braved the weather

[old tree man]

well after getting blowed off my allotment i got alot of winter digging done this week, nealy done but hope my back holds up phew !


russ

[Green Aura]

You've been a busy boy Russ Well done! If you've got a couple of days pare........my garden's got away from me this year

[Millymollymandy]

And then come here! My OH has taken over digging duties from me as I'm so wimpy I can only do about 5 mins before my back gives up on me! And now my OH has had a dodgy back for weeks. We are a right useless couple.

[old tree man]

i'm the same i do 1/2 an hour and i'm puffing and grunting like a water buffalo mind you they are slightly heavier than me
this weekend there is a farm sale and i am definatley looking for a rotavator.

[snapdragon]

looks fantastic
my local robin is tweeting at me to dig him some more worms but tis very wet still

[pumpy]

Hi Russ,...... don't s'pose you could put me on your digging list, while i wait for a new leg!

[Millymollymandy]

I'm proud of myself because I dug up my 4 year old strawberries! And I was watched by a robin.
But now I've got to dig over the patch properly and it's next to my raspberries which means roots everywhere!

[old tree man]

they are an absolute pain, i did some a couple of years ago i don't envy you
good luck
russ

[Millymollymandy]

I know, each year they spring up in the lawn around this bed, getting further and further away from the original canes. Still I'm only going to use this space for borlotti beans next year, so it's not going to be anything perennial going in. It just needs a good dig cos the strawbs have been there a long time!

[old tree man]

My nieghbour had the same problem he did'nt did properly and found them sprouting all over, mind you i covered my ground with an old carpet to block out sunlight for a few months and killed them of that way and if ineeded the ground i grew through the carpet.

[Rosendula]

Roots! Roots! Don't talk to me about roots. I'll tell you what I'm doing in my front garden/extra-veg-plot-to-be. It used to be all fruit bushes, with a rosemary hedge around it and a few other herbs and things. The rosemary's all out (2 roots dug out by OH, 2 cut below ground level by a neighbour with a chainsaw, and about 6 dug out by me). The rest has all been taken out by me: a huge veronica (who had 2 babies attached, so they have been planted elsewhere), a massive elecampane, 2 redcurrants, a gooseberry, 3 lavenders, a wild rose, several lemon balms, and a very large oregano. I still have a few more lemon balms to go, 2 blackcurrants and a bay tree. I'm chuffing cream crackered I am.

But it feels good

I know, each year they spring up in the lawn around this bed, getting further and further away from the original canes. Still I'm only going to use this space for borlotti beans next year, so it's not going to be anything perennial going in. It just needs a good dig cos the strawbs have been there a long time!

I also used to have raspberries in my front garden, but dug those up a couple of years ago for that very reason. The roots did go on for miles, and when you think you've got rid of them, they throw another plant up while your not looking - usually through a shrub so you don't notice until it's nice and tall. It was one of those very seldom occasions I resorted to poison, just to get rid of those last ones that were popping up dangerously close to a neighbour's garden.

[old tree man]

well done Rosey, i know its a pain at least you will sleep well after all that exersize

[Squirrel46]

Looking good, but its like mine with those dreaded white strands!
Still chasing them out and making bonfires!

[Millymollymandy]

Roots! Roots! Don't talk to me about roots. I'll tell you what I'm doing in my front garden/extra-veg-plot-to-be. It used to be all fruit bushes, with a rosemary hedge around it and a few other herbs and things. The rosemary's all out (2 roots dug out by OH, 2 cut below ground level by a neighbour with a chainsaw, and about 6 dug out by me). The rest has all been taken out by me: a huge veronica (who had 2 babies attached, so they have been planted elsewhere), a massive elecampane, 2 redcurrants, a gooseberry, 3 lavenders, a wild rose, several lemon balms, and a very large oregano. I still have a few more lemon balms to go, 2 blackcurrants and a bay tree. I'm chuffing cream crackered I am.

But it feels good

I know, each year they spring up in the lawn around this bed, getting further and further away from the original canes. Still I'm only going to use this space for borlotti beans next year, so it's not going to be anything perennial going in. It just needs a good dig cos the strawbs have been there a long time!

I also used to have raspberries in my front garden, but dug those up a couple of years ago for that very reason. The roots did go on for miles, and when you think you've got rid of them, they throw another plant up while your not looking - usually through a shrub so you don't notice until it's nice and tall. It was one of those very seldom occasions I resorted to poison, just to get rid of those last ones that were popping up dangerously close to a neighbour's garden.

What are you going to do with all the shrubs and herbs? I have a huge rosemary that self seeds in the gravel and I keep thinking about replacing it with one of its smaller babies, but after hearing about having to chainsaw the roots maybe now I won't!

[Rosendula]

What are you going to do with all the shrubs and herbs? I have a huge rosemary that self seeds in the gravel and I keep thinking about replacing it with one of its smaller babies, but after hearing about having to chainsaw the roots maybe now I won't!

I've tried to relocate where possible, so I took some root babies from the oregano and planted them in a tub a couple of months before digging up the old plant. I wanted to make sure it took before destroying the 'parent'. Same with some chives, and I took cuttings of rosemary, too.

As for the roots, if you cut rosemary back and then try to dig the roots out while they're still alive it's a very, very hard job, which is why the neighbour came with his chainsaw. However, he couldn't get to them all because he wanted me to dig the earth out from around it so that he didn't kill his chainsaw. I didn't manage to get them all done last year The two I didn't get done, I cut right down to ground level and left them for almost a year. When I got to them last week, they were very dead and just snapped away. What was left in the ground came up easily with my fork. So I would suggest that if you have time, the best method would be to cut it right back this year, and try to remove the roots next year.