Topic: need to tidy up lottie quickly

[antipodes]

Sorry, long rambling...
Any tips anyone?When I visited my lot this morning (to check the lettuce disaster, see previous post) I felt rather despondant. All the other (retired folk, well established) lots were well tilled, tidy rows and mine is...well a bit of a mess.

Paths are carpets for now, weeds are taking over and the plot is badly delimited. I have had it for 3 months only and for now can only work on it during weekends.

I think I will use the advice from forum and use newspaper to smother the b****dy weeds but how can I have nice neat subplots? I don't use rows, I have split it into areas for crop rotation but they are not really cordoned off. If only things were growing it might not be so noticeable  ::)

For now I have in: peas, lettuce, garlic, onions and fruit. The rest has not come up through the soil yet (spuds, beets, carrots, parsnip, spinach). Every time I have a sowing or planting, it's ok, I do the digging and weeding in that patch and it looks better. But it is a far cry from the others...
here's what it was like about 6 weeks ago...and it ain't much different now (mmm except the bit nearest which is now all fruit, that's not too bad) :(


I don't have $$$ to spend on wood etc to put around each area but was wondering if I couldn't sow something that would put a sort of border around the plot and make it nice and square looking? Just a couple of inches wide...

As I live in a flat, I don't really have access to all the mulch etc that other talk of (cuttings, leaves etc). Carpet and newspaper is quite effective but not very aesthetic :( I would quite like to have a neater looking plot, that's all. Any ideas??? Or have I just bitten off more than I can chew?

[coznbob]

Don't panic, you have only had the plot for 3 months!

The others on site have probably had theirs for years.

It doesn't look in too bad condition at all, you should see ours! ;D

Try concentrating on a bit at a time, and you could always make mounds up with earth along the sides of your beds if you can't get hold of anything else!

Don't give up... its not that bad.

I'm sure someone with a bit more experience will be along shortly to give more advice....

Take care ;D

[Mrs Ava]

I don't have my beds edged but I do use my sharp spade and cut a clean edge and push the soil away, so there is an obvious cut.  If you do it standing on a piece of board/plank, you can get a nice straight line and that makes a hell of a difference!

What you have to remember is, unless you can get there daily, like the retired folks, or have been working a plot for years so the ground is in great condition and has established permanent plants, it will get like that.  It isn't that bad - I have seen ones a trillion times worse!  Cover what you don't need to use with cardboard or whatever you can lay your hands on, and then concentrate on one piece at a time...and don't worry about what other people think.  We all have to start somewhere, and most of us start with a jungle to clear.

[Nelson]

It doesn't look in too bad condition at all, you should see ours! ;D

Seconded.

Cover the bits you're not working on to reduce weed growth and work on it a bit at a time.

[emmy1978]

It's not as bad as you think! You've only had it 3 months and as EJ says 1) others have had theirs years 2) there are worse ones out there than yours.
Personally i would be tempted to dig one patch completely over, even if it's a patch 4'x4' it's still a nice earthy patch, you can then edge as EJ says with your spade, or, as we have on our plot, use the random bits of wood lying about (if you have any) to just delineate the edges. Then you can plant it up and feel much better!
I would also advise this book : Practical Allotment Gardening by Caroline Foley. It's fab for beginners, loads of good pics of paths and pond projects and pics of other lotties to get inspiration for your own.
Don't give up - it's early days, it's easy to get despondant , but when things do start growing you'll be raring to go.
by the way - you are even shorter than me!  ;)

[KevTetley]

Hi

I too have had my plot only 3 months and as I work away from home during the week, only have the weekends to potter.
My plot is/was completely grassed over - not been dug for over 2 years.

I have covered a big area with a black polythese sheet that the allotment association has lent to me.  It looks tidy.  I have then started to do one area at a time.

I now have 2 beds turned over and edged.  If you can lay your hands on some pallets, they can be broekn up to make edges.  They are usually free, just drive round the local industrial estate on a Sunday morning and put a few in your boot!  (Not the blue ones though).

