Mr. Fothergill's Growing Together

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If you still have outstanding items on your order these will be sent to you as advertised. However, the dates given should only be used as a guide as these dates can be affected by weather conditions throughout the season. All our live plants, bulbs and tubers are sent out at the best time for planting straight out in the garden

Dispatch dates are given as a guide only and represent the beginning of the despatch period. Some seasonal items can be despatched across several weeks and we always despatch oldest orders first, once items are in stock. Factors outside of our control, such as weather conditions or light levels, may affect live product growth rates and may cause delivery dates to vary. The most up to date delivery information can be found online at: www.mr-fothergills.co.uk/track-order

We regret that we cannot delay the dispatching of your plants to accommodate holidays etc. However, if you think you might be away from home when your plants are due for despatch, please advise us at least 3 weeks beforehand and we can arrange for your order to be sent to a relative or friend/neighbour. We cannot be held responsible for non-collected items from the post office.

If delivery is to a UK address, seed products will usually arrive within 3-5 days of receiving your successful payment. We regret that we cannot supply any orders outside of the United Kingdom. There are no exceptions to this policy.

For orders of non-seed products (e.g. plants, potatoes, accessories, etc) the latest despatch dates are listed alongside each product.

We regret that we can no longer accept any orders for delivery outside of the UK mainland for any products including seed. We reserve the right to cancel and refund any orders inadvertently accepted for delivery outside of the UK.

Orders from customers in Northern Ireland Proposed non-tariff, phytosanitary customs checks imposed upon us after 1st January, may mean that we will no longer be able to supply any products to customers in Northern Ireland.

All of us at Mr Fothergill’s genuinely care for our customers and insist that the quality of all our seeds, plants, garden equipment and level of customer service are of the highest standards – we want you to enjoy shopping with us. However, we are only human and very occasionally things do go wrong, but please rest assured, we will always do our very best to put things right.

Seeds

If you have any concerns or problems with your seeds, please return the packet to us for replacement using the returns address label on your despatch note, telling us what the problem is. Returning the packet will enable us to trace the batch from which it was packed, and thoroughly investigate any quality control issues.

All Other Products

Should you have any problems with live product or any garden equipment items, please do not return them, simply contact our Customer Services Team on 0333 777 3936 who will be pleased to assist you with your specific issue. Lines are currently open 8am-6pm weekdays, 9am-5pm weekends. Our call centre capacity is currently reduced to ensure staff safety. Please accept our apologies in advance should this result in your having to wait longer than normal in a call queue. We’re working hard to expand capacity and hope to be able to extend operating hours in the near future. Calls cost the same as calling 01 and 02 numbers and can count towards inclusive allowances on landlines and on mobiles. Please contact your phone provider for confirmation of your agreement.

On rare occasions, as a result of high demand or crop failure, a variety may become sold out. If we are unable to fulfil your order, we may send an alternative variety which will be carefully chosen as a suitable substitute, with similar merits and is of equal or greater value.

If you are unhappy with the substitution selected, please contact us and we will be happy to offer you an alternative, or give you a full refund.

Electric Company Vehicles & EV Charging Points

We are transitioning company vehicles to electric vehicles where possible. EV Charging points have been installed at our offices for use by staff and visiting trades reps.

Printed Material

Our catalogues are printed on paper that is PEFC and FSC certified from sustainably managed forests and controlled sources. This means the forests are managed in a manner that ensures they will be here for generations to come. Harvesting trees does not have a negative impact on the forests, as they will be replanted. See www.pefc.co.uk for more information.

All seeds offered by us are guaranteed to comply at the time of delivery with E.U. Seeds Regulations currently in force. Information given about products is to the best of our knowledge, and is for general guidance only. All dimensions and capacities are approximate; please also remember that environmental factors can affect plant growth.

Frequently asked questions about Viresco Aqua water treatment. How to use it, how safe it is to use and how it provides clearer pond water and reduced levels of algae.

How Viresco Aqua algae control works

Viresco Aqua works as an algae control product by removing nitrate from pond water. It is only when the nitrate has been taken down to zero that the algae dies from starvation. The time taken to reduce nitrate to zero varies considerably. For some people it takes a few days; for others it can be several weeks.

The rate at which the nitrate falls depends on a whole host of different aspects. These include water temperature, (the colder the water, the longer it takes), fish stocking levels, feeding regime (i.e. frequency of feeding and quantity and type of food used), topping up the pond with nitrate-containing tapwater, topping up with rainwater that can contain significant amounts of nitrate, water run-off from surrounding land, streams that may enter the pond etc.

