In my capacity as Harrod Horticultural's 'Ask the Expert' - and that's not a self-proclaimed moniker, it's been bestowed upon me - I receive a plethora of enquiries and queries covering the whole spectrum of fruit and vegetable growing.

One such recent enquiry was from Jo Newton, who asked for advice on her fig tree. You can read Jo's question - and of course my answer in our 'Ask the Expert' section of the website but in the meantime, I thought but might be interested in Jo's own site - especially with Christmas approaching at break-neck speed and your mind bereft of unusual ideas for presents!

Home composting is one of the real growth areas in grow your own gardening, and as a result there's an absolute myriad of composting products on the market - more than enough to baffle any would-be composter!

So which composter should I choose? I can help with that decision up to a point, as I've road-tested quite a few models at our own Kitchen Garden and have knowledge of other versions through my Master Composter activities. But there's one I haven't managed to lay my compost hands on just yet, and that's the wonderfully named Green Johanna.

Dubbed as a 'hot composter' and apparently capable of decomposing usual composting no-no's such as meat, fish and dairy products, the Swedish-made Green Johanna has aroused interest from fellow Master Composters. Just how does it cope with cooked food and bones; are there problems with rodents and how long does it take to produce usable compost are just a few of the questions being aired around the country.

So what I'm really appealing for is for a composter out there with experience of the Green Johanna to tell the rest of us what it's really like? To inform us of any rodent interest; to enlighten us if it does actually digest bones, meat and fish, and to avail us of the quality of compost it produces.

Simply contact me and I'll let the world - ok, anyone who tunes into this blog - know if the Green Johanna deserves a place in the composting Olympics!

Imagine growing a tomato variety in your own back garden, packed full of antioxidants helping to prevent cancer and coloured a glorious shade of purple. Sounds to good to be true...?

That's probably because it is! According to a recent report on Anglia News, boffins at the John Innes Research Centre in the Norwich have developed a strain of tomato rich in the antioxidant pigment anthocyanin, which tests have shown helps to slow the growth of cancer cells in the colon. In fact, anthocyanin is an all-round good guy as the pigment is also thought to inhibit cardiovascular disease as well.

But here's the problem; the scientists at the Research Centre have added the colour pigment by introducing genes from the flower of the snapdragon, which is naturally abundant in anthocyanins - and this technology most definitely falls into the category of genetic modification, meaning under current legislation the purple tomatoes will almost definitely fail to make it onto supermarket shelves.

Although lab tests on mice have revealved that the creatures are likely to live up to 30% longer than untreated colleagues, the Green Party - vehemently opposed to GM crops - have pointed out that existing fruits and vegetables contain the beneficial pigments (such as beetroot and both black and cranberries) and if eaten as part of the '5-a-day' recommendation, are likely to have similar effects.

However, it's still an interesting development and we can only guess as to when - or if - these manipulated vegetables actually make it onto the market, and with tomatoes proving an extremely popular grow your own crop, it's a sound business move by the scientists!

I've been putting my Master Composter knowledge to good use recently with a visit to Sir John Leman High School in Beccles, Suffolk - where I extolled the virtues of composting in schools to 15 interested (at least I think they were interested!) teachers.

My visit was all part of an out-of-school-hours initiative set up by Alison Findlay of the RHS and part organised by Allison Copeman, the Enterprise Manager at Sir John Leman High School. The meetings are designed to help teachers who share an interest in gardening and wish to establish a productive garden or patch at their own school and this particular shin-dig was held in the very impressive school garden at John Leman.

Explained Allison; "It is really good to have these twilight sessions to meet staff from other schools who share my interest and passion for getting a garden set up in schools. Often, it gives us a chance to share ideas/problems/good practice etc."

As well as explaining how a school is likely to have an almost unlimited supply of both green (grass clippings from the grounds, fruit and vegetable waste from the kitchens for starters) and brown (paper, cardboard, pencil shavings etc) material, I explained the financial benefits to the school of producing their own compost (school purse strings are normally pulled tight anyway, but an especially pertinent point in the current economic climate) and the problems faced with lack of available landfill sites and the effect on the environment of methane - produced when organic matter is buried.

A very popular section of my talk was the 'Virtual Compost Bin', developed by Garden Organic and used in the Master Composter course. Participants have to categorize different materials which may - or shouldn't - end up in a compost heap and it's a great way of demonstrating the vast selection of ingredients suitable for composting.

So it's thanks to both the Al(l)ison's - Findlay and Copeman - and David Hawkyard (the Norfolk Master Composter Scheme Coordinator)for their help, and hopefully a few school gardens on the Norfolk/Sugffolk border will be compost self-sufficient in the very near future, and we'll all be another step closer to closing the recycling loop!

If you'd like further information on the Master Composter scheme, the 'twilight' sessions held for schools in the north Suffolk area or would like me to visit a school and give a talk, just give me a shout -martin@harrod.uk.com

Who would of thought that a delivery of contaminated manure to an allotment site in Wakefield would hit the national headlines?

That's the case at Green Lane Allotments, following the introduction of a batch of manure which appears to have traces of weedkiller present. We recently featured the furore in West Yorkshire, but as Green Lane Allotment Association Chairperson Sue Garrett explained, the story is going countrywide; "It is now basically hitting national headlines as in the Observer this Sunday. Some people visiting my web site have said that they are convinced the contamination is also affected compost and bagged dry manure type of products too. Some sources have complained that they have even bought the stuff from organic farms."

It's quite clear that gardeners around the country need to be fully aware of where any manure they beg, steal or borrow for use in their own gardens or, like Green Lane, on allotment sites and we'll keep you updated with any further developments in this intriguing story!

With the soaring popularity in growing your own vegetables and gardening in general, it's hardly suprising that manure is a most sought after commodity!

That's not something you'll hear every day but with more and more people picking up the gardening bug and realising how essential good soil is, coupled with the raised bed growing explosion - where you need to start from stratch - manure is top of a lot of gardener's shopping lists.

However, as our friends at Green Lane Allotments have found to their cost, even the simple task of buying manure can be fraught with difficulties! They've received a batch of contaminated muck and asked us to tell fellow gardeners to be careful when ordering their manure - which of course we're only too glad to do!

If you've any horror stories regarding problems with bought-in compost or organic matter, do let me know by contacting me at martin@harrod.uk.com and I'll tell the world!

The county of Kent - for so long regarded as the 'Garden of England' - is the site for a huge new 'vegetable factory', designed to rival greenhouses already established in Europe.

But how well will this monster greenhouse sit with the UK's gardeners? A quick flick through the comments at the bottom of this Guardian report will give you the answer...

The Consumer Council for Water has produced a checklist of water saving ideas following predictions of another long, hot - and dry - summer.

The water industry watchdog enlisted the help of UK Non-Governmental Organisation and water efficiency experts Waterwise to compile ways of cutting water wastage in the home, in schools and also in the garden.

According to a report on the national website of Wales, the best way to keep your garden green this summer and save water is to invest in a water butt, and other tips include mulching to retain moisture and avoiding planting up thirsty hanging baskets - large containers or pots will require less watering.

We're certainly doing our part in the Kitchen Garden to save water as we've installed ground level micro-irrigation systems and soaker hoses, widely regarded as the most efficient way to get water straight to where it's needed - the soil. We've also used water-retaining liners for our potted companion plants, which should cut down the frequency of watering by 7-10 days.

Full details of the Consumer Council for Water advisory notes can be found on their website, and for further water saving ideas and products for both the garden and greenhouse - including water butts, irrigation kits and ultra-efficient automated systems are readily available from Harrod Horticultural.