Allotments 4 All
Allotment Stuff => The Basics => Topic started by: amphibian on July 28, 2005, 10:24:27
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Right I've just got a new allotment, a big one too (17 perch), which is being shared between my family and a friend of mine.
Anyway I'll be sowing my first crops in a fortnight and wanted to know if I could get away with popping some carrots in, I am in Kent so well south?
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yes amphibian, welcome of course!, you will have excellent baby carrots by October !
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yes amphibian, welcome of course!, you will have excellent baby carrots by October !
Thank you very kindly.
I warn you all, I am not scared of asking stupid questions (it is through asking questions, however silly, that we all extend our knowledge), so over the next few months I will probably ask quite a few. :)
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the only silly questions are the ones you don't ask...
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I've got some Autumn King free with a mag and I shall be putting them in shortly. Not sure where yet as I have nowhere prepared as usual :)
Welcome to the mysterious world of A4A ;D Good luck with your plot :)
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Right I've just been down to my allotment and marked out where I am going to put my beds down, while there I noticed a few things that I had queries about.
Firstly, I found a blackberry briar growing, but unlike normal blackberries the bramble had large parsley shaped dark green leaves, that splayed out with their faces towards the sky. I am vaguely aware of a similar variety (I think) that is thornless, but this had thorns. Does anyone know what vareity this might be?
Secondly; two plots down from me, at the very bottom of the allotments, is a large apple tree that is heavy with fruit. On returning home I found on the allotment map, that it is not marked as being on any particular plot, instead it is marked as a separate area without plot number, the area is infilled with dots. Would you think that this is indicative of the tree not belonging to anyone in particular, would it be wrong for me to scramble through the brambles and take some of the apples come autumn?
Thirdly; I noticed a few deer scrabbling about in the bushes that back onto the allotments, I am sure these are likely to prove a problem, especially for my brassicas, does anyone have any advise on how to keep them off my patch?
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Blackberry maybe wild but will taste ok so leave it til you get something better :)
Apple tree - windfalls! Finders keepers ;D
Deer - they are lovely in red wine ;D Nah, seriously if you maintain your hedges then the deer shouldn't be able to get in but they can jump high :o I think others folks on here have deer probs so they'll reply to this bit for you
Hope you have lots of fun with your plot and you'll have lots of lovely veggies this time next year :) Don't work too hard. Remember IT IS FUN ;D
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I got an overgrown plot in late May in Peterborough. This month I'll be planting purple sprouting broccoli & leeks, and sowing red chicory, lamb's lettuce and kale, all for winter/Spring eating. Plus 'early' carrots (as per other postings) ; for baby roots in October.
My neighbours are planting parsnips, Autumn King carrots and Spring cabbage.
The 'old boys' said they were putting in potatoes now (!!) for Christmas, and there are rows of baby spud plants everywhere.
So it looks like anything goes! ;D
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No idea on the fruit, or deer, but I would say regarding the apple tree, talk to other plot holders and see what the score is, and if noone uses the fruit, then why not help yourself! The hedgrows around our plot are full of plums, bullace, rosehips, sloes, elderberries and apples, and noone wants them at all, so, come late summer, I can be found, covered in scratches, scrambling through trees and bushes, scrumping! (with permission of course!) ;D
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welcome amphibian and super sprout.
take Ej's advice - we are all scared of her and you dont know what she will do if you dont :o ;D
(only joking of course - good advice on the tree though - ask your lottie neighbours)
as to deer - not having personal experience, but i second the 'they can jump high' - my work collegue who has a big garden and grows veg and fruit has enclosed his whole patch in a fruit cage!!! because they used to jump over the 4 ft fence.
again, maybe the older folks on nyour site will be able to tell me if it's a probelm and what can be done about it
svea
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I've only met one of my neighbours. Of the 33 plots by me, only 11 are occupied, and most of them look a wee bit overgrown. The one next to me is just a massive tangle of wild brambles.
By the way, I have solved the blackberry mystery, it is a variety called Rubus laciniatus (Evergreen Blackberry).
