Disheartened

Well after all this rain,cold weather and a bad back I finally got back to the allotment! What a shock, it looks like it's never been worked. It's one mass of long grass and weeds.

So I have done a list of good and bad points of having one and to be honest the good points do outweigh the bad and I know that because of my frame of mind today I shouldn't make a decision whether to keep it or not.

So weather permitting I'll be over there tomorrow to have another go and tackle one bit at a time.

Sorry rant over..

 

At least you can tell your soil is in good heart if the grass and weeds like it! Wait till your out there on a sunny afternoon up to your waist in good spud leaves. Cheers, Tony.

 

stingo when you have nothing in the soil cover it over with dak tarp or carpets or even dpm just to keep the weeds down and then just pull it back when you want to work that area, it saves you so much work in the long run but dont give it up you know you would regret it

 

That is true chitting kaz and thanks for the tip and kleftiwallah I know I will feel differently when it's sunny and when I'm taking home the produce.
Thanks you both for the encouragement

 

I'd get the glyphosate out, it'll be working while you're not there.

 

Yeah to both the carpet and the glyphosate. No point in making the job miserable for yourself, and you'll love it when you see some results.
Also, if it seems a bit much could you get someone to share with?

 

or find some fool like me that does all the work whilst i cant remember when the last time i actually saw my official allotment owner

 

Keep at it Stingo, remember why you wanted the plot in the first place...and how long you waited for it.

Strim it first if you can, it looks so much tidier when done and will encourage you to do more like weedkilling and/or covering as mentioned above.

Good luck and pop back for more encouragment when needed.

Steve...

 

Glyphosphate won't stop all the weed seeds in the soil germinating all around whatever you've sown or planted in ground cleared that way, but courgettes and tomatoes love being planted through weed supressing mulches and overcome any delays caused by this foul wet weather, enabling you to get on with other areas. Getting stuff coming on in modular cell tray/pots/etc. will enable you to have plants ready to plant after clearing that will have a head start over any remaining weeds.

A quick session with a strimmer can make weeds look neat and tidy, and spending a few minutes cutting some straight edges to beds also helps. Ground for growing the likes of courgetes doesn't even to be cultivated, just dig a small pit at each planting position and fill with some compost prior to laying the carpet/dpm/whatever. (I've even laid damp newpapers/cardboard over strimmed grass/weeds and covered the lot with used stable staw and it suddenly looked very neat & tidy).

One bit at a time (but keeping the rest tidy'ish) is how I tackle things to avoid everything that needs doing appearing overwhelming - I grow on about 0.75 of an acre. When you start getting crops it'll seem more worthwhile. Next year will be much, much easier. So start getting some crops in and avoid the 'cover it with carpet and leave to next year' method - Wilkos & Homebase have half price seed spuds at the moment.

 

I've been over today and done more weeding and I actually got hubby to help clear an area for spuds

 

Sorry posted before I'd finished!

I already have some potatoes in, broad beans, onions, garlic, rasberries and strawberries, also asparagus so all is not lost. Also got peas, runners , french beans, courgettes, toms and cucumber growing on nicely in the greenhouse.

And as a bonus I've bought home some rhubarb for a nice crumble..

Anyway thanks all for your encouragement in my weak moment!!

 

And the strimmer has been charged for my next visit. Just got to find out what Glyphosphate and dpm are!!

 

glyphosphate i believe to be a chemical weed killer and DMP( sorry my bad ) is damp proof membrane
but any thing that is dark covering the soil will keep down the weeds, After i have cleared an area i cover it with any thing i got just so you arent doing the same peice over and over and over and over again

 

Thanks x

 

Sorry, the main brand name for glyphosate is "Roundup"

Weeding does get easier after a few years of not letting them set seed. A quick hoe when the weather is dry helps too, if you do it when its damp, you just end up transplanting the weeds.