GARDEN GURU

Q I grew tomato plants from seed this year but lost the fruit to blight before any were ripe enough to pick.

What did I do wrong?

Tony Eatherton A What a shame, but if it’s any consolation, you didn’t do anything wrong. Blight is common in damp summers and I know many gardeners have had similar results. Next spring, try growing blight-tolerant varieties, such as ‘Losetto’.

A strange plant has

Q appeared among a friend’s runner beans. It’s about 5ft tall with large, jagged leaves, white flowers and round, spiky fruit.

Janet Ash

Your photograph shows

A

Datura stramonium, a plant that originates from Central America and was first spotted growing wild in Britain back in 1777. Tell your friend to be careful as all parts are poisonous.

My canna lily leaves have

Q lots of holes in them. I can’t find any pests so am wondering what is causing the damage. Dilys Killick

Judging from your

A

photograph, it looks as if the leaves have been eaten by slugs or snails.

The pests aren’t always that obvious as they do most of their munching after dark. To combat the problem, I would suggest feeding your plant well to promote fresh growth and sprinkling organic slug pellets around the base.