(http://www.hylebos.org/restoration/images/evergreen1.jpg)
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Amphib Careful how you handle that bramble. I once got a really bad reaction to a "blackberry" I started grazing on whilst waiting for a cable car in Matlock. During the night I began to itch like crazy and had to get out of bed and turn the light on. I looked the same colour as a blackberry :o Horrible raised purple rash all over me - really! I worked for a pathologist at the time and didn't dare go to work in case I was infectious. Anyway he said I was to go in and he'd tell me what it was. It was the "blackberries" and he told me that often dogs get these reactions (usually springers funnily enough) as they charge about in undergrowth. I was in agony for days as it was extremely itchy. Piriton sorted it but it was horrible so now I don't eat anything unless I know it's ok. Sorry to be a prophet of doom - I'm usually the opposite ;D
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Amphib Careful how you handle that bramble. I once got a really bad reaction to a "blackberry" I started grazing on whilst waiting for a cable car in Matlock. During the night I began to itch like crazy and had to get out of bed and turn the light on. I looked the same colour as a blackberry :o Horrible raised purple rash all over me - really! I worked for a pathologist at the time and didn't dare go to work in case I was infectious. Anyway he said I was to go in and he'd tell me what it was. It was the "blackberries" and he told me that often dogs get these reactions (usually springers funnily enough) as they charge about in undergrowth. I was in agony for days as it was extremely itchy. Piriton sorted it but it was horrible so now I don't eat anything unless I know it's ok. Sorry to be a prophet of doom - I'm usually the opposite ;D
Thanks for the words of caution, but I am fairly sure I have made the correct identification. If I have then this specimen is a blackberry, a less common vareity; but a garden one none-the-less.
I will get someone to verify it for me though.
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A rather strange query, but I take my three year old daughter to the allotment with me, and obviously I want to keep her occupied. Is it okay to put a swing, slide or sand pit on my plot. To keep her from wandering about too much? She's going to have her own seedbed, but that won't occupy her the whole time I am up there.
There is nothing in my contract to suggest I can't.
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Anything which isn't forbidden is permitted! Do it, and don't let anyone tell you you can't.
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I have a blackberry with leaves a bit like that. It started off as Oregon Thornless, but over the years has become thorny. The leaves have a redddish tinge to them as they get older in autumn, just before you cut the fruited ones down. I find that any scratches I get do tend to become a little irritated, and I get plenty from my bush.
The fruits aren't tart at all (some may say a little bland) but they are to my taste. Good to eat as a desert blackberry. The fruit ripens from end August/early September - mine is covered in green fruit now.
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Amphib Someone on here has a small touring caravan on the plot so the kids can go in there if they get bored on the plot. Do colouring and stuff :) So I thought this would be a great idea for me to put the dog in (who is a pain in the ar*e) and it would be somewhere to mash the tea etc. Anyway I looked on Ebay and there were loads. There was a little beauty which caught my eye. All reupholstered and a new kitchen in it with a current bid of £30! I thought I want that. I rang the council who said I couldn't have one in case it got squatters in it :o I think they make the rules up as they go along. They have always said that folks can't keep chickens. It's totally untrue! My mate has just got elected to the parish council and she read through the lotty bylaws and found there's nothing to stop me having chooks or a caravan. I think I'll get the caravan and keep the chickens in it ;D I suggested I'd taking the wheel off the caravan and call it a shed but they didn't buy it :(
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You shouldn't ask just in case you do get some officious so-and-so who likes inventing rules. Just do it! Then if they don't like it, they have to quote chapter and verse to justify asking you to remove whatever it is. Sometimes if you're obstinate you can get the rules changed. I'm told that they once had a rule stipulating glass greenhouses in Birmingham, till some guy went to his local MP to stop them making him remove a plastic one.
