Plot advice. Please!!!!

[Sarico]

Hi everyone I manage to plant what ever I had in my old plot and only need space for some extra courgette plants. Now my plot after this week I lift the black plastic membrane and everything is baked under there and easy to clear out but looking at the back all look so beautiful and I was wondering if is ok to leave it like that. Considered that I don't need it the year clear it out and leave it empty sound bad for me. Plus being overgrown will be easier in autumn when everything die back. So many bees fly over there the frog enjoy the shade and all the colour from the aquilegia and some other weed flower, the pink from the Rosemary flower, the fern as well loo so nice and at least wild life will enjoy it more then me. So what you think? Leave it like that or cut and cover with ugly black membrane?

[Bigmallly]

I'd personally cut it down & cover it but if you don't need the space, your plot neighbours don't mind & you enjoy it, then leave it till it dies down then deal with it. It's personal choice really.

[veggiechicken]

Do your site rules require you to cultivate everything?

[sparrow100]

I guess it might depend on how much of that lovely green will run to seed and how much of that seed will end up on your neighbour's plots? I'd be cheesed off if I spent ages getting weeds out only to have a fresh lot of seeds arrive that needn't have.

But if it has minimal impact or your neighbours don't mind I don't see the problem. I leave some areas to go a bit wild and pick off the seed heads when they form.

[Sarico]

Do your site rules require you to cultivate everything?

Well the allotment officer told me not to worry as long he see some progress done. Weeds seeds are not a problem considered that outside the site there is a massive field full of weeds so no matter what you will get infested. Well neighbours I don't really now them apart from only two people which I offer them to feel free to harvest my rhubarb considered that I don't eat it. I just think do this hard work now for a plot that I'm not using and concentrate the time on other job on the first half plot which is covered.
I could sort the fence and the gate for my plot which are laying on the ground, clear some of the rubbish at the back, moving the big amount of slab to make the base for my greenhouse, etc.

[Sarico]

I guess it might depend on how much of that lovely green will run to seed and how much of that seed will end up on your neighbour's plots? I'd be cheesed off if I spent ages getting weeds out only to have a fresh lot of seeds arrive that needn't have.

But if it has minimal impact or your neighbours don't mind I don't see the problem. I leave some areas to go a bit wild and pick off the seed heads when they form.

On one side I never see the lad and his plot has only some potato, one bed of onions, two wingman for beans and two pole tree on a 200/250 square meters plot, the othe one has half plot cultivated and half covered up unused. So I don't think they mind. The only plot on the site fully coultivated is a man that has had his plot for 34 years.

[muddled]

I vote for leaving it.
As you said, it's beautiful and the bees and other wildlife love it.

I also think that bare earth is horrible and easily damaged.
The good weather is here, it's time to relax a bit surely? Autumn is the time to think about next year...and the time for a few good bonfires, do it then!

[Scarlet]

I'll go against everyone else. Why give yourself more work? keep it covered.

[jubilado]

I have a similar issue. Mine is a new plot with very high weeds. I have cut back and covered about 75% with plastic sheet. This will easily keep me busy for the next year and I wont even get to the last bit for 12 months. I was going to cover asap as I thought the weeds would just get worse. I didnt realise that the weeds died back in the winter (well I am a newbie and only just got my first spade )

I'm now thinking to maybe just to leave it for 12 months and do the covering exercise 3 months before I need to dig it. We have a 2 thirds cultivated rule so it wont be problem to the allotment site.

[Martin H]

Don't let the weeds go to seed. You'll give yourself a significant extra weeding problem for the next 10 years.

By letting them grow, any perennial weeds will be much harder to get out when you get round to it.

So, cut down and cover now. You've got all that material to use from the bit you've just uncovered.

[sparrow100]

I would really advocate taking off seed heads if you do leave the green.

There are so many other fun things to do than weeding. Storing up future weeding sounds dismal.

[Scarlet]

Grasses and perennial roots will be much harder to dig out if the area isn't covered. If the field opposite is full of weeds and overgrown there's plenty of stuff for the bees. The sooner you get the area workable the better.

[Elfeda]

You must keep the site clean as much as possible. that way roots wouldn't get deeper into the soil. last winter covered as much of the plot and my lottie neighbour kept on strimming as he progress in digging. both did work in different ways. I get it easyer to dig and other plot holder's roots look weaker and very shallow. so my best suggetion is keep it trimmed or covered.

[Sarico]

A bit of mix advice. I think I will leave it for a bit considering that on the way there is a pond, raspberry, red currant, etc so covering in a weird shape is notwhat Im pla Bing to do. The front bit whi ch is coveredwas just bed for veg. There are weeds in that beautiful wild area but the right half are fruit bush and the other side there are som flower. It look worse in the picture because where you can see the sheds there is about 8 foot of black membrane and slabs so not much weeds.