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Zanahoria[/i][/color]

Many REAL gardeners prefer to amend the soil rather than use the
fast fix of Miracle Gro. So since you have time ahead of you, perhaps
you could work on amending your clayey soil. I garden in an area of
adobe (clay) soil, so I work on adding compost, worm castings,
other elements that change the pH toward the äcidic. Easy to
research on-line, using keywords like "amend alkaline/clay soil",
"change pH" & so forth.

The time invested will pay off hugely down the line. Meantime,
your canes will probably be very happy in the containers with loamy
composted soil.

If you're worried about their being alive, just scratch along the cane
with your fingernail. You should see green if they''re alive. But
why wouldn't they be, dormant or not?

So don't panic; you have plenty of time to do your research. Just
send good thoughts, and adequate but not too much water to
your future raspberry bushes. (Mouth is watering...)

HB[/quote]

Thanks Higgs.

I intend to when I start preparing my vegetable patch in January. I did not think it was appropriate to start that kind of thing until after Winter? I did not realise the ground in my garden was so compact and sodden...

I have a compost bin bubbling away in the garden and my Aunt has three horses and a chicken farm so I'll be asking her to stockpile some manure for me in December :P Hopefully that, compost, some double-digging and whatever you can buy to break up clay will do the trick.

No I know they're alive now, I was just thinking if they don't do anything i.e. dormant until March that's 5 months as just some sticks poking in the mud... how do you know they're doing OK? Will their rootballs grow? if so I might buy some bigger pots to put them, if not, I'll just leave them where they are.