My Allotment's Work In Progress

Leave it covered until you've got plants ready to go in. Cellular tray/pot grown plants are much better than sowing seeds direct into soil full of weed seeds.

 

Fair enough. But I was thinking about having lawn pathways instead of plastic membrane as I was looking between the pathways yesterday and seeing all the grass popping up between the membrane and thinking why don't I make grass pathways instead. So as long as I keep the grass cut I won't be struggling with the grass as much. I've seen another plot on the allotment doing it and I wonder if it will make my life a bit more worthwhile as well as adding lots of green waste to the compost heap.

I'm just finding the whole ethos that every weed must be exterminated on the plot a bit unachievable with black membrane down too. Some of the weeds I dug out yesterday between the layers of membrane I had to use a fork on it the end and this ended up tipping more seeds into the gaps or exposing more of the membrane and then I thought why not just work with the weeds rather than againist them?

I mean fair enough where the crops and fruit will be growing to supress the weeds but why cover up bits that aren't going to be used as crops as well? Just a thought really.

The good news is I can finally get my bike onto the plot now and it is starting to look a bit tidier.

 

Never had an allotment Jane but about 10 years ago my neighbour became a membrane convert and convinced all of us to use it. Yes, the gardens looked neater and the weeding was less of a problem. However, the difficulties came when we wanted to plant something else. I found that it did give cover to slugs, it does keep the weeds down a bit but beyond all that it's a real nuisance once you're changing your planting.

All of mine is gone now (hers too) except for some which is under a gravel path and I can see a use for that as the gravel has stayed at a good depth and not just been worn into the soil but as for everywhere else in the long term - no. For temporary use while you're establishing your plot it may help you to keep everything under control but I wouldn't even consider planting through it.

Best of luck, I do admire people who are willing to give the time and energy to allotments. I fear that by the time I could find the time I'll have run out of energy but I'm enjoying watching your progress and full of admiration.

 

Dug over one of the beds today to remove 3 barrow loads of weeds.



Am very glad I didn't use the weed killer in the end as I came across all of these! Must be about 2kgs in here.



Also made me smile coming onto the allotment today to see a fellow plotter had left these for me to help me build my compost bins.

 

I'm impressed with your progress- it seems you are working on your own? It has helped a lot that I help my daughter as she has done the digging and I have leant moral support! Also I plant when she has finished a bed. We have found much the same problems with our plot, some of this was covered by black bags weighted down with pallets in various stages of decay, and we found these areas much easier to deal with. We do have problems with weeds, but I think once the beds are established it will be easier to hoe between the lines of crops. We have mainly put in plants that we have raised elsewhere, but have one bed where we sowed seeds and apart from the leeks and carrots they are doing well. The leeks are a bit sparse after weeding but enough to continue with. We are trying to keep them netted with netting I already had or finer stuff from the allotment shop- if your allotment has one they are usually a very good source of supply for such stuff and also water butts. It also has a big pile of donated wood chips which can be good for mulching.
The only thing our site has that you haven't mentioned is a clubhouse where we can retire and enjoy a quick drink and snack after our labours!
I have found the main problem with pallets is taking them apart- the wood splits and some are actually screwed together, and if rusty these have been almost impossible (for me anyway) to deal with. We were lucky and found a load of boards to build beds with, but these are now exhausted.
We are planning now to try and get a lawn mower for next year so that the paths between the beds look better and are more manageable. At the moment the ground is a bit uneven which is a problem for me as I have to use a stick and am not very stable.
Really enjoyed reading your endeavours and comparing with ours!

 

PS do you know the method of building compost bins by cutting notches at each end of the slats so that they slot together? Much easier than nails or screws and you can take the front off for turning and unloading.
Use straight slats for the sides and notched ones for front and back, and for extra stability a post inside the front side slats.

 

I think both would be the best approach. Weedkill to make sure that pernicious weeds are killed, membrane to stop weed seeds germinating

The problem will be in the spring. Weeds will grow ahead of when you want to plant crops, so you will be weeding-to-plant/sow and then weeding to stop competition. If it were me:

I would remove the Mypex and store it, leaving the winter to get at the ground and allowing a really wet winter to perhaps dry out more quickly (than if covered). Ideally sow a Green manure for the winter.

In the early spring cover with Mypex, this will stop weed growth and the black may warm the soil. It will also keep moisture in.

Either remove the Mypex for sowing/planting, or plant through it. I agree with the earlier comment that you have to have an annually-repeatable planting scheme if you are going to use Mypex. You can cut new X-slits for different spacings, but the Mypex will turn into Swiss Cheese and then weeds will come through the gaps.

