Hi
Thank you so much Charles for your inspirational work. I’m hooked! Obsessed! In my beginners excitement I am in a muddle.
I dont know if anyone can help me decide whether to invest the time/effort/money into my 2 allotment beds which are roughly 1.4x7m. I dont have a full allotment (short on time) instead I have had two beds for 2 years in a multi bed (about 30) shared allotment. Most beds are abandoned and are rampant with weeds as are the surrounding areas of the beds, especially marestail in the wooden edges of the beds. I only intend to keep my 2 beds for another 1 to 3 years before we move house with a bigger garden. I am a carer for my husband and don’t have much time to attend, so I try to grow things that dont need much attention – I’m still learning what that is. It’s a struggle to look after with limited time but it is my saviour! I thought no dig might be an answer for me as when I do go most of my time is spent weeding and I cant say my harvests have been bountiful!
My questions & muddles
I have a bed where I am growing on shrub cuttings (for house move one day) which I dont want to dig out, can I mulch around them or does the bed need to be completely empty to start the no dig processes? And can I grow veg in between the shrubs? *marestail in this
As the Marestail is everywhere, will I be fighting a losing battle if spores are being blown in from every direction on the site? As in – the next beds which don’t belong to me. My 2 beds are opposite sides of the site.
Ive also got myself into a beginners muddle can someone help me figure out what to do? I’m ready for the brutal truth if need be!
Like I say I have – 2 beds, in a marestail paradise
1 bed is split into 3 and part 1 has raspberry canes, part 2 has shrubs, I’m growing on 18 month old cuttings, part 3 has rhubarb and 2 gooseberry bushes – I dont really want to remove any of these but there is plenty of space and gaps in between which I feel i could grow veg in…. amongst the marestail/bindweed/thistle!
In the other bed which is split into 2, in part one I have currently have growing oca, sweet corn, peas, beetroot, spring onions and leeks planted in July. In part 2 I have not much at all just a couple of potato plants. *I was weeeding out marestail inbetween the spring onion seedling last visit! I’m now a module sowing convert!)
I have bought 1000litres of organic peat free compost in the sales.
I can get some half rotted manure for free and of course some cardboard.
In the past 3 weeks at home in my mini greenhouses I have sown onions, raab, pak choi, beetroot, turnips, lettuce…
Which I am regretting because it looks like I might have to give these away to sort out my weed problem first. Without reading PROPERLY what to do I thought I could put cardboard around current plants, manure, then compost and plant in the seedlings of the seeds I have just sown when they are a bit bigger. Can I? Shall I just do this and see how it goes, its not as if nothing grows next to marestail, I have had some ok ish beetroot, potatoes, onions. But I want to expand to pak Choi, lettuce, raab etc, Any helpful suggestions will be much appreciated! Apologies for the embarrassingly long post!
Thank you!
