[Daisy-at-the-dairy]

just a thought chriso but have you considered giving up on veg and planting fruit trees/ bushes instead? That way you only have to break your back once, when you plant, not every year.  Probably not what you want o hear as you will already have plans for neat rows of carrots, or whatever, but it is the advice I was given by two very experienced gardeners when i took over my heavy clay plot six years ago and I havn't had cause to regret following it.
Good luck

[chriso]

just a thought chriso but have you considered giving up on veg and planting fruit trees/ bushes instead? That way you only have to break your back once, when you plant, not every year.  Probably not what you want o hear as you will already have plans for neat rows of carrots, or whatever, but it is the advice I was given by two very experienced gardeners when i took over my heavy clay plot six years ago and I havn't had cause to regret following it.
Good luck

That is a very good idea Daisy.

Any ideas on what would grow well in wet sticky clay??? 

[Blonde]

 Nothing grows in sticky clay.   Best to bring in some sand to dilute the clay and then some compost.   All the clay does is hold water and this causes the air in the soil to be minimal....  if any at all.  Plants wil just drown in the excess water they find in the clay.  You need to open up the spaces in the clay to allow air and water to penetrate properly and fo the properties of clay to hold water but not excessive water. 
 Sweet potatoes will handle this type of soil a little better than most but the more sand you have the easier your gardening experinece will be.
     

[northfifeduckling]

tell me more about growing sweet potatoes! Was thinking of trying that this year. 

[Blonde]

tell me more about growing sweet potatoes! Was thinking of trying that this year. 

there are a  few varieties of sweet   potato.  One that has yellow flesh and one that has white flesh witha purple skin and one that has white flesh and white skin.   I have the  last two in and have started them a piece that some one has given me some time back.  Plant the piece  and keep them moist.  I prepared  my garden by adding a bucket full of pig manure and some straw that has been sitting around the farm for 2 or 3 years.  I then just dug a small hole and put the tubers in.   Leave the green leafy part above the soil and fill in the hole.  WAter but do not over water as the tubers will rot out.   In a week  or two the  extensions that are at the top of the soil will extend. Mine have been i a month and have doubled in size already.   

[northfifeduckling]

so can you grow them from supermarket ones? They  tend to have orange flesh. I also wondered if they need it warm, like in a polytunnel. 

[Blonde]

Yes you can grow the ones you find in a super market, just leave on the bench to shoot like a normal potatoe.  There are the yellow flesh and the white flesh  with a purple skin and the white flesh and white skin  I have them in now and we are coming up to the end of summer and going into Autumn.  they have gone mad, now that the tmperature has dropped   we had hot dry conditions but have just had rain and had 33 mm so everything is coming up green, it might be an early break for the farming community.  Have to see what else nature throws at us.  Need a good year, as we only  got a 5 bag wheat crop this eyar and that is just not enough for our return.  grain prices have gone through the roof along with every think else, so here on the farm we are now growing all our own vegies, including sweet potato.

You can grow garlic off the shelf also and onions if they are left to shoot, along with pineapples......... when you have cut the top off them plant the top in the ground.( not too deep)   It will produce another plant and another pineapple.  You can plant the choko see also and get it going, seeds out of the fruit you buy.  allow such things as sweet corn to dry out and plant this should germinate in the ground as well.   There are  heaps of things you can do to aid and increase what you have in the vegie patch.