Allotments 4 All

Hello

So i am the excited owner of my new plot hoorah!

Its a lovely loam (maybe a little sandy) hoorah again! and i'm looking to get a load of manure on it for my sweet peas etc. But farmer says that if its dug over in the winter the structure tends to turn to sludge.

So my questions is shall i dig it over and weed it (all i can see is annuals but there may be some nasty perrenials lurking unnoticed underneath) and then put my manure on (but risk turning the plot to sludge)
Or do i just put the manure on top and risk giving some unseen weeds a big feed?

Anybody have any suggestions?

Afraid I'm voting for putting the manure ontop, ignore digging, and mulch-everything-a-go-go.  Enough manure/mulch will stop weed growth due to lack of light.

Supersprout will be along soon... ;D

mmm, a much argued question here on A4A.... I always say dig it - that way you can be sure to get out weeds like bindweed and couch grass etc... I also think it helps the soil structure to dig it. I dont mind the effort being relativly young and fit  ;D either... Dug this over the last two weekends.

I always thought best to dig too Keef. I guess it depends what you've got growing on there. If it's mostly earth with some weeds on top I guess you could mulch over it all. I go with Alan Titch, when you get a new overgrown bit of earth, weed, dig, then mulch it up! Nice work by the way, that's what mine is beginning to look like now the evil couch grass is going- Yay!  ;)

Even though I don't dig, I do love to see pics like keefs ;) :D

I have well dug and weeded half of mine but am going to mulch the rest.  It will be interesting to see which turns out better!  I went down yesterday to take some scraps for the heap and drove past a house that had put out loads of cardboard from a new kitchen out for the recycling van - so I recycled it for them!  I put newspaper down then the cardboard and weighed it down with bricks!  I have a promise of some horse muck soo - so will load that on top and eventally use it to grow my pumpkins, squashes and courgettes! - planting through holes made in the mulch.

Hopefully the couch grass will give up before I do!

Louise

thanks for your comments
looking with envy at your lovely dug over beds

I think i will dig it , becuase then at least i know whats down there.

If it is light free draining soil and easy annual weeds then I would leave clearing it for a month or 2 to save leaching from the rains.

Or I would dig/mulch and then cover up with membrane etc.

The old rule is to dig heavy soils and expose to the winter, dig lighter soils in the spring.

I'm a digger but thats only because I need the excercise!

I'll pass on this one  ;)

Two Manic diggers here, heavy clay soil....
;D

I also profess to be a digger

Dig but Sprout is turning me got some straw down.   ;D ;D ;D

Dug ground always looks so much more neat and tidy than mulched... it appeals to my obsessive compulsive side  :)

Quote from: LauraB on January 23, 2007, 17:45:00
Dug ground always looks so much more neat and tidy than mulched... it appeals to my obsessive compulsive side  :)

I can relate to that  ;D

Quote from: LauraB on January 23, 2007, 17:45:00
Dug ground always looks so much more neat and tidy than mulched... it appeals to my obsessive compulsive side  :)

Me too!

Quote from: LauraB on January 23, 2007, 17:45:00
Dug ground always looks so much more neat and tidy than mulched... it appeals to my obsessive compulsive side  :)

Oooh noo laura, noo!
No mulch? Cover my eyes!

There you go, you three have gone and upset Sprout now. :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( ;D ;D ;D

Quote from: supersprout on January 23, 2007, 19:12:31

Quote from: LauraB on January 23, 2007, 17:45:00
Dug ground always looks so much more neat and tidy than mulched... it appeals to my obsessive compulsive side  :)

Oooh noo laura, noo!
No mulch? Cover my eyes!

There there sprout. You only feel bad because your dark side knows we speak the truth  ;D

I think there are good ideas with mulches and stuff to save on digging.

HOWEVER...I have a Dad who is a workaholic, and wants to dig my new allotment for me. He's already done a quarter of it this weekend!

So, I'm going with the 'dig' method. ;D ;D ;D

cj

;D ;D ;D

I really love digging, could watch it all day ;)