MonicaM

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  • in reply to: Hoops and Freckles! #22779

    MonicaM
    Member

    Just thought I’d add that I googled ‘freckles’ seed to find out what it was (my ignorance is astounding!) and up came a website not previously mentioned in this forum – £1.45 for packet – sowseeds.co.uk. Based in Cheshire. Good luck

    in reply to: Wretched Bindweed #22629

    MonicaM
    Member

    Apologies – I seem to have merely reiterated ideas already suggested. I get rather muddled over the dates of the postings – the style of showing the date is completely opaque to me – can’t work out which postings are old and which newer. Charles – any chance of altering it so that the month is shown in letters rather than numbers? That way it would matter a good deal less having the day and the month in the order they are (to my mind back to front!) Cheers

    in reply to: Wretched Bindweed #22628

    MonicaM
    Member

    I am in a similar boat – not quite the same, as it is an allotment and the previous occupier was rather too fond of his rotovator, so rather than try to remove/weaken or whatever this most annoying weed he has just chopped it up and spread it about even more! I logged on today specifically to see if there were any no-diggers out there with experience of having actually eradicated it, but yours is the only comment on the subject at all. A friend has tried mulching (with plastic) for 6 months only, and I am wondering if one merely has take the long view. I mean a seriously long view – say 18 months, though I might try one or two beds for just a year (you don’t say how long you left the plastic on). I realise that that is a rather long time to wait to plant, but my idea is to attend to the plot a bit at a time. Also, in the areas where the bindweed is at its worst, I am creating raised beds with wooden sides with somewhat deeper than usual paths between – so hope to at least slow, if not stop, its progress from bed to bed. I am encouraged by reports elsewhere in these forums that people report having successfully composted bindweed root – it appears that it is not completely indestructible!

    in reply to: aminopyralids #22526

    MonicaM
    Member

    I wonder if you could clear up a couple of queries please – I’m a bit ignorant of some of the terminology. First, how does one know about the contamination? Was the manure subjected to some sort of test or was it to do with growing results (or the lack of them)? Also, what is ‘Dow’ and ‘CRD’? And what are aminopyralids anyway?
    thank you

    in reply to: mulching weedy soil #22201

    MonicaM
    Member

    What is paper mulch? and if it has been on the ground for 2 or 3 months, surely it will be pretty well rotten and mucky, so how do you remove it? Indeed, why remove it at all? You make no mention of removing the cardboard (which goes pretty soggy in no time at all) and in dry weather surely it will curl up at the edges if it is on top, and therefore let light in no matter how much it is overlapped, as it has to have edges sooner or later. In your book there is a picture showing cardboard laid under compost. I’m confused – maybe it’s just information overload.
    Monica

    in reply to: When is no-dig, dig? #22585

    MonicaM
    Member

    Hi Charles and everyone
    I took on an allotment in April this year, and started out by digging in the time-honoured fashion. Then after I had planted potatoes and broad beans I got hold of your book (2nd edn Org’c Gdng and Natural No-dig way) – found it quite by accident when buying copper tools – and had a re-think.

    My big problem is that the previous allotment-holder didn’t dig – he had this rotovator . . . so you can imagine what that did to the bindweed and thistles. Anyway, inspired by your ideas, and with some wood we had lying around I created 6 – 1200 x 3600 raised beds, which together with the spuds and beans took up about half the plot.

    I did them in a bit of a hurry (wanted to get planting you see) and I naively thought that the fairly comprehensive digging I did would do for the pesky perennials, but of course they came up again. The trouble is that the underlying rock (hamstone) is only about one spit depth down and those white roots get in and under it. I did get some of the stone up, but it was tough going. The good news is that the new raised beds mean the rock is that bit lower down now.

    I had no manure or compost to add at the time, but planted seeds and stuff anyway and have done surprisingly well on the harvest front – my carrots were as straight as a die (most of them), beetroot great, onions pretty good considering I planted late, broad beans and spuds brilliant. I could go on.

    I am now tackling the second half of the plot and creating the beds a bit more professionally by fixing the boards to corner posts and have a nice lot of manure to plonk on top.

    What I am trying to get round to saying is that by dividing the plot into beds, it is possible to attack the weeds in stages, several beds at a time, and still grow some stuff. Now that the beans and potatoes are harvested, I can start afresh on that bit, create the beds and do the mulching/composting over winter.

    By the way, the next lot of beds are going to be a little narrower. I find reaching to the middle of a 4 ft bed is just a bit too far (I’ve only got little legs you see – and not very long arms to match).

    Anyway – hope that thought helps someone.

    Monica

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