Allotment evils - could cry with frustration

ally18

First a bit of rain,

then a bit of sun,

and then some more rain - I can't keep up :mad:

I have weeds the size of sunflowers and no sooner do I remove them, the following weekend they are back doubled!!!!!!

I have had my allotment plot since end March and have only dug over half of it. I can't see myself ever getting the other half dug over this year because all I seem to be doing is weeding every weekend I spent 5 hours on sat and sun trying to clear them all, first with a hoe and then by hand. The hoe does not work. I am adament they were dead when I left Sat night but in the morning when I opened the gate, they were looking as perky as ever!

Why oh why didn't someone tell me that round up advert on the telly was true? The little blighters laugh at you behind your back as you move along the plot. You pull them up, put them in the bin and I swear they then jump out and appear somewhere else sniggering amongst themselves.

If anyone out there who has tonnes of experience with dealing with the evil ones, please, please help

My poor onions are suffering.

RAS

Hi

If you have taken over a dire plot, you will have 7 year's weeds to clear.

It may pay to sharpen your hoe but it with this weather it is easier for the weeds to re-root.

What have you planted thus far? Potatoes smother weeds once they get going.
With respect to the other end of the allotment have you considered putting down cardboard to smother the weeds and planting some squashes straight through it.

Nightowl

The weeds do all die down in the autumn/winter, this is a good time to tackle them and do your digging (I got my allotment last October and wished I'd done it then!!). I think that weed suppressant on areas you are not using is the answer. I have some down, though not enough,. Apparently it's really effective if you actually bury the edges under the earth - I lost loads in the wind last year, wish I'd known. That way the allotment is more manageable and you only have to deal with the weeds where you are growing. I'm learning to live with weeds now as I won't use weed killer. I also have an electric (battery) strimmer, £15 from a car boot sale, it allows me to strim down the weeds and see where my plants are!
I've decided I don't mind dandelions too much as the rabbits can eat them instead of my veg. My favourite weeds are raspberries and strawberries that seem to self seed everywhere, I can live with that!

EpsomOldie

Hi Ally - I feel your pain! I agree with Nightowl - membrane is the way to go.

My allotment was waist high in perennial weeds when I took it over. After a few false starts it's now pristine (sort of) but I agree it's very dispiriting to try to keep ahead of loads of weeds. It's a war that was unwinnable for me until I used membrane - I weighted mine with bricks but plastic bottles full of water would do. Below is a copy and paste from my reply to another post ages ago - my advice is still the same...membrane really makes such a difference, not only practically, but visually and you feel upbeat and IN CONTROL of the horrors.

One thing I'd add to the stuff below is that rather than hoeing (which is great to keep on top of newly emerging weeds when they are evil little babies), I dug out the weeds - roots and all. You need to do this with perennial weeds - these are the only ones left after the membrane described below has killed off the annuals - because if you just hoe the tops off, they'll re-grow from the roots that are left.

>>>>

If it's all weedy, it were me, I'd cover the plot with weed suppressing membrane and the lack of light will...kill off all but the most pernicious weeds which you can then start to dig out...

A tip from bitter experience: keep the ratty bits covered while you tackle a bit at a time. And once you've cleared a patch, either get some crops in, or cover it with membrane or mulch (old compost from tubs, stable manure etc) until you're ready to plant it up, or it'll quickly be all weedy again as you'll have brought up dormant seeds to the surface. This only takes a short time to happen... This happened to me and broke my heart after all the work I'd put in, and nearly broke my spirit.

The membrane I use is the heavy duty stuff from here:http://www.hedging.co.uk/acatalog/In...ol_Fabric.html it's light to handle and reasonably priced for the quality. I've been using it for about 8 years (10 years now) and there's no UV degradation.

Whatever you decide to do with your new allotment...enjoy it and don't give up. .....take photos so that you can admire your progress.

I'd also add that on heavy soil, digging in the summer can be tough as it's like rock. I'd aim to do just a little bit but do it well and hoe off any little evilies that rear their heads from the weed seeds that are always in the soil or that blwo in. You only want to do the hard work once!

The annual stuff under the membrane will die off and you can dig out the roots of the perennials when the soil is a bit more workable.

