Allotment evils - could cry with frustration

ally18

A quick update.

Went to the allotment on Sunday and some of the weeds are starting to look a little sorry for themselves :j.

I went over the worst area again with weedkiller so I'm hoping that next week I will be able to clear most of them off and get the area covered so it at least looks tidy.

Then I can just concentrate on the devils amongst my onions .

savemoney

I keep weeding at my allotment daily so picking up odd weeds and do the plot weekly there is so many millions of seeds in soil that come to live as soon as you disturb the soil it will probably take me years to exhaust all the seeds let alone prevent weeds in ground seeding.

I got one of these this week which makes live easier much better than a hoe for weeding as it lifts the most of the weeds up from ground if they are small weeds

http://www.greenfingers.com/product.asp?dept_id=200825&pf_id=LT2751D

http://www.greenfingers.com/product.asp?dept_id=200477&pf_id=LT2750D

Still have to hand pick ones that are very close to plants for fear of taking them up to.

I still use weedkiller for thistle as they are deep rooted along with bindweed and mares tale

Earlier last month I ripped up my carrots and spring onions due to weeds taken over my allotment has been neglected for around 10 years

wellused

Weeding daily is a good idea and something that I do myself but an allotment will never be without weeds even if you get every one out of your soil they will blow in from the plots around or the untended areas.

ally18

savemoney wrote: »

I keep weeding at my allotment daily so picking up odd weeds and do the plot weekly there is so many millions of seeds in soil that come to live as soon as you disturb the soil it will probably take me years to exhaust all the seeds let alone prevent weeds in ground seeding.

I got one of these this week which makes live easier much better than a hoe for weeding as it lifts the most of the weeds up from ground if they are small weeds

http://www.greenfingers.com/product.asp?dept_id=200825&pf_id=LT2751D

http://www.greenfingers.com/product.asp?dept_id=200477&pf_id=LT2750D

Still have to hand pick ones that are very close to plants for fear of taking them up to.

I still use weedkiller for thistle as they are deep rooted along with bindweed and mares tale

Earlier last month I ripped up my carrots and spring onions due to weeds taken over my allotment has been neglected for around 10 years

My problem is I only have the time at the weekends due to working long hours each weekday so I'm just not keeping on top of it all as I would like.

Are you using weedkiller for thistles that are among your veg or just in 'safer' areas? I understand that weedkiller dissipates when it is in the soil (according to the packet) but I definitely wouldn't use this near my veg. Everything around there is removed by hand.

Thanks for those links, I'm going to have a look at them.

I do know one thing though. I have definitely done some damage to my knees already from kneeling down on the ground too long when weeding. I thought gardening was supposed to be good for you :rotfl:

wellused

Personally I wouldn't use glyphosate apart from when I first took over my overgrown plot I wouldn't want to use it to clear small patches of weeds, digging them out or covering them over is a better solution in my view.

savemoney

I use a agricultural weedkiller which is stronger than standard I use this http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007NG6SSC along with a Aldi sprayer lie this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pump-Action-Pressure-Sprayer-fertilizer/dp/B000TAWBBC. Dont use it right up to weeds that are near the plants. I then either hand weed or if its bindweed (deep roots) I use this

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Roundup-Ready-Use-Weedkiller-Gel/dp/B005ZALTF0

ally18 wrote: »

My problem is I only have the time at the weekends due to working long hours each weekday so I'm just not keeping on top of it all as I would like.

Are you using weedkiller for thistles that are among your veg or just in 'safer' areas? I understand that weedkiller dissipates when it is in the soil (according to the packet) but I definitely wouldn't use this near my veg. Everything around there is removed by hand.

Thanks for those links, I'm going to have a look at them.

I do know one thing though. I have definitely done some damage to my knees already from kneeling down on the ground too long when weeding. I thought gardening was supposed to be good for you :rotfl:

ally18

Thought I would give an update on the weed situation, well they have gone . I managed to kill the large area that I hadn't dug of weeds and covered this over until I can get it dug over.

Since then, I have concentrated on making sure the other half where things are growing is kept clear, as much as is possible.

