[finleyfreyaseth]

this probably covered elswere but what are peoples opinions on wether to cover the ground not bein used over winter or to leave bare to the elements ? im new to this only 1 full year ish and just thinkin wats best to do ,farmers dont cover bare ground over winter so why the need on allotments?

[Fisherman]

Unless you are trying to kill a severe infestation of weeds I would leave it roughly dug for the weather to break it down. Apply manure / compost as per your crop requirements i.e. manure for potatoes and greens and compost for root crops. Perhaps cover areas with plastic sheeting in February / March in order to warm up the soil for any early sowing / planting.

[crh75]

There is no right or wrong, generally people with light sandy soil may want to cover (including using green manure) to stop rain washing nutrients and soil away and people with heavy soil would tend to leave the soil bare for frosts to help break it up.

Farmer's don't cover because it would not be practical.

[Fatfingers]

You could cover it over with a garden fleece as this will keep the soil warmer, allow rain through and stop wind dispersed seeding landing on the plot - and its relatively cheap. Just bough some off eBay http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=garden+fleece and its certainly par for the course. Just make sure you pegs it down well or cove the edges with bricks or soil.

[finleyfreyaseth]

ive got visqueen that i can cover my beds with but just wondered the pros and cons ,ive got some covered in manure ,some covered with visqueen,got a largish bed covered we green manure and still a couple to complete before worse weather sets in so like said just after opinions from more experienced allotment holders

[Puenktchen]

You could cover it over with a garden fleece as this will keep the soil warmer, allow rain through and stop wind dispersed seeding landing on the plot - and its relatively cheap. Just bough some off eBay http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=garden+fleece and its certainly par for the course. Just make sure you pegs it down well or cove the edges with bricks or soil.

I would not cover the soil with fleece over winter. Fleece lets light through and keeps the soil nice and warm so ideal conditions for weed germination. If you are not careful and keep the weeds under the fleece in check you will end up with beds covered in weeds in spring. And the weeds will grow a lot faster than without fleece so it can happen they already flower and seed under the fleece which makes the problem worse.

I would cover the soil with green manure, manure or compost. If you want to cover it with something artificial you should use material which does not let the light through such as weed suppressant fabric or black plastic.