For detailed information on this newsgroup you are recommended to
read the charter for uk.rec.gardening at:

http://www.usenet.org.uk/uk.rec.gardening.html

There are a number of FAQ files (answers to Frequently Asked
Questions) which have been put together by the contributors
to this group and are available at:

http://www.nugget.demon.co.uk/MetaFAQ/index.html

If you are new to this group and have a particular question you
want to ask, do take a look at the FAQs first to see if your
question has been covered. The FAQs will usually give a more
comprehensive answer than is possible in a newsgroup article.

Now a little more information about the aims of uk.rec.gardening,
which we would ask you to read whether you are new to newsgroups
or an old hand. Note particularly the request not to post photographs.

Uk.rec.gardening is based in the British Isles for the discussion
of gardening within those islands. Some here are quite experienced
gardeners, others are (or were when they first joined urg) complete
beginners. It is an unmoderated self-help group and is not owned or
dominated by anyone.

If you are a newcomer (newbie) or a "lurker" (someone who reads but
has so far not posted anything), you are invited to introduce
yourself (though don't make it a reply to this thread - start a new
thread). Please do not feel any obligation to do this, but telling us
a little about yourself and, roughly, where you live, will help those
trying to answer your questions to give the best advice. Don't be
afraid of asking a question that you may fear is naive - remember,
we were all beginners once!

Sometimes people feel a little disappointed when they don't get an
answer to a question. There may be several reasons for this, the most
common ones being (1) no-one has the answer, (2) you didn't give a
clue in the subject header what your question was about, and (3) for
some reason the message did not get through. The best thing in the
last situation is to post the message once more. Urglers do try to
respond to new posters and no-one is deliberately ignored.

You may be puzzled by references to "urg" and "urglers". It's simply
an acronym and means this newsgroup and contributors to it!

Contributors from outside the British Isles are not discouraged but,
because this newsgroup is intended to help gardeners in the British
Isles, it should be remembered that all questions and answers should
relate to a climate similar to that found in the British Isles. We
thank you for your cooperation in this.

Here are one or two pointers to help you if you are not familiar with
newsgroups:

(1) NEVER post binaries (photographs or illustrations) in urg. They
will be cancelled automatically by the Usenet watchdogs! The reason
is that many will complain about the length of time taken to download
such files. If you want people to see your photograph then post it on
your own web page and put a message in urg telling people where to find
it.

(2) When you are replying to a message, it's a good idea to edit down
your quotes (snipping) to the point(s) that you are actually addressing,
but be sure that you have kept enough in to make it intelligible!

(3) Think out what you want to say and try to make it as concise as
possible. A long message in a busy newsgroup runs the risk of losing the
attention of readers.

Thank you for reading this and we hope that you will find
uk.rec.gardening a very helpful forum.