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on our lottie we have fensed a area off as a garden for our son
we will take a slideand sand pit next year when he is a bit bigger
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That sounds lovely Waggi. Here' s my recreational bit which is just weeds mowed ;D We tether the dog on it, have the family round for food and drinks, well mostly drinks ;D We have the cooking area by the shed and it's just a lovely relaxing bit where we can put our sun chairs, listen to the radio and fall asleep if we want. We did get some funny looks from fellow plotters who urged us to weedkill it then dig it up and plant spuds. The plot is massive so we thought the best thing would be to have a garden space to relax. I think we've done right. We love it and have been planting round the edges today. Comfrey plants right up to the hedge and we hope to have some fruit trees on it. :)
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crikey wardy!
that looks nicer than our garden :o
we've still got a whole section uncleared and now i'm thinking wendy house for baby, kennel for dog, sunbathing area for me.........the list could be endless.
any ideas for something to amuse a stroppy teenager? ;D
Tara xx
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That sounds lovely Waggi. Here' s my recreational bit which is just weeds mowed ;D We tether the dog on it, have the family round for food and drinks, well mostly drinks ;D We have the cooking area by the shed and it's just a lovely relaxing bit where we can put our sun chairs, listen to the radio and fall asleep if we want. We did get some funny looks from fellow plotters who urged us to weedkill it then dig it up and plant spuds. The plot is massive so we thought the best thing would be to have a garden space to relax. I think we've done right. We love it and have been planting round the edges today. Comfrey plants right up to the hedge and we hope to have some fruit trees on it. :)
My word, how many perch is your plot?
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call me stupid but whats a perch don't have a lottie just a very large garden 25 meters by 35 meters
My word, how many perch is your plot?
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Same as a rod or pole. 5 1/2 yards, or a square pole is 30 1/4 aquare yards. If that helps. That would make my plot approximately 20 perch.
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call me stupid but whats a perch don't have a lottie just a very large garden 25 meters by 35 meters
My word, how many perch is your plot?
A [square] rod/pole/perch is about 25 sq metres (although my local concil handbook incorrectly has it down as 81 sq metres :o
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I put up a post in 'Basics' about banana skins, 'cos I would love to get a better underestanding about their properties. So hope you can all help me with this - pretty please ;D ;D ;D
But have also found the following:-!
Use this to repel deer, rabbits and shrew. ;)
1 tablespoon blood meal
2 gallons warm water
Mix well. Pour into a sprayer and coat plants and trees. Apply regularly when plants are not vulnerable.
Warning: Excessive application may burn plants, so be careful with amounts.
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I put up a post in 'Basics' about banana skins, 'cos I would love to get a better underestanding about their properties. So hope you can all help me with this - pretty please ;D ;D ;D
But have also found the following:-!
Use this to repel deer, rabbits and shrew. ;)
1 tablespoon blood meal
2 gallons warm water
Mix well. Pour into a sprayer and coat plants and trees. Apply regularly when plants are not vulnerable.
Warning: Excessive application may burn plants, so be careful with amounts.
I might try that.
Apparently rabbits are never seen at our allotment, though pigeons and deer are a problem. I take it that deer are easily put off by the smell of humans, I remember a deerstalker, on TV, talking about them getting a wiff and bolting. I might try hanging human hair (or maybe allotment vandals' heads on spikes, a double deterant) around my crops.
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We dug in a deep bed today 5x20' it was very hard work as the soil (a clayey loam) had become quite compacted after 6 years without being worked.
The plot is fairly weed free, basically just being turf and docs. The soil breaks down to a nicely flocculated tilth.
I have been assured by my neighbours that I definately picked the right plot, and that it is much coverted, but while breaking the soil down I was astounded at the complete lack of roots in it, basically it just had a very deep rooted turf, which I broke up and inverted on the subsoil, under a foot of topsoil. I found we have a very shallow bedrock of green sandstone in some places, no more than 14" down.
I was just wondering why it might be that our plot should be weed free, after such a long time out of use; neighouring derelict plots are very overgrown with brambles. In the whole patch I only removed two dandelion roots, what would cause a plot to stay weed free?
We had plenty of earthworms, and I was glad to see an army of beetles.
I also discovered a couple of mole hills at the bottom of my plot, is the furry critter likely to prove a serious menace?
