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As elderberries are quite common, it is likely that you will be able to find plenty more which don't grow near a busy road. Personally I am not a fan of elderberries, though sometimes add a few to a blackberry and apple crumble.

Marrows are not as tasty as courgettes but are great as 'fillers' for almost any kind of meat pie. They are also great in spicy marrow chutney - I've made 25 jars so far - based on my http://www.jeremytaylor.eu/Spicy_pumpkin_chutney.htm recipe.

One of the tines of my (garden) fork is out of alignment with the others by about 3cm at the tip. Does anyone have any hot tips on how to get it back into alignment?

Thanks for the long posts, Charlie. I didn't realise that I would have to sterilise dry grass before using it but my bags of tightly packed straw (not liquidized) and spawn from a commercial batch, has not shown any signs of progress. Ellendra suggested using a bit of mollasses with the spawn. Have ...

I'd never heard the word before but what a sensible idea. Why do so many people surround their gardens with something as useless as privet? To keep it in shape I would recommend buying the very latest in cutting hedge technology. :-)

Thanks for the tip, Bob. What's the best season to try it? On a separate blackcurrant issue - I have just made the most delicious blackcurrant jam the world has ever seen. I would like to give some to my mum and niece who are flying out to visit me - but they're only flying with hand luggage. I have...

It does seem that many people are getting good crops of blackcurrants this year. I was tidying up in my back yard. pulling up weeds from between the paving stones, when I noticed that I had pulled up two small blackcurrant plants, both about 5cm high. The blackcurrants had fallen from a bush a few m...

Thanks for that - Looking on the bright side - I can look forward to a lot of nettle soup next year... :-)

Gulp, I've put loads of nettle in mine - presuming it would get hot enough to kill them.

What else DON'T you put in your compost?

Interesting that they seem happy to grow on both straw and in wood; I presumed most fungi were quite specific. I also tried the plugs 2 years ago - but with no success at all. I saw some logs at the same garden centre selling the inoculated bags of straw. They were sold in plastic bags - which, it a...

Not online, from a local garden centre (but I'm in the Czech Republic). Aren't they available in the UK? This could be a marketing opportunity - unless my DIY method works brilliantly.

Thanks for the advice. I'll make two bags and try my technique and your technique and will let you know what happens.

Have you had any hail recently? It sounds like it could be hail damage. If it is, fruit that comes later should be fine.

Why not buy some young plants from a garden shop? They shouldn't be too expensive and you'll have courgettes much earlier than if you sow seed now.