Prepping for Brexit thread

Primrose

Raspberries and blackberries will still grow in shaded area. I have both growing against a north facing fence which gets hardly any sun except at midday in the height of summer. Your crops will probably just ripen a little later.

If you want thornless blackberriy bushes you will need to buy.a thornless variety from a garden centre. Wild brambles transplanted will have thorns and may be difficult to manage once they start growing robustly.

euronorris

Good point Primrose! Thank you. With a toddler, probably best to get a thornless variety. She did a good job helping me forage last year, but we both had a few ouchies!


A different work colleague has just told me that he has an out of control rhubarb plant in his garden, and a cooking apple tree, both of which just go to waste each year as they are 'too lazy to do anything with it'. Me: 'Err.....bring in all that food please, I will cook it and eat it!' lol.


We do have a rhubarb plant ourselves, but it is pot bound. DH never got around to transplanting it. Not sure how it's still going to be honest. Anyway, I cleared the really shady corner of our garden couple weekends ago and we are going to transplant it there this weekend and hope it survives/thrives!

Zentimes

I also grow raspberries, redcurrants and blueberries on a north-facing side of the garden, so largely in shade. The raspberries are insanely productive! We get 2 crops from them, one in June and one in September/October. The one redcurrant bush produces a heavy crop each year, the blueberries less so but they're smaller and younger plants. We freeze most of the berries. Last year we planted a white currant bush so hopefully will see a few berries from it this year! Our soil isn't clay at all but a free-draining more sandy variety. The only threat to the raspberries is if we have very misty wet weather, then they can rot.

euronorris

Thanks zentimes. We also have blueberry and blackcurrant plants. These are all potted in self watering system and seem to produce well each year. They are in a very sunny area! lol

silvasava

I'm another one who grows raspberries on a north facing fence & mine crop well too. Euronorris - have a look in Morrisons too - I bought a thornless blackberry a couple of years ago and the berries are huge as big as your thumb! I've also got a red gooseberry but the thorns are lethal.

Zentimes

silvasava wrote: »

I'm another one who grows raspberries on a north facing fence & mine crop well too. Euronorris - have a look in Morrisons too - I bought a thornless blackberry a couple of years ago and the berries are huge as big as your thumb! I've also got a red gooseberry but the thorns are lethal.

We used to have a green gooseberry but yes, the thorns are nasty! So in the end replaced it with the raspberries and so glad we did. Even if they are 6 ft high in autumn!

Farway

euronorris wrote: »

We do have a rhubarb plant ourselves, but it is pot bound. DH never got around to transplanting it. Not sure how it's still going to be honest. Anyway, I cleared the really shady corner of our garden couple weekends ago and we are going to transplant it there this weekend and hope it survives/thrives!

Shady area is not ideal for rhubarb, unlike blackberry etc
I've just moved mine from it's shady area to a sunnier spot

euronorris

Farway wrote: »

Shady area is not ideal for rhubarb, unlike blackberry etc
I've just moved mine from it's shady area to a sunnier spot

Ohhhh, right you are. I got it mixed up, seems its the other way around. Mmmm, scuppers my plans a little. Need to rethink. Thank you.

culpepper

DryTheRain wrote: »

On a more sombre note, I've been considering getting a landline phone and/or solar power bank so I can summon help if the electricity goes kerplunk (T1 diabetic). Would it be feasible to run a USB fridge off the latter? Any thoughts/suggestions much appreciated.

I think the little USB fridges use around 1.1 amp an hour so a power bank with 20000mah (20amp hours)would run one for about 18 hours. You would need it to be plugged in 24/7 as they are not insulated at all so you would need 27000mah roughly for a full days use and then a way to recharge it .
Those little stick type powerbanks you see in poundland are no good for that, much too weedy only 1200mah.
Most of the powerbanks I have seen have a 'usb in' for charging which can be plugged in to a car cigarette lighter port with a usb adapter in it or plug into a computer usb or a mains usb plug.

HTH

silvasava

Melanzana just read your post re Corned beef cans - I hate the keys too - I use a can opener on both ends and push it through. It's a little awkward in the corners but I find I can 'puncture' the can with the can opener where the wheel can't bite. HTH.