Whilst some people realise that some tapwater can contain relatively high amounts of nitrate, many people do not appreciate that relatively high levels of nitrate can arise in rainwater, particularly if the pond is in an urban area or near a motorway. This is because vehicle exhaust gases contain nitrogen peroxide and, when it rains, this falls as dilute nitric acid.

If there is still some nitrate in the water (be it 50 parts per million or 5 parts per million), there remains enough food for the blanketweed or algae bloom and it will continue to grow.We advise that the nitrate level should be checked before Viresco Aqua is put into the pond water and then again after, say, after 7 to 10 days. If the pondkeeper does these nitrate checks, he will see how our product is working. The nitrate has to drop to zero before the algae - blanketweed or greenwater - dies of starvation. For some people, the product works quickly, i.e. within a few days, but for most people it takes considerably longer. Some pond keepers claim, correctly, their blanketweed seems to be growing faster after Viresco Aqua has been applied. This can be very much the case at certain times of the year. The reason for this increase in growth rate is that the number of hours of sunlight in a day is increasing in Spring and early Summer. As we move into Summer the strength of the sunlight also increases and the water becomes warmer. All these changes cause blanketweed to grow even faster.

Remember, blanketweed and algae bloom can grow if there are very small amounts of food (nitrate) in the water, so it will continue to grow until Viresco Aqua has brought the levels to zero.

Occasionally a courgette plant will produce extremely bitter, inedible fruit with high levels of cucurbitacin, which if they were to be eaten could make a person unwell.

Although rare, it can occur when a courgette plant is cross-pollinated by pollen from a wild or ornamental bitter gourd which naturally contains high levels of cucurbitacin to deter predators. This problem is only likely to occur with ‘open pollinated’ courgette varieties, where insect pollination produces crops in an open field environment. Although all possible precautions are taken to prevent cross-pollination, the arbitrary nature of this natural process means a small possibility remains.

A few cross-pollinated seeds could grow to produce plants that share the trait of the bitter gourd parent and it is this generation of plants that may then go on to produce fruit with high levels of cucurbitacin. These plants should be discarded as they will only produce inedible fruit.

The initial fruit from the cucurbitacin free, pure bred parent is still perfectly edible even if its seeds have been cross-fertilised. This means that all squashes and courgettes can be grown together without affecting the quality of their crops. However, because it is not possible to tell if the seed within a fruit has been cross-fertilised, it is best not to save these seeds for future plants.

We would always recommend using high quality, bought seeds, as commercial courgette growers will take all possible precautions to reduce the risk to an absolute minimum.

F1 hybrid varieties are pollinated in a controlled way and therefore their seeds are not at the same risk from accidental cross-pollination, although on rare occasions higher levels of cucurbitacin can be caused by a spontaneous mutation, as a response to injury or other external factors such as severe water stress.

Although exceptionally unusual in commercially available seeds, cross-pollination with bitter wild types was a phenomenon traditionally known to smallholders and kitchen gardeners who regularly saved seeds from harvested fruit. It was common practice for the first fruit from a plant to be checked by cutting a slice and touching it with the tip of the tongue. Fruit that is high in cucurbitacin is so very bitter it is instantly recognisable. The offending plant would then be removed and discarded. If the first fruit tastes fine, then the likelihood is that all other fruit from that plant will also be good.

Few gardeners these days save seeds from courgette harvests and the practice of the a ‘tongue tip taste test’ has become less well known, however, it is easy to do and still good practice when harvesting the first fruit from a new plant.

We take great care and pride in the selection, testing, production and overall quality of our seeds and plants and our customer service – we want you to order with confidence and enjoy shopping with us. All seeds and plants should arrive in good condition and once planted should perform well. Should any plants arrive in poor condition or seed suffer from poor germination, we will happily arrange a replacement or refund. We regret that we cannot replace or refund plants effected by inclement weather, pests or disease. We may ask for photos of damaged plants, products or packaging so that we can inform our delivery and nursery partners. This does not affect your statutory rights.

You can fill out our customer satisfaction form here.

Viresco Aqua works as an algae control product by removing nitrate from pond water. It is only when the nitrate has been taken down to zero that the algae dies from starvation. The time taken to reduce nitrate to zero varies considerably. For some people it takes a few days; for others it can be several weeks.

The rate at which the nitrate falls depends on a whole host of different aspects. These include water temperature, (the colder the water, the longer it takes), fish stocking levels, feeding regime (i.e. frequency of feeding and quantity and type of food used), topping up the pond with nitrate-containing tapwater, topping up with rainwater that can contain significant amounts of nitrate, water run-off from surrounding land, streams that may enter the pond etc.

