I know potato leaf varieties are capable of crossing with normal tomatoes. Do they self pollinate or do they need other tomatoes ? 

Only ask as I have a potato leaf from my lucky dip collection. I planted it outside yesterday. As it was the only one out of the 170 that germinated and I can’t work out from my list of varieties which it is.  Just wondering if I isolated it somehow? So it didn’t cross with the other lucky dip plant. That it would still produce? 

Any advice welcome.

Sir David Attenborough is celebrating his 100th Birthday today.
An amazing man, who has done so much for wildlife and educating people about it. 
I hope he has the most wonderful day.

As is traditional, let's have a Pumpkin & Tromba competition. 
You can decide for yourself the category you're entering - largest, heaviest, longest, smallest, funniest - no rules, just somewhere to show off.

Previous year's threads - https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=2166

The challenge is - to grow a taller sunflower than Vinny does.  
Only teasing, Vinny!!

Sending you birthday wishes Vinny bit late in the day though.

I have tried to grow decent swedes on my various allotments for many years without much success. I have tried numerous varieties but never Magres? I asked google what variety of seed the farmers grew for human consumption and these were what are appaently used?

The farmers close by grow fields full of wonderful swede which I have never been able to emulate.

I have ordered a packet, and hopefully Magres will assist me in growing what up until now I have been unable to achieve!

Lots of these flying around the end of the garden. Didn't know what they were - shiny black flies with, I thought, a trailing tail, dropped below its body.
The Duck says that they are St Mark's Fly which appears around St Mark's Day, 25th April. Should I tell them to go back to bed for a few more days? 

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-w...ark-s-fly/

Daft question but you're used to that!
I have several packets of marrow seeds which I ignore every year because a marrow is a big watery thing. Right!
My question is - if they're picked when small are they the same as a courgette to eat and to cook with?

I'm sure your answer will be  - try it and see - but I'm hoping for a knowledgeable reply here.

Next daft question

I don't know about you, obviously, but I have never followed any of the soil rotation plans  - where a specific group of veg move to another area each year - the theory being that each veg benefits from whatever was grown there in the previous year. Don't expect me to explain it  as its beyond me!
I've realised that I always grow beans in the same place - always grow peas in their own place, every year - because that's where the supports are.
Perennial vegetables - leeks, kale etc stay put and seem to thrive. ...............
.........So, why, are we advised to grow annual leeks and brassicas in a different place every year?

You can probably see where I'm going with this........to create permanent "beds" for each veg that I grow. It would have the added benefit that self seeders would be in the right place to grow, year on year.

I was watching an old episode of QI last night and gregarious flowering was mentioned.

A particular species of bamboo will flower at intervals of 10 to 130 years. All examples of that species will flower at the same time no matter where in the world they're growing or under what conditions. A bit of a simplification but nonetheless fascinating. 


https://www.guaduabamboo.com/blog/bamboo...rs%20later.