Please help me get more organised? I don't want to give up my lotty

lindseykim13

Having got hardly anything out of the lotty this year and it now looking like it needs a weeks worth of hard work to get it back upto scratch down there. I'm hoping to find something to get me more organised. I will admit having a baby with us this year has made things difficult. But i've always had the tendancy to get the seedlings down the lotty then not get back down there for a week or more. So in dry spells i've found i've lost half my seedlings and in wet ones my toms have blight. If it's not the weather its the badgers wrecking my sweetcorns.
I seem to try harder every year but i'm loosing all hope. Take a look at the other plots and i'm baffled as to how their plots don't end up looking like mine.

For example we spent 2 whole days taking barrow loads of couch grass out of one patch and clearing it so it was really clear. Now not much more than 3mths later it's all growing back

I just want some soil to plant in! I'm all fine with pulling the weeds and giving it a hoe but it's ridiculous down there with the grass it just seems to turn into a jungle so easily.

I can't afford to spent a fortune like others have on plastic weed sheeting and bark chips/stones. Then wood for the edges.
The way i have it laid out is just 8x2m rectangles cut out for planting areas and grass paths inbetween. Which then grow into the patch and we have to re-cut the patches every year.

Please can i have suggestions to make things easier down there, i seem to spend more time digging and battling with the plot than actually growing anything. Half the patches are empty and have tried to cover them over but the bloody grass just comes through somewhere. I have wondered if it's just easier to plant a few bits at home but i used to really enjoy going down there. Feeling a bit down about it all.

amcluesent

Good splash of glyphosate on the grass and again on regrowth, then potatoes next year to cover & break the ground?

lindseykim13

Thankyou i'm trying to be organic, but more potatos i think is the way to go. Will at least cover some of it.

Feeling a little better now anyway just need a real plan of action to stay on top of things down there.

valentina

Totally agree with the glyphosate - we tried digging out couch repeatedly, got fed up, applied the glyphosate just once and now it's clear, with only hoeing required to keep on top of the annual weeds that pop up. We also try to grow without chemicals but sometimes you have to "give in", just to buy some time.

If you have a full sized allotment, are you able to get someone to take over half of it (off the waiting list I mean)? Our allotment is just under half a full plot and we get a good yield.
I agree it is very disheartening to battle weeds all the time.

Lotus-eater

First glyphosate the whole area you want to control, then lay paths down out of something you can get hold of for free, doesn't matter what it is, as long as it keeps the weeds down.

Thing is about weeds, little and often is better than a big one off.

There is a book about how to run an allotment on very little time, can't remember what it's called atm.

But growing things like pots, squash, beans for drying, roots, enviromeshed brassicas, means that they don't need much attention in growing or harvesting. Then you keep your french beans and soft fruit at home where you can give them more attention.

But consider if you really need it, or if you could do a better job at home.

This is the book. I haven't read it, so can't advise how good it is.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Half-hour-Allotment-Royal-Horticultural-Society/dp/0711226059/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1285138373&sr=8-3
Apparently it says you should put a minimum of 2.5 hours a week into an allotment. But of course when it's main planting and sowing season, I would think that should at least double.