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14" of soil in places. That's what we say but that's when we discover a deep bit.
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There is a patch at the bottom of my plot that I think may be couch grass, but I must confess I'm not quite sure how to positively identify this. Does anyone have a good way of telling?
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Long white roots.
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The roots are close to the surface, unless they've been dug deeper, yellowish white, harder to break than many, and have nodes at intervals which new plants will soon sprout from. If you're not sure now and it is couch, you'll soon be certain!
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[any ideas for something to amuse a stroppy teenager?/quote]
I get mine to do the watering, put up posts, dig and put plants in. Nothing like training them up for my retirement! ;D
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Right, I have discovered that the patch I dug over yesterday was a fluke, everything I have dug today is pure couch grass.
I have been lifting the turfs and I am going to stack them up and wrap them in plastic, I will then dig and de-root the soil in my beds, I was going to leave the pathways as grass, but as I now know it is couch, I am going to lift the turfs, cover in plastic and then lay paving slabs. I am going to dig a trench around the plot and edge my whole plot with half paving slabs.
Is this overkill, or am I wise to take it that seriously?
How bad is couch, is it easier to deal with than bindweed?
Will couch yield to hoeing, given time?
Is there owt else I can do?
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i remember reading here that couch grass does not like being mowed. so that may be your plan of attack. there are a couple of people who have couch grass paths
unless you are sure about the paving slab paths, i would stick with 'the devil you know' :) you may get very fed up otherwise with the hard work. dont lose the fun!
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My plots were covered in couch grass when I took over. I adopted many methods in different areas to get rid of it. Here they are:
Dig up all the grass and stack it up (upside down) in a really high heap for at least 3 years. The plant in the clean soil.
Dig up as much as you can and sow turnip seed really thickly, then rotavate in. Did this twice. Some still came up but only in small patches.
Cover with high quality woven plastic membrane for 2 years (some still came up the year I removed it, but weaker)
Rotavate once a month from March through to October, two years running. Surprisingly, this did not seem to make the problem worse, (as I have read here that it does) it came up but again only in weakened patches. Earthworm population appeared to recover too.
Apply a glyphosate based weed-killer such as Roundup (I used the Ultra 300 version) in Mid May, then scraped off the dead grass after about 3 to 4 weeks and dug and planted veg. This was the most effective and quickest method.
Once the soil was clear I made sure that something, anything, was growing in it. I started sowing poached egg plant, (Limanthes dougasii I think) and find that this is good to keep the ground relatively clear of the twitch.
Hope this helps.
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My plots were covered in couch grass when I took over. I adopted many methods in different areas to get rid of it. Here they are:
Dig up all the grass and stack it up (upside down) in a really high heap for at least 3 years. The plant in the clean soil.
Dig up as much as you can and sow turnip seed really thickly, then rotavate in. Did this twice. Some still came up but only in small patches.
Cover with high quality woven plastic membrane for 2 years (some still came up the year I removed it, but weaker)
Rotavate once a month from March through to October, two years running. Surprisingly, this did not seem to make the problem worse, (as I have read here that it does) it came up but again only in weakened patches. Earthworm population appeared to recover too.
Apply a glyphosate based weed-killer such as Roundup (I used the Ultra 300 version) in Mid May, then scraped off the dead grass after about 3 to 4 weeks and dug and planted veg. This was the most effective and quickest method.
Once the soil was clear I made sure that something, anything, was growing in it. I started sowing poached egg plant, (Limanthes dougasii I think) and find that this is good to keep the ground relatively clear of the twitch.
Hope this helps.
If I remove the turf, and clear the soil as best I can then just pop my veg in, and hoe, hoe, hoe -- what will happen?
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Hoeing doesn't really work with couch grass, as it is very tough, and it sends out runners under the surface, and each little bit of the root that has nodes can root again. You need to dig it up if it comes through. But do clear the soil as best you can and plant. By planting things you will firstly be encouraged to keep having a go and you are giving it some competition.
