Mulching and straight lines.

[di]

I'm hopeless at getting my lines straight, so have learnt to love the curves and half spaces that are invariably left at the end of a bed. Today though, I think I planted up my first ever straight rows of potatoes, using the soaked newspapers as a mulch and guideline. The benefits of using a mulch seem to be never ending

[zazen999]

Indeed Di. The benefits are wide reaching!

[Jeanied]

That sounds great, Di.

I have just taken a risk with my potatoes. Faced with a very grassy plot and not a lot of time I have forked over the potato bed and just turned the clods upside down. Then I trod the row in and planted the spuds using a bulb planter. The grass was ordinary grass, not couch - I removed any stray white roots I found - so I am hoping the lot will rot down and feed my spuds as well. Waiting for a good downpour and then the paper mulch is going down and grass cuttings from my friend's lawn will go on top.
Also waiting for all the cynics on neighbouring plots to start their sarky remarks - their potato rows are all straight as a die and not a weed to be seen.

[di]

I've slightly replenished my supply of cardboard (a good excuse to go buy wine) Anyway, my Granny trolley is full(except for a little room for a flask and mug)

It's strange, the one weed I thought would make mince meat out of cardboard was a thistle...so far,any that have come through have been really confused and grown sideways, making pulling them much easier. Dandelions and creeping buttercup are a little more of a challenge. I've pulled away the top growth and then covered the area with doubled over scraps f cardboard.

[Two_Sheds]

Dandelions and creeping buttercup are a little more of a challenge.

Oh yes! They both survive drowning & burying Best thing with those, is to roast them on a hot path, if we ever get any sun again

[chris]

There was a dude at RHS Cardiff with something like 28 different species of dandelion. I think, may be wrong though that there's 108 different types. He did seem very interested in them (research wise), and said that they don't need to be pollinated to set seed, so even if you remove the heads they'll still seed.

[Snadger]

There was a dude at RHS Cardiff with something like 28 different species of dandelion. I think, may be wrong though that there's 108 different types. He did seem very interested in them (research wise), and said that they don't need to be pollinated to set seed, so even if you remove the heads they'll still seed.

..................and I think I've probably got every one of them on my plot!

PS Can't get my head around dandelions setting seed with heads removed though, or am I missing summat or misinterpreting?

[veggiechicken]

There was a dude at RHS Cardiff with something like 28 different species of dandelion. I think, may be wrong though that there's 108 different types. He did seem very interested in them (research wise), and said that they don't need to be pollinated to set seed, so even if you remove the heads they'll still seed.

..... and they stay true to type because they'd don't cross-pollinate. I think he said something about not needing sex to survive! More here The Dandelions of Cardiff | National Museum Wales

[taff]

..................and I think I've probably got every one of them on my plot!

PS Can't get my head around dandelions setting seed with heads removed though, or am I missing summat or misinterpreting?

the flower heads will continue to make seed? I don't know...I have picked off yellow flower heads before, and then seen them a few days later and they're seed, not flower....

[VirginVegGrower]

That sounds great, Di.

I have just taken a risk with my potatoes. Faced with a very grassy plot and not a lot of time I have forked over the potato bed and just turned the clods upside down. Then I trod the row in and planted the spuds using a bulb planter. The grass was ordinary grass, not couch - I removed any stray white roots I found - so I am hoping the lot will rot down and feed my spuds as well. Waiting for a good downpour and then the paper mulch is going down and grass cuttings from my friend's lawn will go on top.
Also waiting for all the cynics on neighbouring plots to start their sarky remarks - their potato rows are all straight as a die and not a weed to be seen.

I read a blog where a chap did this for growing Oca, called the Celtic lazy bed system. It looked fantastic. Wish I'd found it before we did the back breaking work clearing up the side of our allotment.

[zazen999]

..................and I think I've probably got every one of them on my plot!

PS Can't get my head around dandelions setting seed with heads removed though, or am I missing summat or misinterpreting?

If you pull the heads off, the heads don't die, they continue on and still produce seed. At least mine seem to.

[di]

They do brighten the plot up though, also give the bees a little something to munch on. Every cloud......

[Hilary B]

Dandelions are probably the most useful plant going. The flowers make a nice wine, the leaves can be used as salad or spinach, or fed to goats, rabbits or guineapigs (depending on stage of growth), the roots can be used as a root veg, or dried as a drinkable coffee sustitute,
Pity they are so totally persistent where you don't want them.....