Need some encouragement!

[caroline7758]

Went to the allotment yesterday and came back very disheartened. I can't get down there for more than a couple of hours a week at the moment and the stuff that needs doing is starting to overwhelm me. Grass and weeds are taking over but the soil was too wet for digging or even hoeing successfully. Didn't help that my m.i.l. asked me at the weekend if I'd "put the allotment to bed for the winter"- is that actually possible ???
just a few of you telling me you know how I feel would help!I was seriously thinking about giving the whole thing up yesterday.

[caroline7758]

[Robert_Brenchley]

I felt like that many times in my first couple of years, but if you keep going you do get there in the end. I have trouble getting down there during term in the winter as well, so I know how you feel. Dunno about putting plots to bed for the winter; the more successful plotholders on my site are working theirs all the year round. But then we do have massive plots. As far as I'm concerned, winter is my chance to get ahead of the weeds, and get some extra beds ready for next year.

If you can dig at least some of your overgrown area over the winter, assuming the soil is dry enough, then that's your chance to get it done. If you have splodgy clay, of course, that won't work.

[teresa]

Oh bless m.i.l. trying to make small talk and know nothing about gardening dont you just love them.
A garden never sleeps theirs always something to do.
I hear them saying about putting lottie to sleep for winter but I think if you have one you should grow through the winter ie: leeks, garlic etc even my mint is starting to regrow now.
If your worried about the weeds just cover them with anything so no light gets to them this will stop them from growing and using plastic stops rain getting on the ground so digging will be easier.
My fav down lottie is when the men come over and say " Oh your doing a bit then" after a hours digging a " bit "? classic.
We all get down when we need to do things and the darn weather does not help rain rain and more rain but we always get there in the end dont let it get you down. All will come right in the end just give it time.

[Melbourne12]

....
just a few of you telling me you know how I feel would help!I was seriously thinking about giving the whole thing up yesterday.

Well, I know how you feel.  I think it was after we'd got back from holidays in August and were faced with a raging jungle that I flung down my gloves and said, "Right, that's it.  I'm giving this up."  Fortunately my o.h. is less volatile.

We've still got a lot to do before the plot looks anything like neat'n'tidy for the winter.  One thing that's improved my morale is planting a few beds with autumn-sown things.  Onions, peas, and broad beans, and I've put in half a bed of tulip bulbs for cut flowers in the spring.

Like you, we can only do a few hours at the weekend.  It's too dark in the week after work.  I've got compost heaps to sort out, the fruit bushes are swamped with thistles, and I've still got three cold frames to dismantle.  But each visit makes it look a LITTLE bit better.   I guess you can't ask for much more than that.

[manicscousers]

some will not agree with me but, do you know anyone who's getting rid of 1/ old carpet, 2/ cardboard, preferaably from stuff like tvs etc,
cover the ground with anything you can, old compost bags, held down with bricks or wood, etc, this will kill off the weeds and even if it's wet, it'll make it seem less daunting,
we had the same on an old plot, it seemed like miles of manky weed laden soil. we ended up splitting it in to beds, covering what we couldn't do and working one bed at a time..don't let it put you off,  :)

[norfolklass]

Don't be disheartened!!! I can only go to my allotment on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, weather and everything else permitting. I've only just taken it on and have never had an allotment before. Although I've chopped down all the nettles, thistles and other weeds, I've got an endless list of stuff to do. Off the top of my head and in no particular order:

double-dig the whole site
tear down the old chicken shed
buy and put up a new shed
get rid of the rabbits and/or rats that are living there (uncovered a warren under an old tarp on Sunday)
fix all the holes in the boundary fence
find something to fill the 6' gap in the fencing at one end
"get rid" of the ground elder
prune two old apple trees

then once I've done all that I can:

plan the whole thing on paper
stake out and build raised beds (want to go down the no-dig route after double digging the whole plot!)
order some manure
start a compost heap

then maybe I can order some seeds and start growing things! Oh, and my plot is actually a plot and a half in size: 90' long x 35' at one end, 70' at the other. I stood in the middle of all the nettle stumps and mole hills on Sunday afternoon and thought "I might have taken on more than I can cope with!" What's keeping me going is the thought of growing and eating my own veg, although that's a long way off at the moment.

