stuck in the mud

[dinky_doo]

just came back from a drenching covered in mud, only went down on to get some thing from the shed.
every thing i had dug over was sprouting weeds the round up i sprayed last week dont look like its worked cant buy any more as im skint sick of digging
cant get hold of any coverings for the ground realy have had enough with it
dont know what to to be honest
feel like givin up

[Squirrel]

Don't give up Dinky Doo! All those weeds that are sprouting are just (probably) annual weed seeds that have come to the surface when you dug your plot over. When the sun comes out a quick hoe and they will all die. The Roundup won't have worked on those little seedlings because you will have sprayed the big ones and they take ten or more days to show results. Roundup does not affect new growth coming through as it becomes inert when it touches the ground.

It's hard work, and you have done well to have got as far as you have. It will be worth it when you manage to produce some food from there!

Things will look better in the morning when the sun shines I am sure. Chin up, we are behind you in spirit even if we can't help with the weeds!

By the way, have you joined the freecycle group in your area? You can often get stuff like old carpet etc. for covering your ground free of charge? Go onto freecycle.com and see what you can do.

[Kathie]

hi, Dinky Doo, Dont give up as Squirrel says the weeds could be Annuals, Have you tried tackling the plot 'bit by bit', How big is it?And do you intend just growing Vegetables? We all get dishearted now and again when things dont work out--but it will be worth it in the long run! Good luck---
Kathie

[nick the grief]

Definately Don't do It!! It is easy to get disheartened especially when you see the other plots on the site but they looked like your once DD & it's just a case of pluging away at it.

Two sayings to remember
1. 1 years seeds is 7 years weeds - This explains all the growth but if they are annual weeds you can compost them before they set seed

2. They best Mulch is the gardeners shadow - The more time you spend down there the better it will be. I don't have much choice but to go down at weekends as I can't get down in the week always as I don't get back from work till late.

[dexterdoglancashire]

Don't give up dinky doo! I know its disheartening when the weeds start coming up again, but keep at it - its definately worth it in the end! Focus on eating your own grown, delicious, nutritious veg, which is what Ive been doing. Try dividing your plot into sections and work on one at a time. I was lucky enough to do four sections of my back garden, but only managed to do the last bit over the weekend. (see new picture of dexter sat on all my hard work!). I know the weather here has been c*** over the past couple of days but it should brighten up for the weekend, so we can get back out there. Do let me know how you get on. Best wishes dexterdog

[Lesley Jay]

Dinky Doo don't give up your allotment. You will regret it. Unfortunately I am not close enough to help you, but ask your fellow plot holders. Allotmenteers are really friendly you know and very helpful. They might have something at the back of their plots that you could use to cover yours. One of them might have a rotovator that you could use as you are fed up of digging. Ask a committee member if there is any weed killer available that you could use (free). You are fed up, it is raining and all you can see growing are weeds. BUT it does get better. Give it chance. The vegetables do taste a damned site better when you have grown them yourself.

[dinky_doo]

thanks guys for your encouragement im just having a bad patch and cant seem to get things flowing
im just trying to do to much at the moment on the plot i have dug roughly a 13 foot square and the plot is about 50foot square thats a rough guess as i havnt really measured it

most of the weeds are like what i get in the garden at home there are some brambles and a lot of thistles i didnt realise how deep they rooted i dug down nearly 2 and a half feet on one patch
i have used round up on the plot did that last monday
i might rotavate next week as but will that spread the weeds
but as im digging weeds now i dont see this as a problem as i wonrt be plantin till next spring which gives me time to go over the beds i want to prep and put my paths down
thanks a lot for your kind words and help
many thanks jason

[dexterdoglancashire]

Nice one Jason! Keep it up. It will definately be well worth it next year. Gives you plenty of time to get the plot sorted the way you want it. Also time to plan out what you are going to grow and where. Keep in touch! Bernie aka dexterdog

[Birdie Wife]

Hi Jason,
I know how hard it can be sometimes, when I moved into my house in February I had five raised beds to dig over, each 10x3m, with lots of docks and other weeds to contend with. I was well sick of digging by the end! But there are ways of making it easier.

For digging over where there is grass or annual weeds, if you can dig it over in the winter, the frost will help break it up - just dig big clods up and leave them unbroken, let the frost will do the hard work. For perennials like docks and couch grass you've got more problems, it's roundup or digging. I've got a lot of docks in my garden that I haven't had time to dig up yet, so for now I'm just breaking off the flowering stems to prevent them seeding around any more. You can dig the ground over in your own time after that. Thistles can be a major problem, I dug over my mum's place and i thought I got all the roots out but two weeks later it was all coming up again. Roundup works better in these cases. If you add a bit of washing up liquid to the mix it acts as a wetting agent and helps the chemical stick to the leaves better.

If you are really sick of digging, give it a rest, and try some container veg instead to give you some motivation for growing veg. Nothing like the taste of home grown. Hope this helps.