Brian Kidd’s gardening jobs for the weekend

- Brush the lawn and pick up all the leaves which can go into the compost bin. The lawn will look a lot smarter afterwards.

- Sow single seeds of early cauliflower in insert cells in a cold greenhouse. You won’t need more than 12 because they all come into fruition at the same time. Sow another batch in the same way in a months time.

- Autumn fruiting raspberries can be pruned now. Simply cut off every shoot down to soil level. Once this is completed, spread a four inch layer of well rotted manure over the border where they are growing.

- Green seeded broad beans can be sown now in a cold greenhouse or cold frame. Plant one seed in each insert cell and they will germinate in about three weeks. Don’t over water the compost otherwise the beans will rot. Remember, all types of green seeded broad beans are not hardy, so, don’t sow them outdoors until the first week in April.

- Begonia tubers can be planted in the greenhouse now.

- Sweet pea seeds can be sown now. Sow single seeds in deep pots – they don't need heat but ensure they are well protected from mice. Mice eat sweet pea seeds like there’s no tomorrow.

- Set yourself another target: plan to get as much digging done on the vegetable garden as possible and continue to leave large clods so that the frost can break the soil into a good tilth.

- If you are not happy with your compost, take out a trench for the runner beans, put the compost into the trench, cover it with soil and the soil bacteria will rot the material. Fork over some soil and start another compost bin.