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Hoeing doesn't really work with couch grass, as it is very tough, and it sends out runners under the surface, and each little bit of the root that has nodes can root again. You need to dig it up if it comes through. But do clear the soil as best you can and plant. By planting things you will firstly be encouraged to keep having a go and you are giving it some competition.
I'll be going up to the allotment atleast every other day. So if I thoroughly clear the soil I am using, and cover the rest--will I be able to get on top of it sufficiently to get everything I want to out of the plot? Which is basically enough veg to feed my family.
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If you spend that much time on it - you'll definitely make a big impact on your family diet.
I try to supply all we need - there are 3 at home now and I do tend to run out of some things around March, but work full time so can't spend as much time as you.
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Amphib If you're aiming to be self-sufficient off your plot you'll need to plan for the hungry gap. It''s a good thing that today we have so many varieties to choose from which make that task easier :) Good luck with it.
I only started mine last year and it was an horrendous mess. I'm now harvesting crops despite having not dug due to bad back but that's not been a problem other than I think my celeriac won't be a success. Oh well you win some ... :)
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Amphib If you're aiming to be self-sufficient off your plot you'll need to plan for the hungry gap. It''s a good thing that today we have so many varieties to choose from which make that task easier :) Good luck with it.
I only started mine last year and it was an horrendous mess. I'm now harvesting crops despite having not dug due to bad back but that's not been a problem other than I think my celeriac won't be a success. Oh well you win some ... :)
My mid-term aim is self-sufficiency (in fruit and vegetables), but I'm not expecting any short-term success, and I am quite able to deal with set-backs--but I have never worked any soil contaminated with couch grass, and it is hard for me to guage how serious a problem this weed is; how long I can expect it to take to clear, or primarily (given frequent weeding), how badly I can expect it to impact my crop production over the coming months.
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I took over my plots in August 1999. The first thing I grew was broad beans, sown in October, harvested April/may 2000. Also made a smallish hot (well, warm) bed, covered with about 6" of cheap bagged B&Q multipurpose compost and grew lettuces and carrots in Jan/Feb of year 2000.
Really started sowing and planting out in May 2000 (it helped to sow some things at home to give them a head start)
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How good a compost is leaf mould? Basically my family own 27 acres of woodland, and in absense of any compost (as my heap is far from rotted) I was considering filling up a boot full of well rotted leaf mould to dig into my beds.
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There's not much nitrogen in it, but it's good for boosting humus levels, and that can't do anything but good.I use masses as autumn leaves by the ton are brought down to the site from local housing estates.
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Apparently leaf mould is good incorporated into the soil where you're growing carrots :) When I first got my plot I made myself a leaf mould bin a la Titchmarsh, filled it with fallen leaves from home - two bays that is. It has now gone down to almost nothing. I've had it covered. I think it will soon be ready for use. That's in less than a year. I thought it would take longer.
I think you can look forward to short term rewards. A quick catch crop will keep you happy :)
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After one year it makes excellent soil conditioner - I put two bags on my beans. After two years it is one of the best seed composts available. Nice and crumbly and not too rich.
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Apparently leaf mould is good incorporated into the soil where you're growing carrots :) When I first got my plot I made myself a leaf mould bin a la Titchmarsh, filled it with fallen leaves from home - two bays that is. It has now gone down to almost nothing. I've had it covered. I think it will soon be ready for use. That's in less than a year. I thought it would take longer.
I think you can look forward to short term rewards. A quick catch crop will keep you happy :)
A quick crop would make me very happy, after removing a binbag full of couch rhizomes.
I feel lucky to not have to wait for leaf mold, I need only collect it.
What quick nitrogen natural sources can I get into the soil, or should I buy some compost of the council?
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After one year it makes excellent soil conditioner - I put two bags on my beans. After two years it is one of the best seed composts available. Nice and crumbly and not too rich.
Cool so I can grow my seedlings in it.
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I feel envious at the amounts others get their hands on - I am going to see whether we get any from the council and if not - why not? I collect about three bages a year from my garden and none of it makes it through to the second year. I did manage to save a small amount once - just to see, and it was very good.
