a few questions about my neglected plot

[legless]

its lucky i'll never be able to afford to go on holiday again because i'm not leaving the plot for ages again! i apologise to anyone in the whitley bay area who may hev been disturbed by my hysterical laughter at my full size plot covered almost entirely in dandelions and groundsel!! it's worse than when i got it.

i managed to uncover all my crops in 5 hours of solid weeding today but now start the questions...

1. has a bolted spring cabbage had it?
2. when should i cover my strawberry plants?
3. horsetail/ marestail - i have more than i thought, can i just keep chopping off the tops (i know i can't kill it) and will that be ok or do the roots do bad things to crops?
4. any good dandelion recipes?
5. if my carrots haven't germinated in the 4 weeks since i sowed them does this mean they won't?

some radishes have germinated though
:D

[legless]

[gavin]

Oh dear!  :(

1.  Yes.
2.  Don't know - I haven't got as far as covering mine!
3.  I'll be quiet - I haven't had to deal with the stuff.
5.  Probably?  And it's now the carrot fly season?

4.  BUT!  Am I jealous of your having a holiday?  NO!  Can it be said that I'm an ungracious old curmudgeon?  NO!  (well, actually, yes to both, but I'm not letting on!  :))

Any excuse to leave the weeding until later!   Let those dandelions grow, flower, and harvest them before they go to seed - and make Dandelion Jelly?

Ingredients:
- 1 litre Dandelion flowers (bright and fresh - pack a 1 litre jug quite tightly with fresh, bright blossoms
- 750 ml water
- juice of 1 fresh lemon
- 1 packet of powdered fruit pectin
- 1.25 kg sugar

Rinse blossom quickly in cold water to remove any insects or dust - don't be too rough with them though!   Cut off the stem and green base of each flower, so you only have petals - and the more you have, the better the flavour and colour.

Simmer the petals in water for up to 10 minutes, until the water takes on their colour and flavour; you may have to add the petals in batches.

Cool and strain through a jelly bag; extract all of the dandelion juice; you should have 750 ml of liquid - if necessary add a little water.

Add the lemon juice and pectin, bring to a boil, and add the sugar, mixing well.   Bring to a trong rolling boil, until setting point is reached (I follow the instructions on the pectin packet - about two and a half minutes).

Pour into hot sterilized jars and cover.

I haven't tried it - but like the sound of it!  :)

Good luck, legless - and get the flowers off before they set seed!

[tim]

If weeds grow well,  that's a GOOD sign! = Tim

[legless]

thanks gavin!

tim - that's exactly what the man in the plot opposite said too!

[Muddy_Boots]

Jo, Mare's tail means that there is water underground on your site.  Chopping it has the same effect as with nettles, briar, convulvulous and ground elder, just keeps making more.  Only way is to keep digging out their hugely long roots.  However, although irritating, as far as I know, they don't do any harm to crops, just make you mad because they are there!

If you know anyone who likes, spinning, dying and producing their own wool, they will be extremely grateful for your mare's tail because it is the best natural green dye!  Me, a mine of trivial information  ;D ;D ;D

[Multiveg]

horsetail makes a useful foliar feed.

[allotment_chick]

Hi y'all
Is there some kind of inverse ratio thing to digging and weeding do you think?  It is quicker to dig a bed than to weed it and it feels like less work somehow (all that stooping I suppose).  

My best friend is an old steak knife, which means I can cut the weed roots, loosen the the soil and yank the offending top growth all at the same time!

Don't tell me to use a hoe because ..... a) I'm useless and nearly always nick the plants (even with a special narrow home made hoe donated by a generous lottie neighbour)  and b) the weeds have usually reached near maturity in the week that I'm not able to get to the plot!  This weekends specials were horsetail / chickweed / dandelions / and hugh clumps of grass that grow from seeds in the manure!  On the upside - I half filled a pallet sized compost bin!
AC

[rdak]

multi- could you explain more about this horsetail foliar feed. Have just realised my plot is invested with the stuff. Strange, as when I dug over in autumn didn't see hardly any. they are now appearing all over the plot, like raised fingers coming out of the ground...think my plot doesn't like being cultivated!  ;D

[legless]

i know exactly what you mean ross - i got my plot in august and there was a little bit but nowhere near this much! very interested in the foliar feed idea too - i might as well use it if i'm going to be growing it!

[Garden Manager]

I dont have actual experience of horsetail myself (thank god!) but i have heard/read somewhere that if you keep on cutting/pulling the top growth it will eventualy be weakened.  Dont know how long it takes and i should think you have to be diciplined about it and dont leave it too long between cutting.

Apart from this, not sure  :-\

[Mrs Ava]

One of the reasons you probably didn't realise you had horses/mares tail on your plot is because the roots are like rusty nails.  They are brittle, dark as can be and to be honest, look like dead bits of twig.  They blend perfectly into the earth and of course, every tiny weeny bit you chopped up is growing a nice new plant.  Tis funny, as I admire my mares tails growing up in my spud patch, I think they look like asparagus spears coming thru, pity they aren't as tasty.