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Q – Can you recommend a deterrent for cats climbing on my polytunnel?

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Matt – You could plant Catmint (Nepeta) at the bottom to keep it off.Ìý

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Anne – I agree with plants to distract. You could plant Evening-primroses (Oenothera biennis).

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Chris – You could use a sprinkler or chicken wire to surround the perimeter.

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Q – Is it best to put manure on my vegetable patch in early winter or in spring?

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Chris – If you are making a trench to plant in at a later date, now is a good time to add raw manure and cover with soil. Preserve any well-rotted manure by covering it to stop water getting through and leeching the nutrients. Save it for the spring.

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Anne – If it is a clay soil you could use the manure now because the nutrients will not disappear as fast as sandy soil. You can always add more.

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Matt – I would add a layer of organic matter now to stop the winter rains leeching the goodness out of the soil.

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Q – Can I grow a bulb of garlic from Moldova here in the UK?

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Matt – Try planting some next year, you will need to improve the soil and make sure it’s free-draining and in a sunny spot. Start them in pots in a cool, frost-free area to give them growth time before spring. Grow each individual clove in a small plant pot.

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Chris - ÌýYou could plant the entire thing and put a cloche on top.

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Q – Which plants do the panel recommend to add to or make a sensory garden?

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Anne – I like scented plants such as mint, costmary (Tanacetum balsamita). Encourage birds and bees too, trees such as Malus ‘Golden Hornet’Ìýand Azaras attract bees very well.

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Chris – Populus tremula (European Aspen) trembles and makes a lovely sound. Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine) also makes a magical louder noise.

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Q – How can I stop my purple sprouting broccoli plants from turning into ‘triffids’?

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Anne -Ìý Make sure the soil is very firm, dig a shallow trench for the plants to sit in and let the soil fall around them. You can stake them so there is no rocking in the winter and make sure they’re planted at least 2ft (60cm) apart. You can grow in between them with plants such as lettuce.

Chris – You can harvest the stems now and eat them.

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Q – Can you recommend something spectacular and perennial to plant in a pot for a small, urban patio?

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Chris - Geranium palmatum or Geranium maderense are both large and multi-branching with purple stems. You could also try a Bougainvillea.

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Matt - Boronia heterophylla, Pomegranate (Punica granatum) and Lonicera hildebrandiana (giant Burmese honeysuckle).

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Anne – Mandevillas do well in harsher outside conditions.

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Q – When and how much should I prune my Viburnum 'Anne Russell' after pruning some bug-infected leaves?

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Anne – I would let it grow more because you may have removed its flowering buds for next spring. I would leave it to let it flower for the spring after next and then you could thin it out.

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Chris – On an ornamental shrub that flowers in spring, always prune after flowering in summer. If it flowers in summer, you can prune in autumn or winter.

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Q – My butternut squash failed this year, what are your tips for growing them better next year?

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Chris – I would put the seeds in individual pots, start them early in February or March. You could keep them on the kitchen window sill. Wait until the first set of leaves and then pot them on. Then you could use John Innes number 3. You could plant them straight into the compost heap.

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Q – What can I do with my 20-year-old, browning cactus in a glass jar?

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Anne – You could buy an air plant to lodge in the bristles of the cactus such as a Tillandsia.

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