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Hi amphibian
I am another newbie lottie holder, had ours about 6 weeks. It is addictive isn't it?! Not sure what I did with my life before I got a garden / lottie/ found this site.
Could you, or someone take a picture of couchgrass for me?! I have no idea what it looks like - the pictures in my gardening books of weeds are not too great really, even the ones I know I cannot identify from the pictures.
Interesting to read that it does not respond to the faithful hoe as I had thought this was the key to successful weed management!
Good luck with it, hope it makes you as happy as I am ;D
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This is the best I could find. Once you've seen the root it's unmistakeable.
http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_couch_grass.htm
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After reading that I have decided that from now on:
'I will be mostly growing couch grass'
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Hi amphibian
I am another newbie lottie holder, had ours about 6 weeks. It is addictive isn't it?! Not sure what I did with my life before I got a garden / lottie/ found this site.
Could you, or someone take a picture of couchgrass for me?! I have no idea what it looks like - the pictures in my gardening books of weeds are not too great really, even the ones I know I cannot identify from the pictures.
Interesting to read that it does not respond to the faithful hoe as I had thought this was the key to successful weed management!
Good luck with it, hope it makes you as happy as I am ;D
I am loving my allotment, and I feel far more optimistic about the couch than I did; a walk around my site revealed that everyone has it, and yet are still producing wonderful vegetables.
I haven't got a digital camera, but its key identifiable feature is its rhizomes (underground stems). Below is a picture, though many of them are far thinner. or may be fragmented if your plot has been rotorvated in the past.
(http://www.blackthornarable.co.uk/photography/gweed/Img_T321-031%20couch%20rhizome.jpg)
On my plot the rhizomes have formed a mat under the turf and do not penetrate deeper than 5 inches (probably because my soil is very compacted clayey loam).
I'm tackling this by removing the turfs completely, lifting 5 inch clods with my spade and then working through by hand, a clod at a time. It is slow work, but it is oddly theraputic using your hands in the dirt in this way. I cleared a 5x20' bed of the stems today, and I am going to line the sides of my beds with weed control fabric submerged in the soil for half a spit.
I am hoping to isolate my beds from the rest of my plot, meaning that I can tackle any regrowth in a way that impacts on the root reserves of any couch left in my beds.
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After reading that I have decided that from now on:
'I will be mostly growing couch grass'
Send me your address and I'll stick a binbag of rhizomes in the post. ;)
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Try this for a pic:
http://212.84.179.117/i/Couch-grass.jpg
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Someone mentioned that couch rhizomes are spiky and can cut you, why don't mine seem to be spiky at all?
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I have loads of it too then. Feel part of the gang now! The bindweed still out numbers the couch grass though on our lottie.
Am in a false sense of security stage at the moment though as our lottie was rotivated last week, so it looks beautiful at the moment. I do know that this has made the weeds 100 times worse in the long run, but try not to think about it.
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I have loads of it too then. Feel part of the gang now! The bindweed still out numbers the couch grass though on our lottie.
Am in a false sense of security stage at the moment though as our lottie was rotivated last week, so it looks beautiful at the moment. I do know that this has made the weeds 100 times worse in the long run, but try not to think about it.
One off rotivation is disasterous with couch, however if you do it very frequently it eventually kills the couch off. (or so I have read).
I get the impression that as long as you get enough time to weed frequently you'll be okay.
