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Sweet pots - yes grew them last year. I have read that it is hard as most are washed and covered in some chemical that stops them from sprouting. I only buy organic so didn't have this problem and they grew well.
I grew them in a container - I put the potatoes in and let them sprout and route then seperated them and planted the little plants and they grew into big plants.
They are not frost hardy.
I am now the proud owner of a greenhouse! It's up and complete and everything. Stocking to comence on monday, hurrah!! A little late, but in time for toms & cucumbers and my annual melon disaster
We enjoyed our first crop of baby spinach leaves tonight (munched with a gammon joint, mmmm
Biker Mouse - do you need to allow the same kind of depth as for normal pots? I understand that they're a kind of creeping vine plant, somewhat different from normal pots; I wasn't sure if they'd need earthing up like you do with normal potatoes.
I think I might invest in some more big pots and plonk my sweet pot plant in one.
Hurrah for greenhouse! I purchased one of those small polythene jobbies last year. Very useful. But not really big enough for all that I want it to do this year. I'm lucky though to have a "shed" - well, it's made of breeze block and is about 10ft by 6ft, so it's not small, which is helpful for raising seedlings and keeping things warmer than outside.
Anyone any advice about petrol scarifiers?
I've got a badly compacted back lawn, full of moss and weeds which I'm attempting to get under control. We've been in the place a few years and over the time, I've noticed the lawn becoming more bumpy etc and the grass disappearing, to be replaced by moss and weeds. Having done my research, I see that the compaction (we're on chalky clay if that's not a contradiction in terms) is due to poor drainage, aided by the moss etc (in spite of my weeding, feeding and seeding each year).
I'm de-mossing now, but think that I'll need to get a scarifier as I have an even bigger problem in the front garden. I've a lime tree 150 yrs old, absolutely massive, damaging the grass underneath (no light, no water) so the same problem with the lawn as in the back. The ground is now very uneven, compacted, the grass won't grow, the ground is bare, mossed over or full of weeds. It's also a large area.
I had the tree crowned when we moved in, but it's grown back hugely (too big for the space). I'm trying to get it crowned / thinned again, but the tree surgeons are a bit "tree huggers" and won't (can't) cut it back as much as the lawn needs.
The grass needs scarifiying and aerating to survive - electric ones won't be strong enough, so it looks as though it will need to be petrol. I've looked at hire, long term, it will be cheaper to buy.
Has anyone any suggestions / help please.
Thanks.
PS Greetings fellow gardening Mundanies.
Sorry - petrol sacrifices - must get some new glasses - or at least wear the ones I've got. Was thinking HL is in trouble, as are the other petrol heads around here.
I am not a lawn lover so I grow other stuff where the lawn should be. Clover is lovely and attracts the bees, also have ajuga but that likes it cos my garden is damp.
If the grass won't grow then I'd just bark chip the area and have a few small pockets of plants that attract the bees / butterflies / moths and other goodly insects.
the lime tree will be sucking the life out of the lawn for starters so you're always going to be up against that. root pruning might help but you need specialist advice and I guess the roots would only grow back anyway. and with a 150 yr old tree I guess you wouldn't/couldn't get rid of it - probably has a TPO on it anyway even if you wanted rid.
as for petrol scarifiers - no idea - probably more robust than electric though so likely to be a good investment
Thanks for comments - no TPO on tree, solicitor checked for me during purchase and I checked myself re crowning etc before had it done last time as never had anything like this to deal with before.
Had thought of removing grass but area is 45' x 40', has another large, triangular bit to one side and slopes off in both directions - bark wouldn't hold as it would get washed off. Paving would look odd (apart from being expensive) as such a large area, gravel is out, again due to size and I have enough problems with cat and dog poo as it is.
Beginning to see why they were in such a hurry to sell. . .
Where do you live I do decking
Woohoo - strawberry and raspberry plants starting to form fruits.
Could potentially be a good yield. 
It was a really good decision to choose three different strawberry varieties to grow, given the Great Sheffield Hailstorm - we haven't lost nearly as much potential fruit as we might have done.
Salads are abundant, spuds growing well (but still a lot of rogue ones to dig out!
) courgette plants, dwarf and french beans are coming on, and the little polythene greenhouse is fabulous.
Onions are still a bit pathetic.
I have managed to kill the tomato and pepper seedlings because I missed the boat with potting on
, but I'm less concerned about these than everything else - tomatoes are a pain in the arse anyway, and my sister-in-law's parents always have a good supply of spare pepper/chilli plants.
Now could someone lend me an air rifle for whichever cat it is that ignores all possible forms of deterrent and continues to use one part of my garden as a toilet?
What do you mean by courgette crisis, Happychap?
likewise - with salad greens - so much that we can't keep up and resorting to stir frys with them!
HC - waddya mean by courgette crisis?? nothing or too much??
I love the smell of tomato plants as well. Better still is the smell of Blackcurrent plants. I think my fav flower is elderberry - I so love them. Also love honeysuckle.
Strawberry flower? I have baby strawberries already.
None of them germinated at all
I've planted the last of the seeds this evening in the hope that some of them take.
On a positive note the strawberries are going crazy as are the runner and broad beans. The raspberries are also starting to fruit which is a bit bemusing as they are Joan J, an autumn variety. Also got currants and berries in abundance.
Grr!
Strong winds blew our polythene greenhouse over at the weekend!
Luckily, much of the stuff is still okay, but some of the courgette plants are a bit bent, I had to compost the sorrel and pepper seedlings as I couldn't find them amidst all the spilt compost, and I had a job to salvage the CCA peashoots and cress, which I had to use there and then rather than letting them grow more to my liking.
Have now moved said greenhouse, and have had to punch holes in the polythene
to thread string through in an attempt to attach it to the fence.
Gah I hate the weather conditions where I live
!
Re: raspberries, Happychap - I have autumn ones too (Polka) but I forgot to prune down last year's canes when we re-planted them (parents were clearing a lot of theirs as they didn't have space, so we got a big donation
) and then we had that big blizzard and it was too late.
They're now fruiting as earlies, but also throwing up autumn canes left, right and centre, which should behave in the normal manner.
It's normal for autumns to have a second, earlier crop on the previous year's canes if you don't prune them to the ground after the first crop.
Ken Muir suggests you can actually work with autumn canes so you prune down some but not others to give a summer and autumn crop in the same year - you do compromise yield, however.
I'm hoping to get back into a normal cycle with them this autumn
- Polka has a long summer-autumn fruiting season so I want to make the most of this in future.
Sorry to hear about the courgettes - there's still time to sow more, though.
everything is coming on apace now - toms are growing strongly and my chillies and aubergines are now in their large pots and looking good. still have squash, cucumber and courgette to pot up yet - next w/e
strange thing is that having to give up the odd joint is one of the only things I really miss about not smoking. it just doesn't cut it for me to use it in food - never gave the same kick that way..
Have now moved said greenhouse, and have had to punch holes in the polythene
to thread string through in an attempt to attach it to the fence.
Been there done that. Thought it was just cos I'd been given a cheap one.
Mine was quite a pricey, upmarket one, BM.
Oh well, guess it's just one of those things that happens.
As for cloches, polytunnels etc, I think in the future I will stick to homemade/makeshift 'constructions' rather than buying stuff. The ready-made polytunnel I got earlier this year was semi-destroyed in wind, although I managed to mend if after a fashion...
We get a lot of sun on our garden
but also far too much wind. 
Blimey Lady P where do you live?
Thanks for the info, the Joan J's are new canes planted in Dec/Jan. I guess they are just settling down in their new home?
<pootles off to dry some Sage
>