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Fill pots with seed compost, tap to settle, and lightly press the surface with the base of a pot. Space your seeds evenly over the compost.Cover seeds thinly with fine, sieved compost, or use a layer of vermiculite, a sterile material perfect for covering

she hadn't dashed off into the depths. Today, though, when I nip out into the cold wilderness of my garden to have a little look around, I find there is a thin layer of ice on the pond.The rational part of me suspects that even though our pond is very

, but this is a subtle observation beyond my luck this day.Watching one climb up the metal fire escape stairs on Sunday, I was, however, able to see the infinitesimally thin silk safety line that it trailed as it stalked across the crumbling paintwork

. Cover with a propagator lid or plastic film.Keep the tray on a sunny windowsill or in a heated propagator until germination. Thin seedlings to leave one or two per module.

mould. Small thin leaves such as birch break down fairly quickly, while large leathery ones such as chestnut benefit from being shredded first. Evergreen leaves and conifer needles take far longer to rot and should not be included in great quantities

Horticultural fleece and pegsFebruary to June30 minutes, to sow the seedsFill pots or seed trays with good quality, multi-purpose compost and firm gently. Scatter the seed thinly on the surface, cover with a few millimetres of compost, water and keep moist

about 1cm apart. Lightly cover with a thin layer of compost then stand pot or tray in water to moisten.When the seedlings are a few inches tall, prick them out and transplant into fresh compost. Once established, transplant seedlings into the garden, 10

.Spread the worms out over the bedding and they'll quickly start burrowing down into the material.Cover the worms and bedding material with a thin layer of well-chopped vegetable peelings. As these begin to rot, the worms will be able to start feeding on them. Most

for the best offers on peat-free compost and mulch with that.Then there's weed control. That thick mulch provides a perfect overcoat for borders to prevent annual weed seeds germinating, but it has to be a good 7cm or more deep to be effective. Too thin

culling—an opportunity to thin out the extensive order form—but strangely enough (and I don't know if this happens to other people) the list actually gets longer. The catalogues are as irresistible as ever.I won't sacrifice any of those 'regulars