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Red Clanger What went wrong with your leafmould? If you only have small amounts save it up til you have a black bag full. Add a bit of garden soil to the bag, tie it up and then make some fork holes in it for a bit of air to get round. I then collect these up and wait. You can go and shake them up every now and then. It does take about 18 -24 months usually. :)
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After reading that I have decided that from now on:
'I will be mostly growing couch grass'
Send me your address and I'll stick a binbag of rhizomes in the post. ;)
Thanks for the offer but I already have plenty :)
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Red Clanger What went wrong with your leafmould? If you only have small amounts save it up til you have a black bag full. Add a bit of garden soil to the bag, tie it up and then make some fork holes in it for a bit of air to get round. I then collect these up and wait. You can go and shake them up every now and then. It does take about 18 -24 months usually. :)
Just used it all because I needed it so I will be buying seed compost again next year :(
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RC I used to go for frequent walks to the woods at the back of my house and kind of took some carrier bags with me (if you get my drift) and I always found plenty of free leafmould there :) I realise that everyone is not as keen on leafmould as I am ;D
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RC I used to go for frequent walks to the woods at the back of my house and kind of took some carrier bags with me (if you get my drift) and I always found plenty of free leafmould there :) I realise that everyone is not as keen on leafmould as I am ;D
If I catch anyone taking leaf mold in my woods, I'll shout 'ger off my land' and chase them off with a pack of slavering squirrels. ;D
To be honest I don't think it would matter a jot if someone was to fall over, and on standing up discover their bag has inadvetently filled with fine, well rotted, leaf mold.
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They taught us at college that leaf mould alone doesn't have a lot of nutrients in it, so you could use it as a component of seed compost, but that's about it. I've never used it alone, nor have I made my own seed compost yet, but 2 yrs ago collected leaves in a wire bin on posts 6ft x 4ft x 3ft high. Its now in a plastic bin I found on a skip, which is about one third full, so it really shrinks down. I'm going to have a go at making my own seed compost with it this autumn.
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They taught us at college that leaf mould alone doesn't have a lot of nutrients in it, so you could use it as a component of seed compost, but that's about it. I've never used it alone, nor have I made my own seed compost yet, but 2 yrs ago collected leaves in a wire bin on posts 6ft x 4ft x 3ft high. Its now in a plastic bin I found on a skip, which is about one third full, so it really shrinks down. I'm going to have a go at making my own seed compost with it this autumn.
For my seed beds I am also planning on mulching with seaweed, for a seed compost I thought leaf mold could be used neat.
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The only things I add are a bit of sharp sand to aid drainage and prevent shrinkage and if a few more nutrients are wanted, a bit of ordinary soil.
http://www.veganorganic.net/info1.html: Almost any mixture of sieved leaf mould or garden compost with added sand or vermiculite will do the job; a typical mixture for raising seeds would be three parts sieved leaf mould or compost to one part of sharp sand or vermiculite. A leaf mould mix will have fewer nutrients than one made with compost so may be best for raising seeds which are soon to be re-potted (seeds have their own supply of nutrients for initial growth)....
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I have been given a massive bag of alfalfa seeds by a farmer friend of mine. I am thinking of sowing these as a green manure on a bit of my plot that doesn't fit into my plan for the coming months.
I noticed one person on here, saying they had difficulty getting rid of alfalfa after sowing it as a green manure. Does anyone else have any experiences of alfalfa, good or bad?
Will alfalfa compete well with the couch grass, or is their a green manure that will do better?
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Fpr an easy to dig in green manure, I reckon you can't beat turnips sown thickly and/or poached egg plant (Limanthes). Both low growing, speading, shallow rooted etc. But the rotation question could be a problem with turnip.
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Hi Amphibian,
I know I am a bit behind everyone else with this reply (only about 7 months!!) but I followed a link and found myself spellbound with your quest against the dreaded 'devils weed' couchgrass!
I have had my lottie for about 5 years now and still suffer every year from the bloody stuff. I have discovered though that if you get in there on your bum and have a good old rummage for all the rhizomes every march/april, it keeps it at bay for the rest of the year (and I agree it is quite theraputic even if it does take hours!!).
Mine tends to creep in from the edges so that is where most of my problem are but if I do see the odd tuft blowing about, I pull it out very carefully using a handfork and following the root to it's end.
The only problem it seems to cause though is that it leaves the soil parched and crops nearby suffer from the lack of water.
There is a good side to it though, it makes a good remedy for sore throats and coughs and helps with 'urinary tract infections' apparently!
I have written the technical details down if you want to know them but have to admit, I haven't tried it myself!!
Anyway, hope you are on top of things this year and good luck!!
Donna.