Keeping gardensfree of those pests

She accompanied her talk with a slide show revealing many common problems.

One hopes all members present had had their supper before coming, as some of the slides were rather graphic!

Potato and tomato blight seem to be problematic for many gardeners this year.

Spraying every two weeks from mid June with Bordeaux mixture is a tip worth remembering for next year.

Mrs Frost also suggested growing early potatoes such as Kestrel, Accent and Lady Christl, as they don't seem so prone to this problem.

She suggested taking care when handling tomato seedling as even the smallest nick in the stems can result in Botrytis (grey mould) as the weather gets damp and colder come September.

There are many disease resistant varieties of vegetable available now so read seed packets carefully.

Cleanliness, removing weeds regularly, crop rotation and mixing flowers, herbs and vegetables together in a patch can confuse some pests and deter some diseases.

Three good examples of companion planting, she suggested, are to surround carrots with onions, grow marrow or courgettes under sweetcorn and marigolds under tomatoes.

Mrs Frost also spoke of the advantages of encouraging natural predators such as ground beetle and hedgehogs, ladybirds, hoverfly and lace wings all of whose laver enjoy a feast of green and black fly.

The song thrush along with many other birds enjoy a snack of snails and the common shrew is partial to woodlice.

If there is room for even the smallest pond, visiting frogs and toads will also help keep gardens pest free.