Tweet
The very end of my allotment needs sorting out.
It's the last that I haven't done anything to because it's the only bit that was 'cultivated' when I took the plot on.
When I say 'cultivated', I mean there are neglected fruit trees and blackcurrants poking out of the couch grass
but thats enough to keep the council off my case.
The area is too dry and too full of roots to dig and I am unable to get down and grub the couch grass out by hand. I have laid thick cardboard and newspaper all over (was a bit of a jigsaw type effort between the trees and bushes) Which I have covered with a layer of woodchips 3 to 6 inches deep. I hope that by autumn the couch will be weakened, the ground underneath softer and my health better to deal with it properly.
Now, what to do with it in the meantime?
I could just and a bit of compost/topsoil and sow some pretty annual flowers there. They would encourage bees to pollinate the fruit and look nice til the autumn....but my plot is so expensive £100 a year per half plot) that I really need every bit to be productive.
I could plant my strawberries there. They would enjoy the woodchips and it would mean most of my fruit was at one end...but then I'll have to disturb in the autumn if the couch is growing through.
I could add mounds of well rotted manure and chuck a couple of pumpkins or courgettes in there. Would they need absolutely masses of watering though being mounded up like that? The area for some reason is the driest of my whole plot.
Please help me to decide the best use for this spot (any other suggestions welcome) c'mon vine....do your thing!
It's the last that I haven't done anything to because it's the only bit that was 'cultivated' when I took the plot on.
When I say 'cultivated', I mean there are neglected fruit trees and blackcurrants poking out of the couch grass
but thats enough to keep the council off my case.The area is too dry and too full of roots to dig and I am unable to get down and grub the couch grass out by hand. I have laid thick cardboard and newspaper all over (was a bit of a jigsaw type effort between the trees and bushes) Which I have covered with a layer of woodchips 3 to 6 inches deep. I hope that by autumn the couch will be weakened, the ground underneath softer and my health better to deal with it properly.
Now, what to do with it in the meantime?
I could just and a bit of compost/topsoil and sow some pretty annual flowers there. They would encourage bees to pollinate the fruit and look nice til the autumn....but my plot is so expensive £100 a year per half plot) that I really need every bit to be productive.
I could plant my strawberries there. They would enjoy the woodchips and it would mean most of my fruit was at one end...but then I'll have to disturb in the autumn if the couch is growing through.
I could add mounds of well rotted manure and chuck a couple of pumpkins or courgettes in there. Would they need absolutely masses of watering though being mounded up like that? The area for some reason is the driest of my whole plot.
Please help me to decide the best use for this spot (any other suggestions welcome) c'mon vine....do your thing!
Comment