hi all, talking to a gardener over the lottie today, i was asking should i get someone to rotavate or dig over some more of my plot(i have a bad back) as i have psb,cauli,sprouts with no home to go to. he told me don't bother with either just get the grass as short as poss then put down some sort of ground cover, weed suppressant, then plant through it.
have you done this anyone if so what did you put down? did it work?
thanks
Hi Karrot
I also have loads of brassicas to put in - a result of over enthusiastic sowing in February. I have given some away but would like to grow some myself.
On the basis that brassicas like firm soil, I think planting direct, through weed membrane should work OK. I'm going to do that today. I should think the only requirement will be to have a strong trowel to break through the compacted soil.
Your neighbour has given you good advice. That's what I did last year and got giants!
(http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/8587/picture0072ky.jpg)
I did cover the turf with lots of well rotted manure and spent hops first.
This year the beds are completely friable and have beans in them.
They look like monsters! I take it the pigeons dont give you much bother?
will give it a go then. ;)
good greif sprout ill have to take over next doors plot aswell by the look of yours ;D
Quote from: keef on June 06, 2006, 09:47:21
I take it the pigeons dont give you much bother?
We have fearless pigeons on our city centre plot keef :o. These brocc were covered in mesh all the time they were growing from July. When they bust out of the cloche in October (and the cabbage whites had gone) I rigged up poles and elastic bands to attach the mesh to the tops so the tops of the brocc were still covered, and that kept the pigeons off :)
karrot, these were planted through cardboard as the weed suppressing 'membrane' - you could use lots of b/w newspaper just as well
There was no way I was going to dig over the whole allotment I've taken over in a couple of months. It had been neglected for a season or two and there was a lot of couch grass.
In order to get something planted (and to try to reduce the amount of grass which seems to be a breeding ground for supersize slugs) I skim-sliced off the tops of the sods with a spade, turned them over and I've put down some weed suppressing fabric with the intention of planting me brassicas in it. (Once I get the netting structure up and running - so much to do and so little time.)
I'm really pleased to read that this may actually work. Maybe I'm a natural ........ but then again, maybe not - I did let the local critters eat everything I put in the ground earlier this year when I started planting my new allotment. I wondered why all my neighbours had so much netting, wire caging, etc........