Try not to worry about the grass and weeds! Can you get hold of some old carpet or cardboard to cover them up with? If they're covered they should slow down and not grow as quickly, and if you can't see them for a couple of months you'll feel better about not being able to hoe/dig them up (that's my plan for the immediate future!) You can only do a bit at a time but added together all the bits make a big difference. I'm a complete novice at the very bottom of the learning curve but I know it'll all be worth it in the end when I can pick my own organically grown food, carry it home in 10 minutes and cook it for me and my partner. What a fantastic thing to be able to do!

[Mrs Ava]

The summer hols are the worse for me, with the kids off school for 6 weeks and me popping down for just brief visits, it takes me 6 weeks after they have gone back to really get the plot back into shape!

If you work, or do other things in life, as well as run an allotment, it will almost never be perfectly manicured, but then it is an allotment and not an ornamental garden so I really don't think it matters.  As said before me, concentrate on clearing just a small area, then get something down on it, like as suggested, black plastic or even a thick mulch of shredded paper, straw or grass cuttings.  This should help keep the weeds clear on that area, then you can start on the next.  When I am working on a rough are, I face away from the weeds and face the nice patch I have dug, that way it always looks good and I don't feel disheartened.  This time of year the ground will be wet most of the time, so you can only do what the weather allows - don't beat yourself up over it, tis Mother Natures fault!  Do the things you can do like edging your plot, or I don't know, tidying your shed if you have one, so you don't feel like you have had a wasted visit.

My garden and allotment are never put to bed - I can, and do find things to do year round, and my allotment is just as productive during winter as it is in spring.

Most importantly, having and allotment is supposed to me fun, not a chore or worry, so look on the up side - annual weeds will die as the weather gets colder, the grass will slow right down, and spring isn't that far away and the nights will start getting lighter again!

[Barnowl]

If you haven't yet divided it into beds this might be a good time to divi it up into bite size pieces.

It's surprising how much better things look with paths and rectangles - even if there are weeds in the middle!

[Rosyred]

Thats what I was thining barnowl mark out a bed and just work on that one so that you get that looking nice and can start growing. Forget about the rest and when you get veg to eat it brighten you up to work on the next bit.

I've got a new plot to work on but when I go there I look at it and think 'oh no' and do a little then carry on with the old plot.

[caroline7758]

Thanks everyone, feeling better already! I've already got onions & garlic in, plus leeks & parsnips ready for picking, so that alone would probably be enough to make me keep it. Definitely will try to cover some of the weedy bits- when we took it over 2 years ago most of it was covered in black plastic and I think I uncovered too much too soon in my enthusiasm to get going! Also I had more time then.Now all the weeds are coming back so need to cover up again. I put some cardboard down last week but the gales blew it away- must get some bricks!

[cornykev]

:) :) :)  All good advise Caroline, don't give up and you won't regret, nights drawing in, kids to look after o.h coming home too late to get time to get over the lottie, weekends when I can its hard I know. But as advised cover it up and you wont see the weeds, hopfully  it will suppress them, then you can do a little at a time as barnowl suggests, don't give it up you know you don't want to. Goodluck :) :) :D :D ;D ;D.

                May the corn be with you.

[triffid]

Oh Caroline, I am so in the same boat. It's like EJ and everyone says, if you have a life elsewhere (be it ever so humble!) it makes it really hard to keep everything in order.

I haven't been down to my allotment in a week, and it was bad then  :( 

I'll try to get there tomorrow but it's v hard with foul weather and two small kids.

