Quick Questions Answers &

QI found these in the lawn. Are they doing the grass any harm?

Andy Clutton, Manea, Cambridgeshire

ABad luck, the toadstools are those of honey fungus. Subsisting upon buried, decaying wood, they are not harmful to grass but, if left, may spread to and kill nearby shrubs.

Ideally, remove them, together with the wood or other organic matter on which they are growing, and bin them. Do not compost them. Sadly there are no chemical controls for this fungus.

QWe have lots of thin red worms at the top of our compost bins. Is this OK?

Carol Smallwood (via email)

AI am delighted that thin red worms are feeding upon the organic matter in your compost heap. Beneficial, they digest waste, which bacteria convert into humus, the soil’s ‘lifeblood’.

Their presence indicates that your compost, which has an ideal moisture content, is decomposing in the best possible way.

QCan I still divide perennials, or should I wait until spring?

Mark Daybridge, Coventry

AAs long as your soil isn’t waterlogged or frozen, you can replant them now.

Lift and divide the parent plant and re-plant the divisions as soon as possible, keeping their roots damp at all times.

Water them in well. If you garden on clay, or are in the far north, you may want to wait until the warmer and drier days of spring.