[ladbrokesMember]

devon stew

my plot was over grown and a carpet of weeds including couch grass back in April 2010. I followed Charles` advice and had great success. I firstly covered my plot with cardboard then topped that with about 4/6″ of horse manure. I left this for about 3 months then covered the whole plot with a weed membrane and left it for another 6 months at least. By May 2011 I was growing in my raised beds. I had to weed a bit that yr but I was amazed how many weeds were gone id say 90%. the 1st years harvest was average but it has improved hugely over the last 2 growing seasons by adding council compost and more horse manure.

I found that the brambles came back a bit especially on the paths (which I topped up with more council compost). last year I weeded little and often and know Im virtually weed free bar seeds blowing in.

Im now happy with my plot and Im about to edge my raised beds this year. No dig is a great way to enjoy growing veg.

a huge thank-you to Charles

[ladbrokesMember]

now im in a quandary as to keep my beds as they are or to edge them at all. my main aim for edging was to tidy up my plot and make semi permanent paths thus making the whole plot relatively low maintenance. if this encourages even more slugs and snails to thrive then im thinking i should leave well alone. this year ive had bumper crops of most veg.

for those who have edged beds in hindsight would you have bothered ?

[ladbrokesMember]

forgot to say i have the following to use

horse manure
leaf mould
compost
chicken poo/leaf mould
sharp sand
farmyard manure

[ladbrokesMember]

hello charles

unfortunately i only have 1 bagful. i have enough for 1 bed is there any veg that will thrive from a seaweed dressed bed. does it require washing first.

[ladbrokesMember]

should i be cutting back to 6″ before re planting

[ladbrokesMember]

ive used a large amount of the council green waste when starting my plot. ive had no issue with it at all.love the stuff

[ladbrokesMember]

good as ive dug them up today. very good harvest to, no damage to leek moth which im vry pleased about. they are currently drying on a rake in the sun. how long do they need to be drying before they can be stored and whats the best way to store them

[ladbrokesMember]

i hate using slug pellets but i cant keep up with all the slugs around. im trying to make my plot as wildlife friendly as possible. ive recently added a very small pond to try and encourage frogs to eat the slugs.

ive also started planting a herb patch around the pond, which contains thyme, mint, roemary, lavender and chives.

it a bit of a trades desciptions calling it a pond as its a old iron tin bath which i have sunk and filled with water. ive got a lily, water mint and water forget me not.

[ladbrokesMember]

thanks. my other potatoes seem in fine health, so it must be just a infect batch of pentland dell

[ladbrokesMember]

ironic really as the last 2 yrs they have fallen foul to leek moth. i only did 50 o/w onions so not too bad a loss. i also have spring planted onions which look fine under netting so fingers crossed.

how are your squash doing as mine have seemed to stopped growing in the pots i have them in. they are still not big enough to plant out yet.

climbing beans, runner beans, carrots, peas and courgette are all struggling

leek seedlings(sub zero/autumn mammoth), parsnips(duchess/white gem) and marathon broccoli are doing well

i may lost a couple of battles with o/w onions and strawberries but the war continues.

[ladbrokesMember]

been keeping a close eye on my over wintering onions that have been double netted to keep the leek moth away. i have dug 1 up and they are now rotting, thanks to the rain. extremely depressed they are all cricket ball size and i fear i will lose the lot. this summer could be a disaster for most veg

[ladbrokesMember]

i grew artic king outside under corrigated plastic and they grew very well and were huge.
in the greenhouse i grew winter gem that i picked leaves off when required and i was very happy with the results.
i will be growing grenbloise this yr for winter

[ladbrokesMember]

lol its just that it can take an age to get home made compost and i was wondering what veg would appreciate it the most

[ladbrokesMember]

guilty as charged im afraid. it did look tempting to try the new fruits. if a man as dedictaed is struggling to get any success im up against it then

[ladbrokesMember]

spring hero were my type

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