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I would really appreciate some advice about allotment.
I have recently taken on an allotment which has had three years of neglect. I have removed the plastic weed matting from about half the plot. That was not any easy job as weeds had grown thrown the matting into the soil. The rest of the plot is thickly covered with grass, the remainder of the raspberries (which being removed as they are sickly looking) and more of the matting.
The soil I have I think iis clay with a bit of sand and looks to be compacted. It was showing massive cracks during the warmer, drier weeks of August and Septemeber so I'm guessing quite a bit of clay and not a lot of organic matter.
The thing is until last year I was living in Australia. I'm slowly get back into the UK seasonal changes but everything I learnt about veggie, herb and flower growing I learnt in Australia. I have large holes in my knowledge particularly with dealing things like prolonged periods of rain, wet soil and frost.
I would like to properly dig over the half of the allotment I have cleared but I'm wondering if it is too late in the year with the rain. I'm in Oxfordshire if that changes things. I'm wondering how wet is too wet to dig and how do I tell if the soil is too wet. I'm wondering what tasks I should be doing over the rest of autumn
I have left in the solitary goosebery bush. I have never had a gooseberry bush before. It hasn't been pruned in who knows how long. Should I prune it now, feed it or do anything esle with it?
I have recently taken on an allotment which has had three years of neglect. I have removed the plastic weed matting from about half the plot. That was not any easy job as weeds had grown thrown the matting into the soil. The rest of the plot is thickly covered with grass, the remainder of the raspberries (which being removed as they are sickly looking) and more of the matting.
The soil I have I think iis clay with a bit of sand and looks to be compacted. It was showing massive cracks during the warmer, drier weeks of August and Septemeber so I'm guessing quite a bit of clay and not a lot of organic matter.
The thing is until last year I was living in Australia. I'm slowly get back into the UK seasonal changes but everything I learnt about veggie, herb and flower growing I learnt in Australia. I have large holes in my knowledge particularly with dealing things like prolonged periods of rain, wet soil and frost.
I would like to properly dig over the half of the allotment I have cleared but I'm wondering if it is too late in the year with the rain. I'm in Oxfordshire if that changes things. I'm wondering how wet is too wet to dig and how do I tell if the soil is too wet. I'm wondering what tasks I should be doing over the rest of autumn
I have left in the solitary goosebery bush. I have never had a gooseberry bush before. It hasn't been pruned in who knows how long. Should I prune it now, feed it or do anything esle with it?
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