Dropped lucky got a plot

Ei ill ge plenty of piccies up. In one of my books it has detailed pictures and descriptions of the weeds I'm likely to face so ill see what I can gather from that and post my findings on here with the pics.

 

Excellent news Dan!!
Mind you - I have a feeling there may just be a bit of friendly rivalry going on between you & your chum tho!!

 

You no it lol. We were saying other day if we fall out can always build a big fence between us

 

Nice to finally get onto a plot Dan...you wont regret that!

I'm in Kristens camp when it comes to plot management, I do not use chemicals although when I started my plot a couple of years ago I used round-up to clear what was there. It was towards the end of the season when I got mine, in August. and the whole round up procedure took around 5-6 weeks for it to work and kill off most things. If I had to do it again I would use round up on half the plot and dig the other half by hand as six weeks is a long time to wait and be inactive for.

Also, after a week I would cover the weed - killered area with black plastic or old carpet to stop any new growth coming up. Keeping bare soil either in use or covered is the key to success to keep weeds down if its growing crops hoe weeds down on bright days so that as they lay on the soil surface they bake in the sun and die off. Cover any ground not in use to keep weed growth down.

Later on as you become more organised/experienced you can grow green manure crops that when ready you can dig into the soil that help to enrich it and whilst its growing it covers the soil keeping weed growth down.

But get digging now, little and often, bit at a time..

Good luck!

Steve...

 

Thanks Steve yeh it's great bud really chuffed with it. We have been down today to have a proper measure up so I can get to work planning what is going we're. I've decided I'm not going to use any chemicals on the ground and to do it all by good old fashioned hard graft. We will use a turf cutter on the thick grassy areas but the rest will be dug and weeded by hand. We're not scared of hard graft and reckon that we (me and Richard) and any helpers we get can have it turned round in a weekend.

 

View from the bottom of the plot Richards is the first half mine is the back half

 

Wow didn't mean to do that many I phone went crazy

 

View attachment 15173
And an apple tree on my plot

 

Agree 100% with all those!

Once the grass on an overgrown plot (usually a sign of neglect for some time before the grass has taken over) is cleared the massive seedbank of weeds in the soil will germinate (whether it's 'hoeing weather' or not) and rapidly cover the entire area with something far more difficult to manage than mown/strimmed grass waiting to be dealt with.


P.S. Have you spoken to other plot holders about the recent history of these plots?

 

Yes apparently the woman who had it before us kept it really well and they said it looked fantastic I think it's only been empty a year or two. But that's all I no

 

I hear of stories of plots being taken on which are a forest of brambles ... yours looks relatively straightforward - get rid of the grass, turn over the soil, start planting

Spuds are regarded as a good soil-cleaning crop. Earthing them up means that the soil is "worked" when the plants are small, and then once they are big their leaves are very dense and not much light gets through to the "weeds" below.

Another common approach is to dig decent sized holes, incorporate plenty of manure, cover the area with black plastic (well, "weed membrane") and then plant pumpkins / squash through the plastic into the pre-prepared holes. You get a crop and the sheet prevents the weeds growing, and most will have exhausted themselves trying to grow by the end of year one. You don't have to dig the whole plot at the outset this way ...

You can plant regular crops through the plastic, so it can be used in future years to keep the weeds down.

Shiney grows his runners through weed-membrane:


http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/ive-bean-meaning-to-start-this-years-thread.45032/

Dave W's sprouts:


and leeks:

http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/mulch-sheet-for-veg-bed.4682/#post-41915

 

P.S. you could also plant Green Manure on areas that you have dug, but are not ready to plant. Green Manure is a name given to a plant that you grow, from seed, and then dig it into the soil to add vitality to the soil. Stops weeds growing instead, and adds goodness to the soil if it would otherwise just be doing nothing.

 

Yeh I've read all about green manures kristen. I have a few of the John Harrison books (several times) and some other books like hessian. I feel quietly confident that we will get it under control and keep it that way through weed control fabric and plenty of hoeing. But it all sounds easy in theory lol

 

Me too. He's a very readable author, and knows his stuff

But it ain't rocket science, or only a few would be doing it ... so bit of perseverance and some help from old-hands and job will be a good'un.

If you and family have a good palate and can discern the improved flavour from home-grown then once you have a harvest it will be easy for you to congratulate yourself. Important thing is getting you to that first harvest feeling it was worth it. IMHO that needs:

• Work required is not in the impossible/disheartening bracket. Lack of brambles and not having a seriously overgrown plot will held with that

• Minimal failures during the year ...
• Growing what you like to eat - so that even if not 100% you still feel it was worthwhile
• Hopefully choosing some tasty varieties - some crops, like Sweetcorn, score hands-down on that front - cooked within minutes of being harvested

On those three points my advice is not to experiment in first year or two, stick to basics. e.g. don't try seeds out of fruits from supermarket - they are more likely to fail to live up to your expectations. Choose varieties that folk here recommend - more likely to have good flavour (although "ask two gardeners and get three opinions" applies!)

And lastly:

• having some high-yielding but expensive-in-shops crops, like Runner Beans, will give you the feel-good of saving some cash too.

I wish you the best of luck in your first year