Whilst some people realise that some tapwater can contain relatively high amounts of nitrate, many people do not appreciate that relatively high levels of nitrate can arise in rainwater, particularly if the pond is in an urban area or near a motorway. This is because vehicle exhaust gases contain nitrogen peroxide and, when it rains, this falls as dilute nitric acid.

If there is still some nitrate in the water (be it 50 parts per million or 5 parts per million), there remains enough food for the blanketweed or algae bloom and it will continue to grow.We advise that the nitrate level should be checked before Viresco Aqua is put into the pond water and then again after, say, after 7 to 10 days. If the pondkeeper does these nitrate checks, he will see how our product is working. The nitrate has to drop to zero before the algae - blanketweed or greenwater - dies of starvation. For some people, the product works quickly, i.e. within a few days, but for most people it takes considerably longer. Some pond keepers claim, correctly, their blanketweed seems to be growing faster after Viresco Aqua has been applied. This can be very much the case at certain times of the year. The reason for this increase in growth rate is that the number of hours of sunlight in a day is increasing in Spring and early Summer. As we move into Summer the strength of the sunlight also increases and the water becomes warmer. All these changes cause blanketweed to grow even faster.

Remember, blanketweed and algae bloom can grow if there are very small amounts of food (nitrate) in the water, so it will continue to grow until Viresco Aqua has brought the levels to zero.

Viresco Aqua will give three basic benefits to the pond keeper. It will reduce and remove nutrients (nitrate and phosphate) in the pond water that feed algae. As a result, blanketweed (string algae) and algae bloom (green water) die of starvation. Secondly, Viresco Aqua will digest waste organic matter in the pond. Thirdly, Viresco Aqua will improve the health, growth and disease resistance of fish.

Viresco Aqua is a mix of two groups of micro-organism based items. One group removes the nutrients - notably nitrate and phosphate - from pond water and the other group digests organic waste on the bottoms and sides of ponds.

Viresco Aqua is a dry powder. We advise that the appropriate amount be mixed into half a bucket to a bucketful of water and allowed to stand for a few hours. The water should be taken from the pond. Ideally it should be mixed in the morning and applied to the pond in the evening. Also some air should be introduced into the solution via the use of an air stone or regular whisking. Never leave the solution for more than 24 hours before applying to the pond. Should Viresco Aqua be put into the pond or into the filter? Most people put the solution of Viresco Aqua directly into the pond although some put the concentrated solution directly into the filter.

Some of our customers make one application and then see no more blanketweed for over one full year. Others keep blanketweed at bay for a few months with one application. However, a minority of pondkeepers need more than one dose to suppress blanketweed. Remember, every pond is different.

It makes sense to consider the application of maintenance doses. However, unlike recommendations for some other products, we do not suggest what and when these should be. We advise that nitrate levels should be regularly checked and the readings used as a guide as to when more Viresco Aqua should be added

Many ponds have filters with capacities that are far greater than those needed for the ponds' volume. More fish tend to be introduced knowing that the filters can cope with the increased amounts of ammonia. Where this is the case, then more Viresco Aqua than our suggested dose should be used. The amount required is linked to the increased amounts of ammonia produced rather than just straight water volume. As a guideline, if there are more than 2.5kg of fish weight per 1000 gallons of water, then more Viresco Aqua should be used.

Similarly, where overfeeding occurs or when very high protein foods are used, more ammonia is produced. More ammonia means more nitrite and more nitrate. More Viresco Aqua should then be used.

Many people see blanketweed dying back within 4 to 5 days. For others it does take longer. For most people it occurs within about 3-4 weeks. If, after this time, no noticeable change has taken place, then apply a second dose

We would advise that as much of the blanketweed as possible should be wound out before the Viresco Aqua is applied. This will reduce the need to clean up weed debris after it has died. It will also keep better control over rising pH levels.

Yes, Viresco Aqua is safe for fish. It was initially formulated for use in commercial fish farming to improve the growth, health and disease resistance of the fish. The fact that it suppressed algae growth by removing the nutrients on which algae feed turned out to be a bonus

Viresco Aqua improves the health of fish. They eat better and grow quicker. They are less prone to fungal and bacterial diseases. Many of our customers have referred to their fish becoming "more lively". One customer first bought the product at the end of May 2001. Exactly seven days later, she rang to say that the nitrate in the pond was zero and the blanketweed was gone. Her object was to take the nitrate to zero as she knew her koi would be healthier. She admitted her fish were now "different creatures".

