The shallotment: 2012

Sunday 19 August 2012

Disheartened, taking stock but plodding on

I am treating all trips to the allotment (when they happen) as a knd of green gym. Seems all I do is pull up weeds and despite my best plans this year to grow flowers to ease the burden, I have still made little progress.

The trees in the fruit orchard are settling in well but unlikely to bear fruit again this year. The newly planted cob hazel is also looking good and I have high hopes for this next year. Keeping on top of the weeds in there is troublesome and the foxgloves I planted have done nothing and become overun. One area has been covered with black weed stuff and this is the only thing that keeps it manageable, think I will have to make an investment in more of this to make any real progress.

The recently planted willow bed has settled really well and is growing strongly, thanks to all the rain I suspect. I have covered the area between plants with the black weed stuff and need to pin it down properly as it is also relatively successful in keeping the area manageable.

The wildflower meadow has finished and was the best it has been since planting but was short of flowers. Need to work out how to manage this area now.

The strawberries cropped well this year but have been overun with bindweed now and the blackcurrant bushes are finally getting bigger having been in since the start and just sitting there like sulky teenagers. One rhubarb has disappeared - the one that had the big seed head and the other is amongst the bindweed as well.

The raspberries look like the transplantation from runners has been a success but they are the next area that need to be cleared as they are hidden amongst thistles, bindweed and marestail. Need to black stuff this area as well.

As for the other parts - they are empty apart from the weeds and I have a good mind to just cover and leave until I can work on even smaller areas at a time otherwise it will become a vicious circle of clearing, weeding and more weeding with no chance for things to grow in the meantime.

Seedlings at home have failed miserably this year, a combination of the weather and slugs and snails feasting on them.

Overall it seems a write off but I will not be defeated and plans underway already. At least the willow will keep growing through winter and will need some maintenance.

It gets worse

Yep somewhere under here there is a compost bin - looks like a scene from a lost garden!

Saturday 18 August 2012

Big pile of weeds

Lovely big pile of weeds, really should have had a bonfire but left the matches at home and I am also rubbish at starting fires, unlike one of my neighbours who had started a wood blaze so Idecided to call it a day. He had big flames on the go - crazy as it was already hot - that is surely a job for a cold winters day.

Clearance

Now thats more like it. Couple of hours work and two bed are pretty clear. It was very humid and a temperature of about 25c, fortunately the sun stayed behind the clouds otherwise this job would have been even more tortuous.

Not the best view

Borrowing the pallet and shelter of my neighbours lean to thingy to grab a well earned drink of water. Not the most exciting view and certainly not the flower heads I had been planning this year.

As tall as me

Say hello to the 5ft 3" weed - not even sure I know what it is!

Oh dear

It's been a while since I ventured up to the allotment. A combination of not being well, bad weather and havingto work on my degree coursework. I braved it this weekend and look what greeted me!

It was pretty bad last time but even I was not expecting weeds as tall as me (I know I am a relative shorty but 5ft3" weeds!!).

Thought it best to tackle the seed heads and flower heads first, although horse and stable door do spring to mind. Opted to clear the two worst beds even though they have nothing in them except failed potatoes!