To store opened packets of seed, use those little black plastic pods that 35mm camera film comes in. The grey lids fit nice and tight, and you can use a black marker pen to write on them. You can probably scrounge these pods for free from your local photo shop.
Lesley McQue (January 2000 competition winner)

All articles, tips etc I keep in plastic folders (allowing 2 articles per folder back to back) in a plastic ring binder. They are easily accessible, via an index, & are kept clean and in pristine condition especially as they get constant use in the garden.
Mrs Jenny Boorer (January '99 competition winner)

Old toothbrushes make excellent small plant pot cleaners.
R. Wright

Keep checking your overwintering geranium & fuchsia cuttings as they can be prone to attack from greenfly especially if located within a central heating environment within the house. Maintain good hygieneie remove any damaged / diseased or damaged leaves and any cutting showing signs of attack immerse cuttings (not pots) into a basin of water filled with washing up liquid.
J. Waclawski

Broken or damaged branches on woody plants may not need to be pruned off if you take action quickly. They can be repaired in the same way as broken bones, by splinting and bandaging (a form of grafting, but it doesn't sound so technical!) Use one or two canes of a suitable lenghth and thickness to be able to hold the break straight while it heals. Bandage firmly, but not too tightly, around the branch and supports using thick twine, raffia, cotton fabric or another suitable material (a second pair of hands is useful.) Check regularly (and carefully) to ensure the branch doesn't grow over the repair and remove the bandage and splints when the the branch has grown back together. I have used this method successfully to repair the leaders on edrus deodara, ceanothus, photinia and a eucalyptus gunnii, whose leader was snapped at 6ft (2ft from the tip.) The tree is now over 20ft tall, growing strongly and you'd have to look very hard to see the repair.
Debbie Thomas

To get an early start with my spuds, broad beans, tomatoes etc.etc. I start them all in bottomless newspaper pots in my cellar using fluorescent lights. Tomato pots about 8 inches x 8 inches. Pole beans which I grow to about three feet tall before planting out go in 1 1/2 inch dia. tubes about 7 inches long. Spud bottomless paper pots around 5 inch x 5 inch. etc. Just form the pot out of five or six sheets of newspaper and staple together. Could not get much cheaper pots than that.
Harvey Williams

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