Help MBE grow his dinner 2012

annie123

My tatties are already in.....but, I've warmed the soil for 3 weeks and I'm in London. The rest will go out over the next 2 weeks or so.

mrbadexample

How did you warm your soil?

annie123

I have clay soil so it's very slow to warm up, so every year I do a small area just to get my spuds.
I've tried various ways over the years and what works best for me is pick a dry day, preferably after a few sunny days, but thats hit and miss, put black plastic (inside out compost bags are good) directly on the soil held down with bricks and a plastic 99p store cloche on top.
Leave for 2-4 weeks.
My first spuds will be out of the ground in time to put courgettes in at the beginning of June. I will take my first spuds 10 weeks from last week:D
Spuds due after that will go in pots or wedged in as and where I can, but I always get the best size crop from the ground and I like my first tasty tatties:D

PS.....I only have a small garden, so it's only a little area I do, about the size of one of your beds.

KazLA

KazLA wrote: »

Jobs to do:
Find out how to tell which raspberry stems to cut down (had previously cut them all to the ground, but got no raspberries, so last year tried leaving them & got loads, so obviously the type that needs to grow on last years stems) I have loads of really long stems, and think I need to cut down the ones that had raspberries on last year and leave ones that were new last year? But how to tell??

Ok, so it appears I should have cut down the fruiting canes after picking the last raspberries, so I could tell which ones to cut! They should now be grey-ish brown with peeling bark. I should then cut any other stems that are too tall down to about halfway, just above a good bud. Once this rain stops, I'll test the theory! I should then also put in stakes and wire... :undecided

Raspberries on the right (test photo coming up, fingers crossed)

http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r598/kaz5167/P1060409.jpg

Mmmm... Didn't work, help please!

mrbadexample

Photo works - if you want to post it directly into the thread then copy & paste the " alt="code. " />

KazLA

Ok, thanks, lets try again, some more garden and allotment pictures:

Main planting area (Asparagus patch on left - now weed-free:T)


Opposite view


Self-seeded purple sprouting broccolli (not actually sprouting anything yet though!) and parsley


My helper!


Allotment early last year


My other helper!

djohn2002uk

KazLA wrote: »

Raspberries on the right (test photo coming up, fingers crossed)
http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/r598/kaz5167/P1060409.jpg
Mmmm... Didn't work, help please!

Worked OK for me.:D

kazire

Ok so this is my fist pic I hope it doesn't come out to big/small

These are my little seedlings



The ones to the left are tomatoes they are very small but the one in the middle is green cucumber

Lotus-eater

The newer raspberry canes are usually the darker ones IIRC, i haven't done my summer fruiting ones yet (like the ones you have) so it's not too late.
When I get a look at them, it's usually quite easy to see which ones have fruited before. Once you get your eye in, it will be a breeze.

Your first helper and one of your sheds look exactly like mine

TallGirl

This Thread is fantastic please can I join I have grown in pots, raised beds and bags for years. This year I'm going into the ground. Have clay stony soil but it's eing dug out to a bed of of 9m x 2 m planning to have four dwarf fruit trees, fruit bushes and veg. Got my seeds in pots and a propagator this weekend and the potatoes had been chitting for weeks now.

We live on the South Coast so hope to start getting things in the grown this weekend when the hard landscaping will be done.