Gwynleg

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  • in reply to: Weeds from allotment paths – any ideas? #70655

    Gwynleg
    Participant

    Thanks Charles. My plot is on a slope side to side and I levelled the soil deliberately (i.e so my plot is now more flat) leaving the drop. My plot was like full of craters and mini hills before so needed to level it more anyway before putting cardboard, etc down.

    It’s easier to get the weeds on that side but on two other plot edges I am constantly having to dig out the weeds that encroach (under membrane too!)

    in reply to: Is manure alone ok to plant in? #70624

    Gwynleg
    Participant

    Lucky you Rainbowwand, having lots of well rotted manure! I have used it (but had to buy it from a local farmer) to build beds on my new allotment. It’s been very successful for growing thus far (first proper growing year). It’s definitely holding moisture in better than my chalk based soil and with the wetted cardboard that I put down first, has stopped all the perennial weeds barring bind weed. You do get weed seeds from the manure and i have used brought compost as a top layer to suppress them in some areas – particularly those that are harder to get to weed under netting or for things like new asparagus that I dont want weeds in at all if I can help it.

    Enjoy your new home and garden !

    in reply to: Mare's tail. #70619

    Gwynleg
    Participant

    It’s funny but Ive sort of grown to feel the same about bindweed (I dont have mares-tail)! Since starting my new allotment with no-dig, I spend some time whenever there, using a trowel to take out the bindweed. I almost like seeing it because I think ‘haha, I’m going to get the better of you!’.

    I have however found it much more difficult when it comes up in beds with perennial plants. I held off planting perennials in those beds in the hope I could knock the bindweed on the head, but eventually i had to plant. It’s much harder to get out when its within the roots of wanted plants but I guess I will just have to pull it out as soon as I see it.

    I dont want marestail though, however much you like it!

    in reply to: Where to get Polythene Sheet /Covering. First allotment #70612

    Gwynleg
    Participant

    Hi Newbie. I cant recommend specifics but if you are looking for black polythene, try to find thicker versions, and if possible those that say they are resistant to UV rays, so it doesn’t deteriorate too quickly. I know that Charles prefers polythene to gardening membrane as it frays at the edges. For me there are ways round that (using a heat gun, turning the edges under before you pin them down, etc) and the benefits of membrane outweighs the downsides. If you get good quality black membrane (sometimes called mypex) it allows water through whilst blocking light to the weeds. I initally used it to cover my extremely weedy allotment and now use it for paths. Again – different from Charles’ suggestions so please do read his views on polythene and paths.
    Don’t buy real cheap here – for either you are likely to get something that doesn’t block light and with membrane might let weeds grow through. Good luck and enjoy – I’m a real addict!

    in reply to: Good Time to Start #70590

    Gwynleg
    Participant

    I agree that getting going as soon as you can would be good- so putting down weighted cardboard or mypex now and building the beds later will give you a real head start for killing the weeds. It’s easy and quick to do. I have found cycle shops a great source of thick cardboard in large pieces and they’re really happy to get rid of it.

    in reply to: Slug deterent #70589

    Gwynleg
    Participant

    Thanks Kath that sounds really useful for lots of things! I guess we humans can also be put off by strong garlic smell!

    in reply to: Celeriac again #70569

    Gwynleg
    Participant

    Hi JD, they look very good to me. It is normal for the lower leaves to split like that and generally they flop down eventually. Lots of information online says to remove the lower leaves to help the celeriac bulb to bulk up. Not sure if this works or not- Ive only grown it a few times and the conditions have been so different, weather wise. I did seem to get bigger bulbs when I pulled the lower leaves off though. Maybe I should experiment with half my crop and see what happens….

    in reply to: Which Bacillus Thuringiensis For Fruit And Veg? #70519

    Gwynleg
    Participant

    Hi. Does BT work for common and garden cabbage butterfly’s/caterpillars please? I was pleased to see it works for the diamond back moth- are there other UK pests that it works for?

    Finally where do you get it from please?

    in reply to: Squash plants growing northwards…. #70492

    Gwynleg
    Participant

    Hi Rhys. You can move the ‘runner part of the squash plant where you want it. I have on occasion lost labels and planted a squash in a smaller space thinking it was a courgette. I’ve then moved the plant almost so it goes round in circles around the rooted bit. Works fine – or just gently point it in the right direction when you see it going astray….!

    in reply to: The future of this forum #70468

    Gwynleg
    Participant

    I’m also a lurker (looking on the site without logging in, most days). I’d also be really sorry if the site went to facebook as I wouldn’t then access it.
    I agree with a previous writer who said the login is rather more complicated than many sites and for a while I was getting an error message every time I tried. I seem to have managed it now though….

    Hope this carries on and more people actually post.

    in reply to: Allotment Sprayed with Weedkiller – How to prepare #70409

    Gwynleg
    Participant

    Hi gembeb, thats a shame! I think there are two ways of going at this. One would be to wait for the weed killer to do its job and for that you will need the sunshine I think. Then you could just clear the weeds away. However, if you want to do no dig, you will be putting compost on anyway, probably with a cardboard base to stop the weeds coming through, so you could go ahead this way and start planting things into it.

    My concern would be the weed killer and whether it has a residue that would get into your vegetables. I prefer to grow organically but you haven’t really been given a choice here!

    Someone else might come along with some advice about the weed killer…

    in reply to: Bought in compost for first bed #70350

    Gwynleg
    Participant

    Hi. I was lucky as there is a farm near me that delivers well rotted manure to our allotments. If its well rotted you can use it straight away to plant into. If you cant get any then guess you will have to go for another source of compost. I have read the Charles uses spent mushroom manure but dont know if thats cheaper than ones you’ve found.

    in reply to: Bought in compost for first bed #70347

    Gwynleg
    Participant

    That all sounds very expensive! Can you access any manure?

    in reply to: Planting New Fig Tree #52865

    Gwynleg
    Participant

    Hi Christine, my tree has been in the bin for at least a couple of years, and before that in a smaller pot, so dont think you have a problem if you aren’t ready to make a decision. I also find myself going back and forth about where to put permanent things, I dont want to then find its in the wrong place!!

    in reply to: Leek seedlings #52837

    Gwynleg
    Participant

    Hi. I must say I have never achieved pencil thick leeks before I put them out, and I think that’s common. Yours still sound a bit small perhaps but do they have good length leaves and stem? If they do you could plant them out. I have only used the method though of dibbing holes and putting separate leeks into each, then watering them in without filling holes with soil.

    If they don’t have good length I wonder about the depth of your modules? They may need planting on, or out to allow theem to grow and spread their roots

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