduced in 1922 and it means that this particular variety has been exhaustively tested by the Royal Horticultural Society. It has been grown in various conditions under the supervision of an expert

fairly limited.By growing your own you can be sure of what you're getting, and like all gardeners I have some 'tried and tested' favourites that I believe are hard to beat for flavour. To my taste, tomato 'Gardener's Delight' is perfection itself. You don

'Hative de Niort' is that the shallots don't keep as well as other varieties - after a few months they begin to sprout again. A few years ago I grew six different varieties to test them for size, flavour and keeping qualities. They were 'Golden Gourmet

Feeling fruityI've hand-picked a few favourites that will certainly whet the appetite - they're all tried and tested for flavour and reliability.When it comes to fruit, I'm passionate about eating and growing as much as possible in its proper season

spread aflatoxin, a fungal infection that can be lethal to birds. Check the pack before you buy to make sure the nuts have been tested for aflatoxin. Whatever you do, never put out nuts intended for human consumption, because they contain dangerous levels

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