But don't give up -- little by little you'll win the battle and at least the reduced daylight will put a bit of a damper on the weeds  :)

And yum, leeks and parsnips! Parsnip-and-apple soup with sage, perhaps? Or just roast 'em within an inch of their lives?

[saddad]

Green manures help if planted early enough they grow, and look a bit untidy but will keep most weeds down and are improving the soil for you!
Keep at it when you can, it gets easier once you have got it straight!
;D

[MrsKP]

I laugh to myself when other people say to me "are you still at it ?" ........... they don't have ANY idea what needs to be done or how long it takes, and that's just for the garden.

my entire weekend is spent dressed in muddy jeans and a fleece and i think, if i can't keep up with the garden, what will it be like on a full size plot.  pretty scary.  but then i keep moaning that i've run out of space.  i'll just have to buy the OH his laptop and then he can join me  lol

there are those waiting that would cut their right arm off for a plot so stick with it, and think of all the yummy things you'll be getting.

;D

[vee]

It sounds as if you already have things growing and that's a good start.

I used very large cardboard boxes on mine until I could dig the ground underneath and it was so much easier to dig than the uncovered parts. The cardboard also rots down and can be composted. If you don't have enough bricks(I could send you a houseful of broken ones if you like) I have read on here about using plastic milk containers filled with water to weight it down.

Take some photos and look back at the progress you have made and then suddenly it all seems worthwhile. It really does get easier when you've dug the soil once or twice.

Good luck with it.

[caroline7758]

Well, I spent a couple of hours dwon there this morning and am feeling much more positive. I started off by harveting some leeks, parsnips, sprouts and calabrese to make me feel good, then cleared all the grass out of the patch nearest the shed, so I had my back to the rest! Then I got some bits of carpet out of the shed (which made the shed look better too)and put them down on some of the worst bits. I soaked the cardboard that had blown away in the water butt and put it down again, with some bricks on top.
My back is aching but otherwise I feel good, so thanks again for all the encouragement. :)

[MrsKP]

congrats to you.  aching things are an occupational hazard of doing things !  but it only til you get in a hot shower (which is where I'm going right now to put some heat back in my toes and to stop the aches).

you'll be on top of it before you know it.   ;D

[shirlton]

Having an allotment is supposed to be an asset to you and your family. Don't get disheartened. Just plod on and you will gradually get it done. My daughter Bunjy has just taken on a plot and she has 6 kids. 3 of them under 5. We advised her to make small planting areas and as she progresses she can enlarge these. Enjoy your plot for gooness sake and don't let it get you down. We have just taken on another plot but cos were old farts we are having it sprayed and rotovated free of charge,. I think we will still have to cover it to stop the weeds taking over in the spring. Keep us posted and chin up girl lol

[newbies]

Hi Caroline,
Just read this thread, and can only echo previous thoughts.  Keep it to bite size pieces, and set yourself little tasks.  When you have finished one, you'll feel great.  My new plot sounds just like yours, I only have one big bed and one little one dug.  It needs a shed and, oh, all sorts of stuff.  You'll get there in the end, you know you will. 

[wahaj]

i know exactly what you mean. The summer didn't seem like it was gonna end.....and even though i did a lot in it....i know i could have done more.

now winter's here i can barely step out without freezing I disagree off. I was so poud of myself that i managed to go to the shed and get myself a pot of soil to pot something up. I've even gone so far as to get those compact compost blocks that you can rehydrate so that i can do some of me potting up in my room.

I understand summer was bad enough to take up an allotment and look at such a daunting project....it probably seems impossible now lol.

I'm leaving getting an allotment till next year or the year after. I want to really get my knowledge of gardening and experience in the basics up to scratch so that i can take on such a big project.

so honetly don't worry about it. It took me weeks on end to just build some raised beds on my tiny little garden....and then fill them up with soil. But once it was all finished i was well proud of myself.

do it when you can....even if you can go down there and spend half an hour a week....it'll atleast get something done for you to work on next year :)