The reason why a fish succumbs to a bacterial or fungal disease is the bacteria or fungi that form the disease have become predominant. If the pond system were kept in better balance and the disease microbes had greater competition, then they would not become predominant and form the disease. The micro-organisms in Viresco Aqua are present in huge numbers and in a number of different species. They do not remove the disease forming species but compete with them for food and space and keep their numbers down so they do not take over.

Yes, there is no problem for other wildlife, e.g. wild birds, fish, frogs, newts, pets, plants, insects and humans.

No, Viresco Aqua does no harm to plants. However, because Viresco Aqua reduces nitrate levels in the water, plants may grow less strongly. For example, leaves of, say, water lilies grow less vigorously but the bonus is that they should flower better.

All Viresco Aqua products are micro-organism based and the method of operation is biological and not chemical. Viresco Aqua contains a number of species of micro-organism carried on bran. In addition there are support nutrients which are included in the mixes

There is some evidence that using salt can inhibit the effect of Viresco Aqua. We have had reported by one customer that salt levels of over half an ounce per gallon can affect Viresco Aqua.

Magnetic blanketweed control products do not affect the microbes in Viresco Aqua.

Any fungicidal chemical that knocks back the microbes in a filter system will also knock back the microbes in our Viresco Aqua products. Wait until these chemicals have dissipated. An example of such a chemical is potassium permanganate. However, other chemicals that are known not to affect microbes can be used at the same time as Viresco Aqua. Many people use branded herbicides to remove blanketweed and these types of products would not normally lower the efficacy of Viresco Aqua. However, it still would be best to leave a gap of a few days between using any injurious chemical and using Viresco Aqua

Obviously as water is removed from a pond, the microbes in that water will be lost. However, because micro-organisms are always growing and multiplying as long as there is food and space available, those that remain in the pond will increase in numbers until a microbial balance is reached.

Viresco Aqua helps to maintain an efficient biological filter as it contains microbes that are used in the nitrifying process in the filter.

Yes, Viresco Aqua works best in water temperatures above about 10°C (50°F). However, it will work in lower temperatures but more sluggishly

Yes, Viresco Aqua can be over-dosed with no problem. It is organic, not chemical. We have one customer who each year uses 6 times our recommended dose all at once and for over four years has not seen any blanketweed. The only qualification is that enough oxygen should be present in the pond when Viresco Aqua is used. So, ensure that you have a filter, oxygenating plants, waterfall, fountain or an airstone. The waste-digesting microbes in Viresco Aqua will take oxygen from the water, which fish need, so it is important that there is plenty of oxygen available.

What effect does Viresco Aqua have on nitrate and phosphate? Viresco Aqua removes the nitrate arising from the biological filter. Nitrate is formed from the conversion of nitrite that in turn has been oxidised from ammonia. Nitrate can be reduced to zero within a few days and kept at zero by the action of the microbes in Viresco Aqua. Phosphate is also reduced but usually much more slowly. When the nitrate level in the pondwater is zero or very, very low there is no food available for the algae - either blanketweed or algae bloom.

We are finding that, in high pH water, Viresco Aqua seems to take longer to work.

It is widely accepted that ultra violet light from the sky does destroy bacteria. In order to protect the bacteria in Viresco Aqua, we recommend that the solution of the product be applied to the pond in the evening, during low daylight levels followed by a period of darkness. Initially, we also recommended that UV filters be turned off as the UV light from them could affect the efficacy of the product. However, we now believe that UV filters can be left on as the intensity of the emitted light is generally not enough to kill bacteria.

UV lights are primarily used to agglomerate algae bloom, the clumps of which are caught up in the physical filter. Viresco Aqua removes the nutrients on which both blanketweed and algae bloom live, so there should be no need to use a UV filter once the nitrate levels have been taken to zero. It is still advisable to apply the product to the pond in the evening as the intensity of UV from daylight, even on bright cloudy is considerably greater than the UV from pond filters.

The Viresco Aqua microbial products are purposely put out as soluble powders. There is a tendency for the powder to solidify over time. There is no problem with this. The Viresco Aqua range, unlike microbial products in liquid form, have unlimited shelf lives if kept dry. Liquid microbial products deteriorate over time. The end user of a liquid product is usually uncertain of its shelf life.

Viresco Aqua was launched as a blanketweed control product in autumn 1997.

Yes. Viresco Aqua is entirely safe for humans - it is not a chemical or a pesticide and is non-toxic. Please follow the instructions on the pack, and ensure to wash your hands after use. If spilled or sprayed onto the skin or eye area, rinse immediately with cold water. Not for human consumption, so please store safely.