[suesowsseed]

Morning all,

The weather is supposed to be bright, dry but windy tody and I thought I might go to my new allotment plot and try to clear some of the weeds.  Is it worth it do you think?

The ground is obviously quite wet and I don't want to do more harm than good, but I'm itching to make a start and appear to be doing something constructive.

I thought about just clearing the brown top growth that should be easy enough to pull out without digging.  What about covering an area with black plastic?  Would the soil dry out underneath or just stay wet for longer?

[Yorkie]

If the soil sticks to your boots, keep off so as not to damage the structure.

Otherwise I see no reason why you couldn't start pulling off the top growth.

I would not put black plastic down as it will prevent drying out, and will encourage slugs.

[surbie100]

When it's wet it's amazing how easily the weeds (particularly couch grass which I have lots of) comes out!

I've got raised beds so don't walk on mine except for the annual dig.

[mumofstig]

you could always mark out - with string? - where your paths are going, and then only work off of those  Deffo try to avoid walking where you want to grow, as has already been said.

[suesowsseed]

Thanks,

I won't but plastic down then and will keep to the paths as much as possible.  I think I might just go round the perimeter today and clearly define the edges, then I can mark out the paths as you suggested

The plot is right next to the tarmac drive way so I could clear the front couple of feet from there.  Just itching to do something 

[GrannieAnnie]

Your rake will stretch quite a way too, so you can pull some of the old brown tops off.  Anything will make it look neater until you can get on there properly!

If this sunshine stays and its not quite so windy here today, I may go out and have a tidy up of my beds. 

[RJR_38]

I inherited a weed jungle at the end if November and the soil has been incredibly wet and boggy but I had to get started as it has taken hours and hours of digging and weeding. I did what the others suggested - decided on my rough bed location and marked them out ASAP and then have been sticking to the paths pretty much ever since. My paths are now nice and compacted (it was like a bog in December at times) and I have been able to make real headway on the clearing etc

[BabbyAnn]

my plot has been very wet since about mid-November but I had to call in this morning to assess any wind damage (a few pallets blown over but thankfully the shed is still standing  )  While there I decided to dig up some parsnips and surprised that the soil is not as wet as I expected - I think the few days of high winds and mild dry sunny weather has helped quite a lot.  I had a go at digging a bed over and the soil didn't have that sticky quality you normally get mid-winter, so I think it is a case of putting a spade in and deciding whether it is too wet or not 

[suesowsseed]

Hi

Well I went to the plot for a couple of hours and made a start on digging out round the edge to mark the boundary.  Some places were wetter than others and you could tell that the previous owner hadn't defined the edge of his plot as it all sort of blends in to the grass path. 

I filled a massive builders bag with weeds and I'm not sure how I'm going to get rid of it all. I'm wondering how best to mark out the boundary and paths as I don't really know exactly how big the plot is supposed to be.  How do you keep the edges in a straight line?  I just started doing it by eye but it will need tidying up.

I guess you should use a string line but how accurate does it need to be?

[azubah]

A big bag of weeds is the start of a compost heap. I would leave them to rot down.
It seems to me that if  you don't know how big the plot is you could just make the paths wide enough to walk down. What do your neighbours think?
Straight lines do look better and are easier to cope with. A string line is the best way to do that.
My plot is very wet also but I had a bit of a dig today. I like to rough dig and let the frost break down the lumps.

[RJR_38]

Mine isn't that straight at all - it is all very rustic and that suits me. I used a tape measure to get a rough gauge and the rest was done by eye. As all of mine was weeds (no grass in sight) and right next to me is woodland type stuff I didn't have to worry about marking out my boundaries. It depends on how straight and 'tidy' you I've things really.  I used all the wood I found on the plot to edge the beds so it is all rough and ready anyway.

If you like it really straight and ordered then string, pegs and a tape measure is probably the way to go.

[JayG]

I used a tape measure to get a rough gauge and the rest was done by eye.

If you like it really straight and ordered then string, pegs and a tape measure is probably the way to go.

Your eyes must be better than mine, although I can even get a row slanting using pegs and string to mark it out!   

[RJR_38]

I was using long pieces of wood to edge my beds so I could lay them out, step back and check and then continue. As I said - mine are far from perfect though

[Eblana]

Your eyes must be better than mine, although I can even get a row slanting using pegs and string to mark it out!    

Yippeee I amn't the only one - was just looking at my onions and garlic at the weekend trying to figure out how the rows were so wonkie as I had used a string line to put them in.  

I had to get my OH to work out the paths, beds and PT alignment for me as they would be all over the place if I tried.


Edit to correct quote (it was one of mine!) 

[mumofstig]

The 'official' edges of my plot are far from square, so even if I manage straight lines for planting nothing looks right