Penellype's Allotment

[rary]

Congratulations on your new plot Penellype, I wish you lot's of pleasant hours on it and if your back is sore from the work today I would suggest that you try the no dig gardening, and as you are just starting with this plot, now is the time to try it, as for the size of the plot I would bet that this time next year you will be wanting a bigger plot

[Penellype]

Congratulations on your new plot Penellype, I wish you lot's of pleasant hours on it and if your back is sore from the work today I would suggest that you try the no dig gardening, and as you are just starting with this plot, now is the time to try it, as for the size of the plot I would bet that this time next year you will be wanting a bigger plot

Thanks Rary, I'm going to try no dig. The digging today was really to see what things were like underneath as it is hard to tell at this time of year, to look at the state of the soil, and remove some large dandelions and tree seedlings.

Judging by the noise of the rain tonight and the forecast wind for tomorrow I may not be doing much for the next day or 2. The tunnel was already something of a mud bath when I left it this evening, which was one reason why I stopped before it got dark.

[geepee]

So pleased to hear everything turned out pretty well for you.

Enjoy....
Gp

[lottie dolly]

Really pleased for you Pen,covering horse tail and couch roots will not die off under the cover,just stop them from growing out of hand till you can deal with them,just remember,Rome was not built in a day,exciting as it is take it easy on your back,please,i have heard,by placing a tennis ball between your back and the wall,gently roll the ball around to help massage the back,good luck with it and happy growing lass

[Penellype]

Really pleased for you Pen,covering horse tail and couch roots will not die off under the cover,just stop them from growing out of hand till you can deal with them,just remember,Rome was not built in a day,exciting as it is take it easy on your back,please,i have heard,by placing a tennis ball between your back and the wall,gently roll the ball around to help massage the back,good luck with it and happy growing lass

Thanks - I agree about the roots. I've noticed from previous encounters with couch that if you cover the soil the roots tend to come more to the surface, so they are a bit easier to find and remove. I don't think horsetail behaves the same, and I really do think I will have to learn to live with that one.

The plot next door, which looks immaculate and has clearly been recently dug, has lots of visible pieces of black horsetail root in amongst.

[Jimmy]

Re Horsetail
I have had it for over 30 years and can't get rid of it.
I think the roots go down to hell.
Cultivation seems to annoy it.
But like most weeds it's a never ending war you can never win.
However see
https://www.organicfacts.net/health-...horsetail.html
Seem to be a cure for all things, if you believe that.
Jimmy

[Penellype]

Re Horsetail
I have had it for over 30 years and can't get rid of it.
I think the roots go down to hell.
Cultivation seems to annoy it.
But like most weeds it's a never ending war you can never win.
However see
https://www.organicfacts.net/health-...horsetail.html
Seem to be a cure for all things, if you believe that.
Jimmy

I was under the impression it was mildly poisonous (although if you read to the bottom of that article it sort of implies it might be if taken over a long period).

I love the way they call it a "rare and valuable plant".

[Penellype]

Decided to brave the wind (still gusting strongly here) and see what I could get done in an hour or so this morning. The wind was from the west, and I was astonished to find that the big hedge at the side of the plot provided almost total shelter. You really wouldn't have known it was windy, except that some bits of plastic on the plot next door were blowing about a bit.

This was the pile of weeds I created yesterday in the tunnel:



I decided to have a look at the area between the tunnel and hedge to see if I could make a temporary compost bin. There were several bits of metal mesh lying about, including on the ground in this area, plus a large piece of the sort of orange plastic mesh that you sometimes see around holes at the side of the road. The soil underneath was soft and the weeds came out reasonably easily, so I was soon able to lift all these bits and make a compost bin out of the plastic mesh. I moved the pile of weeds into the bin, by which time it had occurred to me that maybe the mesh was on the floor for a reason, to stop the soil getting squashed. So I put the metal bits back down:



This looks really quite clear, but it is still full of smaller weeds. The photo was taken at nearly mid day and shows how shady the plot is at this time of year.

The tunnel now looks like this:



You can now see the shallots. I'm not quite sure why there is a large post in the middle of the tunnel, as it is not propping anything up as far as I can tell, but I will leave it where it is for now.

I also did some measuring - the white hoops on the tunnel are a metre apart, so the tunnel is 8 metres long, and just over 3 metres wide at the base.

Finally dug up a few of the larger dandelions in the big bare area, but didn't want to trample it too much as it is very wet. There are yet more shallots growing in this area.

[veggiechicken]

Looks like there was summat growing up the post in the middle?

[Penellype]

Looks like there was summat growing up the post in the middle?

Could have been - its hard to tell what's what. The whitish thing on the floor near it is a bag of cable ties that I found lying there.

[Snadger]

Is that Honesty or thistles growing in the left foreground of the second picture?

[Thelma Sanders]

Looks like there was summat growing up the post in the middle?

Looks maybe a bit like a grapevine?

[veggiechicken]

Is that Honesty or thistles growing in the left foreground of the second picture?

Honesty, I think!

[Penellype]

Yes its honesty. There are quite a few things that look like flowers - some geranium definitely and hollyhocks.

[Penellype]

Looks maybe a bit like a grapevine?

I don't think there is a grapevine. The thing at the top of the post is string. At the bottom there are some shallots and grass and probably horsetail. Could be anything else as well!