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Q – I have slugs constantly coming in my kitchen, how do I stop this from happening?

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Bob – Use salt. Don’t pour it on them, that’s cruel, but they will avoid it if it’s on the ground.Ìý They don’t like powder.

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Q – I need a new composter; which type is best?

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Neil – I go low-tech and lay palettes with sticks on top and then layer up from there.Ìý Keep turning it and you’ll get great compost even within eighteen-months.Ìý

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Bob – I wouldn’t recommend anything with moving parts

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Christine – Keep it simple. And remember the more compost you have the easier it is, and if it gets dry in the summer you should water it.

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Neil – Sometimes we cover it in tarpaulin in the winter if it’s very rainy

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Q – How can we reduce our use of plastic in the garden?

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Christine – Reuse the pots yourself.Ìý And use other things like tin cans that are already in the house.

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Neil – You can buy Miscanthus/’Elephant grass’ and you can buy rice and bamboo pots.Ìý

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Q – I have an eight-year-old Camellia that has never flowered.Ìý Why?Ìý It’s south-facing and underneath a Wisteria

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Christine – It’s competing against the Wisteria for one.Ìý If they’re both growing badly look at the soil and the environment.Ìý

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Bob – Give it a dose of potash (not wood ash on a Camellia as it’s too limey).Ìý

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Christine – Make sure the soil doesn’t get too dry in the summer.Ìý

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Neil – They will take pruning quite well too

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Q – How do I manage a patio in a shady garden that is covered in algae and moss?Ìý I’ve tried scraping and I don’t want to use chemicals

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Christine – Without more drainage/less shade it’s going to keep coming back.Ìý Walk in sharp grit into the algae.Ìý