"lazy"/"realistic"gardening!

[di]

firstly apologies 4 the waffle but here goes!we've had plot 1 for about 4yrs & pleased to say got it well cultivated and almost full,couple of years ago found 1 wasn't enuff so took the plunge & got 2nd plot,not so well cultivated,ie lots of thistles,couch grass all close to being cemented into the groundas the weather warms!(claggy soil clinging to the roots refusing to let go!)getting there but slow progress,our plaanned crops 4 there are mainly squash of which i have rather a lot,should it be o.k 2 just well prepare there little planting spot & roughly hoe the rest?or do the "creeper"bits need 4 it 2 all be finely prepared?hoping their huge leaves might do a bit of work with weed supression!i know it sounds like a lazy?dumb query but it all starting to get on top of us & my squash are starting to demand a bit more space than our little greenhouse can offer!

[Finedon.Dandy]

Hi Andi/Di

Dont get despondent. Whats best?; squashed squash that end up suffering/popping their clogs in a greenhouse or squash given open ground that they can romp around in but may have to work a little to fight weeds for what they need? - I know which I would prefer if I was one of those little squash plants. Any preparation you can do to the soil will be beneficial and a mulch will help enormously (this will also help to improve the soil for next year) so just go for it - do what you can and let the not so squashed squash worry about what you cant.

Just a note - I was told potatoes are the bext crop for "cleaning up" uncultivated ground - dont know why though but is it worth putting spuds in that ground next year?

Hope this helps, good luck, no doubt you will keep us informed!

Tammy

[di]

cheers,we did try spuds on there 1st year & they were nearly all got by the grass1(is couch another name 4 spear grass?)weVe got a few Jartichokes that i might pop in amongst the squash,the ground they were on last year falls off ya fork!

[lottie dolly]

don't let it win,
why not lay down some ground cover,cut a X shape slit,dig out a bit and put in some good stuff,and pop the squashes in,it will help control the weeds,and let the water through whilst preserving what is already there,just try a section of your ground,nothing to loose,some people recomend cardboard instead of mypex.maybe someone will come on with more info,

[Flummery]

Hi Andi/Di


Just a note - I was told potatoes are the bext crop for "cleaning up" uncultivated ground - dont know why though but is it worth putting spuds in that ground next year?

The spuds themselves don't do anything towards clearing new ground. It's the fact that YOU dig holes for them, earth them up then dig quite thoroughly to make sure you've got them all. It's YOU that cleans up the ground!

[armadillo]

I've been told that jerusalem artichokes are great at breaking up new ground, but I guess the same applies- YOU'RE the one who has to dig 'em out! Maybe they break up the soil as they grow, making it easier work when you come to dig them out than it would have been digging the bare soil?
I've also been told, hovever, that jerusalem artichokes are very hard to get rid of once they've been planted- don't know if that's true as surely if you dig them all out they're gone?

[di]

must admit they seem quite tricky to get rid of,but can think of worse things to keep sprouting up annually!!on our 1st plot i just hoe up any new shoots i dont want,but they do seem more difficult to harvest every last bit than spuds.