Ask Gerry

Purple sprouting brocoli should be ready to eat next April, why is it producing sprouts now?

Just wondering what veg I can now sow in my polytunnel for the winter ??? I would like to grow broccoli, cauliflower, beetroot, peas, carrots, lettuce, rocket, sprouts,-any problem with these ? Rgds John.

I'm new to gardening, so this may be an obvious one. My cos was doing beautifully and all the sudden in the past week, the leaves are degrading into sludge. I can't find any evidence of slugs or other insects. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place.

For the second year my sprout plants have all bolted grown really large and the young sprouts have all bursted open what could be the cause?

Where can I get organically grown herbs in pots for my balcony?

I have cauliflower that has been bolting all summer. Is the bolting due to temperature or lack of watering?

For the second consecutive year my carrot crop has been destroyed by root fly (not grown in the same area of the vegetable garden this year). Adjacent rows of parsnips were unaffected last year, but I'm not sure if they are affected this year. Does the pest persist in the soil ? I don't plan to grow carrots next year, but is it likely to recur when I try again or is there anything that can be done to prevent it?

my beetroot are all leaves and very little bulb.can you help please?

I harvested my little crop of beetroot the other day. I left about 3-4 cms of stalk and the roots intact, washed and boiled gently for about 2.5 hours. After cooling, I peeled gently with my fingers before going to slice and pickle them. However half of them are soft and perfect and half of them are like wood? Size doesn't seem to make a difference. Some of the bigger ones are like soft butter and some the size of a golf ball are like woody stringy bullets. What's wrong?

Over the years as I dig my vegetable plot I have found bits and pieces of old household waste, i.e. pieces of old china, glass, small chunks of burnt coal, etc. Once I found a small scrap of lead. The property used to belong to a house dating from about 1830 and I think my plot is sited on top of an old household tip. My concern is more about possible contamination from dioxins or the like from the remains of coal fires than about the small annoyance of a few bits of china or glass. Also, for some years our neighbours used to burn garden clippings. and some bits of household waste and the smoke would drift across the ground. More dioxins?

I have 4 tomato plants growing indoor, Shirley, Moneymaker x 2, and Shipsaint. One growing outdoor Tomatoberry. The plants seem weaker than other years and the leaves are all getting a heavy brown spotting. All are forming fruits but I think there should be more. They were planted in the first week of May. Is there something I can do to sort this out this year, or otherwise for next year

Can you eat rhubarb the first year of planting?