Don't be put off by the weeds that you had growing through/in the Mypex. I have long-term Mypex under hedges, mulched with bark - that's plenty enough for weed seed to make a start, the roots grow through the Mypex and then they are away,a s strong as if growing in the ground, and a nightmare to remove. On the plus side FAR fewer weeds grow than if there was no Mypex, and it does do a good job of retaining moisture for the young hedges

Mypex is expensive - so worth keeping on that basis - or swapping

I think that probably is the case - it provides a dark damp place for them ... if you keep a squeeky clean site you would+ avoid that, but if you have a few old leaves etc. I am not sure that you would have any less slugs harbouring in and under hidey-holes

 

Thank you. Yes I am working on my own as Mr Jane has work and back problems. He has never helped me dig and I'm quite happy to do it myself. He has however promised he will help me fix the shed's roof when the time comes.

I used to find it really difficult to take pallets apart and it would take me an hour to do. Now I can take one apart in 10 minutes, but this requires the right tools and the right sort of pallet in order to do this successfully.

I just used cable ties to string mine together. Seemed to work quite well.

 

I've just found this thread JJ and have enjoyed reading through so much this morning. It's slowly taking shape and I can see you are still very committed to getting it underway for Autumn planting. That was sweet of a fellow allotmenteer to leave those pallets there for you. I wish you well and I thank you for giving me another lovely thread to view here on GC,
sincerely,
Jenny

 

When I first approached the plot it was my intention to weedkiller the lot but now my ehtics I guess have changed. By the time the weed killer would have started working I will probably have dug most of the weeds out by hand. Not to mention all the baby new potatoes I found I probably would have had to have thrown away out of fear of them being contaiminated. I still intend to use the weedkiller on the plot but only for the bits I can't weed by hand because of the membrane.

An interesting idea but I'm not sure if I will do this or not yet. My aims this year are to clear the plot of weeds and possibly plant a few fruiting trees/canes/runners before the year is out, as well as repairing the shed, so it's water tight. The large patch with most of the membrane on it will be taken up and two large beds will be made but this may happen next year. It does make sense to take it up, let the weeds grow then kill it off, but I'm just a little concerned about biting off more than I can chew.

Now you see I still sit on the fence with this stuff. I have a large pile of it stuffed in the shed on my plot and I'm not sure if I will be using it. A lot of the plotters are really happy to help me out by giving me bits and pieces to help out and may offer it to them as a gesture of goodwill. But if it's expensive stuff and useful will I regret it later?

The row of raspberry canes I have along the south side of the plot have got weeds growing through the planting slits so I am somewhat reluctant to do this with my strawberry plants. But I've seen others on the allotment do it so probably will. I noticed too that they have planted the strawberries in high mounds. Does anyone know why this might be?

I was thinking of mulching the raspberry membrane with chipped bark if I can get hold of it, but wonder if its closing the door after the horse has bolted....

 

Don't dispose/give away Mypex!

I'm lazy and I know just how much it cuts work down, which is why I'm laying more and more of the stuff. Having said that I wouldn't grow Raspberries through Mypex as I'm also mean and the valuable runners underneath will be constantly failing to thrust their way back up through the stuff. I mulch our Raspberries with a mixture of rainwater soaked newspapers and manure.

The strawberries have probably been planted in 'mounds' because (like raspberries - I grow mine in shallow raised beds) they like to be in free draining ground. I'm about half way through planting approx. 250 strawberry runners through Mypex and I haven't bothered creating ridges, just made sure the crowns are slightly above the adjacent ground level.

 

Nice plot you have there, wish I could get an allotment, but can't find out where to get one, there are a few near me

 

So I went up there yesterday to find that a fellow plot holder was strimming all the paths around my plot. Has made a massive diference and has revealed even more ground that I own that I didn't realise was mine. My plan is to shift some of the scaffold plank beds around now so I have a bit more space between the pathways to get my wheelbarrow in.

Some pictures Mr Jane took.

 

fabulous thread - love it!!!
wish I had the time to take on an allotment ... keep posting pictures, its fascinating to watch your progress!

 

So you've got a plot with:

1) A shed
2) Ready built partially filled raised beds
3) Fruit bushes
4) Rhubarb
5) Vast areas of Mypex - do not dispose of it as it can be used over raised beds + most fruit growing areas.

You've done very extremely well!

Agree, not just not enough room for a barrow, but a stupid narrow width not even enough to get into for weeding.