Last weekend I harvested one cauli head the size of my hand width, 2 lots of potatoes and 3 lots of rhubarb. Chuffed to bits with the cauliflower, I have to admit . I have 3 beds of onions, one lot appear to be the same size as the cauliflower head, the other two are no where as large. The cabbages have taken over the bed I put them in and have covered the radishes so they are not doing so well. 5 swedes have taken too.

Oh and one runner bean. Absolutely loving it!

EpsomOldie

Aw that's great - thanks for coming back to update us. Well done for persevering! It's very satisfying isn't it? And congrats on the harvest too especially the cauliflowers as I hear they're quite hard to grow. Love the single runner bean!

Dopey_Sleepy_Grumpy

I took on a 7 pole plot at the end of July last year. There was nothing on it except shoulder high weeds, and lots of them at that. It has been a huge task to dig the ground to get things planted. the previous plot owner had not worked it for two years prior to me getting the plot. They had a bad back so never dug out any of the weeds and rotavated it instead. As a result the plot is riddled with dock, thistle, couch, brambles and worst of all bindweed (there are plenty of others but these are the worst). To add to the problem there appears to be a hard pan approx. half a spit deep which is taking some serious work to break up (apparently this can happen when rotavating). All this said, I'm getting there little by little. I am digging out the weeds as I am aiming for organic (more expensive in the shops so being MSE).

I managed potatoes (in bags as it was too late to plant in the ground) and cucumbers (180 of them) and a few peas last year, but not much else. This year the list of veg I am growing is reasonable and I have focused on getting red currents, black currents and raspberries, established which I bought from the pound shop (MSE style) along with strawberries and rhubarb. The bushes are fairly sizable and are doing really well with the black current and raspberry currently flowering.

I am letting the broad beans and mange tout go to seed as we have had so much from them that we want a change. I have two types of runner beans (not planning on saving the seed so planted two types) and dwarf French beans which I am waiting to fill out before I pick. I have loads of tomatoes planted outside which I am waiting to ripen as with the cucumbers and courgettes. We have had some onions (which were massive) with others still in the ground ready for when I need them. We have had some beetroot and I have more at various stages of growth so we can pick them over a few months. In fact I have done a fair bit of successional sowing to minimise glut and stretch out the cropping. I have done catch crops with lolo rosso, iceberg and lambs lettuce.

I use the following forums which have been great for advice etc.:
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?board=1.0
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/grapevine/vegging-out/

I’ve also subscribed to various YouTube channels such as Rickvanman, thehortchannel and Bluestardave (there are loads more)

Some of the best MSE tips I have picked up so far are:

Cover and suppress weeds with cardboard. I do regular trips to Halfords for the boxes bikes come in. The boxes are huge and just a few of them will cover a large amount of ground. The cardboard breaks down, helping to make the soil more friable.

Stew nettles in water to make a potent feed for leafy plants.

Stew comfrey in water to make a potent feed for fruiting plants like tomatoes, berry bushes etc.

Get free coffee grinds from Starbucks. It can be used as a mulch to deter slugs, used as a compost accelerator and used as a feed for plants.

Wooden pallets can often be picked up free and make great compost bins.

Horse riding stables often give manure away free if you collect it yourself. Some will offer to deliver a van load for a fee.

Local tree surgeons/pruning companies will give you wood chippings for free. These can be used as mulch around plants, rotted down in the compost heap or laid straight on paths to make walk ways.

HTH

Happy growing xx

ally18

So sorry for not being back for a while but been busy.

DSG, 180 cucumbers???? that is fantastic! I didn't set any of them this year because the weeding took over but next year I will be armed and ready for them! So I hope to have much more planted.

Anyway, have harvested all my onions this past week and they are in the shed drying out. I have had 3 cabbages in total and two cauliflowers, the others have gone to seed I think. My runner beans have provided 4 pickings so far and there are loads more to come (if they stay upright). This weekend they had been blown over so that took some effort to get the poles back upright again.

The swedes are big, perhaps too big, not sure what to do about them and I have planted my leeks.

Oh and the weeds are back where I didn't manage to get covered over. And where it was covered, the tarpaulin is looking a little higher than it should so I wonder what is appearing under that. It has 3 pallets lying on it as well!