Best time to complete winter digging?

[pigeonseed]

That sounds tempting, 1066.

But would that work on land uncultivated for a long time, so it was covered in couch, rather than slightly weedy? I was wondering whether the squash would get enough nutrients from the manure, if it had to go down through a layer of couch grass?

[pigeonseed]

[Robert_Brenchley]

It might not altogether get rid of the couch, but it would thin it out a lot. Get the squashes off to a good start, and the couch wouldn't be able to compete. I haven't tried this method, and I think I'd tend to plant it over or through holes in the cardboard just in case. The grass would rot fast enough; it's just the roots which would survive for a while.

[1066]

To be honest its pretty much how I've cleared my plot, which hadn't been used (properly) for some years, and hence all Couch and a few other nasties. Worked well for me. The couch that isn't totally killed off is severely weakened by the combination of manure and covering. I cut a hole in the weed supressant, added a bit of compost and piled the manure up a bit and planted sizeable squash plants. Watered when needed - the moisture does seem to be retained better this way as well. I do tend to try and add maybe 3" at least of manure to really get this to work.

1066  :)

[Dandytown]

Sounds like a clever way to work.  Last year I found some dark heavy duty fabric and planted cabbages through some holes.  It was brilliant as I didnt have to weed at all for the hole season!   Most of this material has been stripped for pathways.

So far, on a 10 x 10 patch for 8 squash I have cut down and covered 10 x 8 of it with clear blue builders plastic and am planning to double dig the remaining 10 x 2 and manure ready for the 8 squash.  

Will the waterproof plastic covering kill the weeds over time or do I need to put something on top to stop the light as well?

Do you think it will be a problem in the summer if I have squash plants growing over the plastic which might have puddles on it on wet days?

[1066]

hi - blimey double digging! There's no stopping you!!  ;D

re the blue stuff - yes it will let in some light, so if you can cover with cardboard / mulch that would work.
re puddles of water? Not so sure about that, as you need to be able to let water in to where the plants are growing. If it was me I'd take the blue stuff off before planting, but as I've not tried it I couldn't say for sure.

[BoardStupid]

In answer to the thread title.

Whenever I have time and it's not persisting down  ;D

[Robert_Brenchley]

Blue plastic isn't a good idea because it breaks down in sunlight and you get little bits of it blowing everywhere. It takes ages to get rid of them all, and it won't even last a season! I find black plastic lasts for years; I have sheets which I acquired secondhand when I took the plot on eleven years ago, and they're still going strong.

[sazhig]

Blue plastic isn't a good idea because it breaks down in sunlight and you get little bits of it blowing everywhere. It takes ages to get rid of them all, and it won't even last a season!

Yes we made the mistake on using some a few years back and it lasted about 2 weeks before falling apart. Ruddy pain to clear up all the bits it was.   >:(

[Mr Smith]

 


            My allotment was last dug over three years ago but since then I have just rotovated at the back end and again round about feb/march time, last year I had about seven ton of manure delivered which was rotovated in but this year I will just be applying compost to the areas which I think will need it like carrot and parnip beds, next year the plan is to sow mustard or something similar hoping to give the lotty a good varied feed over a three year period, fortunately we have a good cheap supply of compost from our local recycling center £2.50 a bag, :)