Once edged, the bed looks very tidy.  Another tip, as soon as you turn over the soil and give it a goos rake, all the weedy bits can be picked up - it looks much more pleasing.  Plant in one bed and move on gradully - you will see things start to grow soon!

Re the paths - the more you start to walk on them, the better they will look.
Good luck!  Chin-up!

[Robert_Brenchley]

It's far better than mine was after 3 months; I was still having daily bonfires to get rid of the rubbish I inherited, I had a junk pile six feet high and twenty feet across (I measured it), and I'd barely begun to impact the couch. Yours looks manageable. Dig a bit, black plastic what you cant manage, and stop worrying. It'll get there, in time.

[emmy1978]

Oh, meant to say try your local Freecycle group (just google it with your town name) for pallets, water butts, bins, buckets, straw, old carpets, whatever. (also stuff on there that normal people would want, but i just go for the tat!
Don't worry about it looking a bit of a mess, it'll get there. Mine is covered in various parts with an old rug out the shed, blue plastic sheeting that blew across the site, black plastic sheeting i pulled out of a skip and some weed suppressant i actually paid for!  :o
If you want to feel better, check out the pics of heldis plot!

Quick edit to say : Heldi's allotment - locations and sites. Will definately make you feel a bit better and not so alone!

[antipodes]

Well, that has all cheered me up a bit  :D
I think the plot was cultivated up till this winter, the plots never stay vacant.
I should take pics of the others so you see why I am demoralized. They all seem to be just neat rows (bit boring I suppose), I dunno how they walk around everything though? But there is nothing lying around, no carpet, or black plastic etc etc I suspect they must use weedkiller or something????
Hadn't thought of pallets, might see what I can find.
To give it credit, where I have had the carpet down, the earth underneath is lovely, no weeds, moist and dark. I wouldn't mind a bit more of it, but dunno where from.
They are not that neat as paths go. I would like to try grass paths but I don't have a mower. I am afraid that stuff like bark chips would end up all over the shop.
I got my compost bin from freecycle (it's not on the piccie), but no wood or plastic or stuff :(
S'pose really I am too influenced by the others, what will they think? Already the old blokes look at my plot and tut tut. They didn't see my hauling the dirt around with a spade in January digging compost trenched where my beans will go!!! Course now, that bit is weedy so the hard work seems to have gone to waste.
I need a crop that will go mad and cover the mess!!! Guess I will just have to wait till summer for that. I will post a few more pics later on. I do have a blog too, at http://roos-and-camembert.blogspot.com/
Pushing up the Daisies ha ha that's how I feel after a few hours' digging  ;D
And to the wit (emmy) who made the short person comment, that of couse is my DD, Smallest One...errr but to tell the truth I only hit 5'2" meself so I shall refrain from berating  ;)

[emmy1978]

S'pose really I am too influenced by the others, what will they think? Already the old blokes look at my plot and tut tut.

Poop to them. The nice thing about GYO is that, though we all follow the same planting times, with variations for regions, the rest is kind of individual. That's one of the nice things about a4a, you get to hear about every-ones methods, whether ingenius solutions invented by themselves or handed down knowledge from generations back, like a huge gardening family.  :)

And to the wit (emmy) who made the short person comment, that of couse is my DD, Smallest One...errr but to tell the truth I only hit 5'2" meself so I shall refrain from berating  ;)

no, please don't berate me. just being silly.  ;)

[Tee Gee]

As the others say just progress one bed at a time, timber round the edges does not make the produce grow any better or make it tastier.

This is my set up;



Look no timber!! (apart from the divisional path between the two plots)

Before you mention that I am retired (which is true) it was always like this even when I worked for a living but it took a few years to get there!!

Patience!!

