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in local streams and rivers, promoting algae and upsetting fish, and too much can kill plants. Some detergents also contain sodium, which can inhibit plant growth. Almost all detergents contain surfactants, which help to break the water's surface tension

-native plants can take over our ponds and deoxygenate the water. If dumped in municipal or wild ponds, streams or rivers they can smother native plants, clog waterways, exacerbate flooding and harm fish. The website gives clear advice on identifying

are commendable, if nothing else. There are friends who grow the plants indoors and wonder why they don't fruit (the flowers need pollinating); friends whose plants flower and fruit but the tomatoes rot at the ends (blossom end rot caused by irregular watering

part. We all sowed our seeds, watered, tended and waited.Now, in late May, we should all have good, strong sunflowers ready to plant out (depending on where we live). Mine have been outside in pots for about three weeks now, but I only planted them

like beetroot, seed. Again, the plant will focus its energy on seed production at the expense of the leaf, or root you are growing it for. Remove flowers as soon as you see them, water well. Moving the pot to a shadier spot can also help (sun can stress

Two years, I felt the need to grow a local, native plant in my garden. I gathered rosehips from a field rose at the edge of a nearby canal, soaked them in water and sowed the seed in coarse compost.The pots sat in a corner of my patio, doing nothing

are diminished and air quality is reduced.But most alarmingly, the risk of flooding is increased. Hard surfaces like concrete and paving don't absorb water as readily as soil and plants, so it runs into sewers. As much as 50 per cent more water ends up down

In last week's Observer Magazine, Dan Pearson wrote about collecting berries from hedgerows near him, so he could grow plants with local provenance. This is a subject I've been thinking about a lot recently, so I read on with interest.Put simply, a

survive if the pond freezes over - especially in ponds with lots of plants growing in them, as plants can still photosynthesise under ice and produce oxygen. But if there aren't sufficient oxygenating plants growing in the pond, if it contains lots of leaf

Exeter, who fed his plants using liquid manure and water from his washing up bowl due to the drought). Wouldn't it be lovely if we brought the record back home?We're all joining in at Gardeners' World magazine, and I'm keen to beat the likes of Adam Pasco