My mantra was - and is - "If you only weed when you've got weeds, you'll always have weeds". Or if that's too depressing, "If you weed when you haven't got weeds, you'll never have weeds."

It isn't easy, but it is worth it.

I_have_spoken

The real sickener is when you have gluts of crops that everyone is bored silly of seeing on their plate and then realise that overall it would have been cheaper to just buy from Lidl/Aldi

ally18

Hi everyone and thank you for your replies.

I woke up this morning and looked out at the rain thinking oh god, it was sunny yesterday and now the water, they will be back with a vengeance today!

I have to laugh at myself but since getting this allotment, I have now come to dread the sun. Last year I loved it when the sun came out, yeah sunbathing ..... but trying to grow stuff, doesn't it make a difference to your attitude!

I have a row of potatoes in, 3 square beds of onions, some cabbages and what were 5 cauliflowers. I believe I have fed the local pigeons with those. I put 8 swedes in last weekend and have two runner bean plants growing.

I had put down 3 large pallets over the worst areas of the weeds to try and flatten them but no one had mentioned putting any weed control down. I have seen the 1m wide material, where would be the best place to get large quantities reasonably priced. (will have a look at the link thanks Epsom)

Don't get me wrong, I am loving having the allotment and I will learn through the years hopefully. But these evils are a killer at the mo, I just can't get the advert of the sniggering weed out my mind :rotfl:. I can cope with the half that has not been dug, its the weeds that are growing constantly around the onions that are unbelievable. I was on my knees digging them out again last weekend but they reappear!

Oh and I've been told I have onion blight or something or other. Anyway, some of them have gone all curly

Thanks again.

[Deleted User]

keep at it op, small steps and don`t expect miracles. Hoeing is best done when dry weather is expected, I never hoe before rain and damp. Try and focus on a small area at a time and divide your dug area up with string. Cover anything you cannot tackle quickly. Then it is best on hands and knees and dig the whole weed up but a bit at a time and you will see a result every time. Get easy plants in for now, courgettes, dwarf beans if you haven`t got poles

If you have white rot then avoid any of the onion family for now, remedies can come later

It is very hard work for this year but next year will be better. Don`t do what a neighbour did and use a rotovator on weeds, his allotment is now horrendous.

Just to add that I do no dig gardening and tbh my allotment is the most productive, so don`t think you have to dig

wellused

Don't get too hung up with weeds on an allotment not only will there be weed seed from many years back hiding in your soil waiting for you to turn them onto the top but every other plot holder around will have a little, or big neglected area with weeds waiting for a gust of wind to send their seed winging your way, added to this is your neighbour who doesn't have the time or inclination to pull every scrap of bindweed or couch grass root out which will then be tunneling under the fence to get to your side. I'm afraid that allotments just aren't the same as your own garden where you can call the shots, allotments are places where weeds and pests abound so you just have to accept that it's you against them and as long as you keep the war up you might just about survive the onslaught take your eye off the ball and they will take over.

ally18

kittie wrote: »

Just to add that I do no dig gardening and tbh my allotment is the most productive, so don`t think you have to dig

Hi,

What do you mean by no dig gardening please?

ally18

wellused wrote: »

Don't get too hung up with weeds on an allotment not only will there be weed seed from many years back hiding in your soil waiting for you to turn them onto the top but every other plot holder around will have a little, or big neglected area with weeds waiting for a gust of wind to send their seed winging your way, added to this is your neighbour who doesn't have the time or inclination to pull every scrap of bindweed or couch grass root out which will then be tunneling under the fence to get to your side. I'm afraid that allotments just aren't the same as your own garden where you can call the shots, allotments are places where weeds and pests abound so you just have to accept that it's you against them and as long as you keep the war up you might just about survive the onslaught take your eye off the ball and they will take over.

Thank you, this seems to be so true.

I have couch grass all over the place and the thistles are enormous. The ones I removed last weekend were 3ft tall. Ive been told that I will be removing the couch grass for the next few years.

Oh, and I've looked at weed membrane and will get some to cover the undug half.

Farway

Just spray with Roundup, it works

You may need to repeat again

But when banging head on wall gives you a head ache, stop doing it