General update - 3 Pictures

[sandersj89]

The home veg garden, most of the ground is ready to go but need to eat up the leeks!



And the allotment is looking OK less than a year since I took it on:






Plenty to do still and I am continuing the Couch Grass battle!

Jerry

[sandersj89]

[Gardengirl]

Very impressive Jerry, but I cannot see the first two photos :-\

[Mothy]

Jerry, both plots look really tidy. I hope my allotment looks as good as yours in 12 months!!
Good luck with the couch grass, I'm in for a battle myself this year  ;)

[tim]

Nice load of dark stuff there, Jerry?

[sandersj89]

Nice load of dark stuff there, Jerry?

Yes, 3 tonnes has been dug in/spread at the allotment over the winter. This is cow manure.

At home I have a free never ending supply of horse manure from next doors horse. This does mean I am for ever back and forth with garden trolley full of manure but I can spread it very thick on the ground other than root areas. No idea of weight shifted though it must be close to 3 tonnes as well.

Good Exercise!

Jerry

[mm-b]

That looks lovely a nice, interestingly shaped, green allotment
ooh I love to see the piccys of everyones allotments
Melanie

[wardy]

Jerry   Like your plots very much.  You know the top pic with the grass between the beds?  Well do you get loads of slugs.  I''ve got loads of grass and just going to start cutting out beds in it and the old guys tell me I shouldn't do it as I'll get more slugs as they live under the grass.

I thought they'd live under the soil just the same as the grass but maybe they're right.

Have you found them to be more of a problem?

Wardy

[Mrs Ava]

Great sized garden you must have Jerry.  It all looks very very neat and tidy.  I'll give you a hand with the leeks if you like  ;)

[sandersj89]

Jerry   Like your plots very much.  You know the top pic with the grass between the beds?  Well do you get loads of slugs.  I''ve got loads of grass and just going to start cutting out beds in it and the old guys tell me I shouldn't do it as I'll get more slugs as they live under the grass.

I thought they'd live under the soil just the same as the grass but maybe they're right.

Have you found them to be more of a problem?

Wardy

Wardy

I do suffer from slugs, especially at home. But I put that more down to my heavy sussex clay soil.

Having said that I use Nema Slug control and it works very well. Also having not used slug pellets for a good few years I now have thrushes working the garden and they eat a huge number.

I also employ the night patrol method of control: torch, bucket, pick up the slugs and snails and get rid. I don't like beer traps as this kills the beetles which are a natural predator of the slug eggs.

Also dont forget there are loads of slugs you do not see, that mainly live under ground. Grass or no grass you will have them depending on your soil type. Nema Slug certainly helps there.

Jerry

[sandersj89]

Great sized garden you must have Jerry.  It all looks very very neat and tidy.  I'll give you a hand with the leeks if you like  ;)

Emma

Thanks, it is a good size, thus the next plan, chickens. We have an old tennis court ideal to keep them:









Still a bit of work to go but I am getting there, loads of ash logs as a result too for next winter!

Jerry

[Marianne]

Fabulous work Jerry !  I bet that was a back breaker !  Do you put pure manure on your veggies or do you mix it up with soil/clay??

[sandersj89]

Fabulous work Jerry !  I bet that was a back breaker !  Do you put pure manure on your veggies or do you mix it up with soil/clay??

I am a great believer in worms doing the work. Where I can I put a good layer of manure on ground in the autumn and leave it be until the ground is workable in the spring. This lets worms do their work dragging the material down into the top of the soil.

If possible I cover the manure to reduce nutrient leaching but I do not worry too much. The benefit of the organic matter on my heavy soil is material even without all the nutirent addition. Hope that makes sense!

Jerry

[NattyEm]

Look at those neat edges on the lottie!  ;D

[wardy]

Ta for the slug info.  It was useful to know about the beer traps catching useful insects.  Erk!  It's early days for me on the lotty to know if I have a slug problem but I'll get some of that Nemaslug if it is  :)

Good idea to keep chickens in the tennis court  ;D

[northener]

Nice job Jerry looks very rewarding. Your chickens will keep slug population down, mine love em. whenever i'm on the allotment i just let them out to wander, then round them back in with an handful of corn, brilliant pest control.

[wardy]

This is my lotty today.  This year I ave been mostly growing sheet mulch ;D

[wardy]

Oops nearly forgot1  This is my base going down for my shed.  The second hand shed is under the blue plastic.

[Marianne]

Looks great Wardy !  What's under the black sheeting ??? 
And that shed looks a treat too !

:D :o

[Roy Bham UK]

Hey Wardy, you could do a no dig planting season this year to save on the back strain with all that sheeting. 8)

How much does that sheeting cost these days? ??? ;D

[wardy]

Nothing but weeds are under the black sheeting.  Under one lot of it is cardboard and then manure is going in, then spuds on top then I'll put the plastic back, cut holes in it and plant spuds.  Voile!

A kind lotty neighbour gave me a massive brand new piece of the black sheet mulch which I think would have cost about £64.  The smallest piece cost £14 and a bit larger was £21.  I have got some from B & Q but it's no good so I suppose you get what you pay for.

My allotment is very big and I can't do anymore than one bed at once so the rest is sitting under black plastic until I can get to it.  The rest is all weedy but my OH mows it to keep it in bounds.  Looks quite nice actually  :)  I'm growing pumpkins etc via holes cut into the mulch (well I will be)  :)  I'm going to have a go at brassicas too.  This is without any weeding first so I'll report back on how I get on.  I'm assuming the weeds might compete for nutrients but we'll see.  I like to experiment with things  ;D