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I've dug 3 trenches now but not yet planted. What I want to know is why doing anything to do with potatoes gives me instant backache?

cos its hard manual labour and my muscles ache toooo any natural herbs i can put in me bath ?

well hol mon i have put 10ft row of turnip in,10ft row spring onion.10ft row beetroot ,20ft row of carrots. i have covered the carrots with fleece oh yes ina i have took your advice and covered one of my rows with old aviary wire bent over like a cloche .my parsnip seed have been in four weeks and not up yet. but the weeds are how an earth will i know what to weed i have marked each row with raddish seed.any advice.

Well done Gunners, what a great day for gardening.

I have been a busy bunny today too. Quite proud of my futile efforts! I have planted all the turnips you sent me (springies in the post tomorrow ~ promise) all the chard seeds, butternuts, sprouts, runner beans, french beans and a couple of sunflowers with the kids.

Jools has potted up 50 lavender plants ready for his next landscaping project and tidied up the garden. He's mowed the lawn, dug over my titchy little raised beds (you'd laff if you saw them) and made me a big waterproof table out of an old paperpasting table and some tarp to put my seedlings on.

Anything that grows good and strong with uneaten leaves, and is hard to pull out, is bound to be a weed.

If it comes out easy, best put it back.

Parsnips take ages to germinate - don't give up yet! Carrots are slow, too... One thing we did at one of the farms where I worked: We marked the rows with calcified seaweed. Available (not that easily) as a slow acting fertiliser. As it dissolves so slowly, it marks the rows clearly for a long time - definitely long enough until everything has come up - and in the end it improves the soil, too.
I've never done it in my own garden yet, would probably have to order the seaweed by mail order, and I'm a bit wary about using it anyway: Costs a lot to ship around the country (because it's heavy stuff), and the retrieval from the sea is not without problems, either - habitats are potentially endangered.

PS (as for whatever reason there's no edit function on this thread??!!)

You could always leave the string that you've used for making a straight line in (if, indeeed, you have used a string and it is a straight line!). Another good use for baling twine... (I've still got a few bags full if anybody needs some!)

Gunners you are going to have such a cropping session later on this year. All this hard work will be well worth it. Will you be opening a shop /Market stall then and you could call it.......

Gunners Runners! (have you planted any?)

no nat too early to plant out runners hust done 70 last week in pots coming through now put out in may

I have only just sown some too last week. I have been on slug patrol today as well. Just thought I'd start snatching the baby ones before they get out of control!

My onions have got roots already and I only planted them two days ago! How do I know - the silly things have pushed themselves up out of the soil!

So the hard work is done - spuds and onions planted - now only got a few veg seeds to get in and then do all the rest when I come back from my holiday.

well i have got me runnerbean frame etc finished its going to feed me anyone else lol. every thing is coming together putting me runnerbean plants in and a tip i got given put a seed behind too so you have some more coming on i have 60 plants at the moment helda a french climber, and good old scarlet emperor.