Allotment improvements

We’ve been working pretty hard in the allotment and the progress is really beginning to show, at least to me it is.

This is how the brassica area looked before our two visits last week:

A big job and there is a third row to the right which you can’t quite see but believe me, it was just as bad. I don’t know where they all come from! I weeded this whole area only about a month ago and they have been covered up so it can’t be seeds blowing in from other areas….wait…does this mean all these weed seeds are already in the ground? Oh crap.

Anyway, after 2 full visits (several hours in length each visit), we got it looking better:

Yes it’s under the cover – I didn’t want to lift the covers off as we were working on different areas during our latest visit! Not lazy – time efficient, there’s a huge difference.

We did make some improvements to this area but I didn’t take ‘after’ shots yet because we aren’t finished:

Where you see the black trays at the bottom of the picture, marks the row where we are weeding across to plant in the asparagus and make an ‘asparagus wall’ instead of having a wooden divider between the bays. I did get some of the onions weeded/picked but I spent most of my time on this:

THE POLYTUNNEL OF DOOM.

It is obviously messy and on the left you can see many gaps, where once there had been plants. So, despite the heat (yes it was hot), I set about taking everything out, weeding, re-planting and adding more compost where needed!

Look closely at the bottom left and you will see a cucumber plant. I’ve called him Lazarus and if you want to know why you will need to watch the video on YouTube which comes out later this week!

Culprits were found and evicted:

I hope you agree with me that a suitable amount of progress has been made during our last few trips to the plot! If you are interested in seeing what the whole plot looks like at the moment, do pop along to my YouTube channel as the new video will be out on Thursday – there is even a wee spot of drama on the go!

Happy Gardening.

© Sharon O’Neil. All rights reserved. Original work protected by copyright law


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6 responses to “Allotment improvements”

  1. Looking good! Have you ever tried composting ‘in situ’? I heard about this from a permaculture book and I think you like the ‘no dig’ biodynamic farming methods from a previous comment, but this was new to me.

    So, I tried it and I think it works, and it’s easier. Those ‘fine weeds’ that you pull and then compost instead would be dropped in place to decompose without the extra step of removal.

    And, I don’t usually pull them until they are encroaching on the plant. The idea being that those finer weeds, like chickweed, bring nutrients to the other crops, chickweed being high in copper, for example. Or the more deeply-rooted ones, with a tap root, bring up nutrients from deep in soil to the shallow-rooted crops, like onions.

    Not sure if this would work in your situation, wetter climate, limited space, different pests—but just thought I’d share a time-saving trick just in case. 😊

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    1. Thanks for sharing. As I weed I often leave piles which I’ll either go along and bag up or sometimes have left them. If it stays dry not a problem but if it rains I feel like I’ve just re-planted them!! It does make sense though just to leave them to dry out and die off. I find getting the timing right with watering then can be a problem. If it’s dry enough to pull/hoe the weeds and let them dry – but I want to water….oh it’s so tricky this gardening thing!!

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  2. Lazarus is a great name for your cucumber! I am jealous, I want a poly but I fear here the wind would come within five minutes and carry it to the neighbor! How do you secure it? Do you get bad winds??

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    1. We get strong winds not hurricane strength though. I bury the cover the whole way round, in the ground with stones/bricks on it then I fill in the trench. It doesn’t move an inch!

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      1. Oh that’s the way to do it! Our neighbors bought one and have had the frame up for years but never put the poly on it. I don’t think they have the heart to watch Idaho destroy it in a few minutes haha. We get insane winds here!

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        1. I noticed a little tear the other day where one of the nuts of the frame has caught but a bit of tape will sort that out!

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