[timelady]

I've had mine about 6 months and it doesn't look better than yours. :)  I did tackle one area at a time, though now I just want to get things planted so can understand why you're working the whole area but not thoroughly. I'm getting a couple palettes from the builders working next door to my flat to do what Kev says - I just want to have some borders to help it look more organised. And hopefully to help keep the couch grass at least a bit at bay (doubtful though). Heck, I don't even have areas as tidy as yours - some horizonal rows down the bottom, a big square patch in the middle with flowers, and a couple vertical rows. I dig rather randomly. ;D

As long as something you planted is growing isn't that what it's about?

Tina.

[MacArthur Park]

I agree with the others - don't be disheartened, it takes time. However, if you go down the pallet route, a word of warning - I have my fence up and my beds edged BUT- I still find myself slowing down and eyeing up pallets whenever I see them!!!! ;D ;D ;D

Don't forget that the weeds can also be called a green manure!! They are temporarily covering and therefore protecting the soil. ;)

I know it's hard not to look at other plots and compare, but this is YOUR baby, and you're doing the best you can, so ENJOY!!!! ;D ;D

[manicscousers]

also, if you can get some black plastic, weigh the edges down with bags of weeds, grow things like potatoes, courgettes, squash through it and make the bl**dy weeds feed your crops..
don't panic, as everyone says, we were all there at one time or another and ignore the moaners, it's your bit of land, do it as and when you can  :)

[Lady of the Land]

Also a good idea when you have dug over areas or planted is to  try to spend 10-30 minutes just going round the plots- I do this with the 3 I have removing any weeds at some point during my visit to the plot- this stops them becoming larger and taking over. Good luck it looks a lovely plot.

[jennym]

Have a look out especially over the May day weekend and also the Whitsun weekend for people that are taking up old paving slabs and putting in new ones. Providing you are prepared to transport the things over to the allotment, you can get yourself very cheap permanent paths for no cost.

[antipodes]

Great suggestions for my weeds! A friend at work brought me in a massive sack of newspaper today so I will use that, as you say, weighed down with other weeds! I don't really want the grass to take over. And as one of my other posts said, it is hard to know what to pull up and what is actually one of my own seedlings  ???
I am hoping to have a week off over the May Day holiday period (loads of bank holidays here in France) and think I will work like a good 'un making it neat and tidy. Yes I should look out for people that seem to be digging up pavers etc, WHAT ABOUT GRAVEL? Anyone used that for paths or edges? or does it move about too much??
I am lucky I guess, the soil is excellent and I did dig a fair bit of it in January so now your boots just sink into it, there is no hard crust - LOADS OF WORMS! Once I get it tidied up I will post some more pics. (None today though, it is raining here!! good for the seedlings).
Thanks for all those ideas, i love this forum!

[dawn34]

we have two lotties one not to bad the other well it's alot worse than yours but i know what you mean what to get it sorted ready for planting. our second one hasn't been dug over for about 3 years we've had it a year and we've still done nothing with it, this year a couple from our lotty had got there's ploughed so asked if ours could be ploughed only to find the farmer couldn't get the plugh in not enuff room, so the farmer is going to get his rotavator on it for us, it's only going to cost us a tenner. we have started to dig but it is very hard digging weeds and grass all over and the ground is hard, we are just lucky i suppose. just keep going it will get better ;D

[grawrc]

Having spent hours this week riddling gravel out of the soil in our second plot (untouched for ten years before we took it on) I would humbly suggest that a few years down the road, if you decide to change things, it could be a pain in the neck? ::)

I have cleared the perennial weeds from the paths (the few that I've actually finished), hoed them over and then pinned down weed suppressing fabric which I then covered with wood bark. I would have used straw but haven't been able to source any locally yet.

BTW beware of wood bark as a mulch since it apparently robs the soil of nitrogen. I'm hoping mine will be OK since it is on top of fabric.

[Blue Bird]

Your doing fine - bit by bit you will get there in hte end

agree with emmy try freecycle it is a great way to get all sorts of bits and bobs

I have had wooden shelves - used for raised beds
water butt
and now a shed !

best of luck and do keep up the good work

BB  ;)