down at the allotment and in the garden what are you up to

Welsh Girls Allotment · Sat Jan 06, 2007 11:18 pm

Turnips apparently are the answer to bad couch grass, my Dad has lent me abook - Old Wives Lore for Gardeners by Maureen and Bridgit Boland and in it it states -
"You need not have couch gras , In an area badly infested with couch grass, we sowed turnip seed thickly, we now have no couch, (you may not want turnips and sown so lavishly you will not get very large ones anyway) but you certainly do not want couch. We have since learnt lupins and tomatoes recomended for the same purpose, but have had no need to try them."

I suppose it depends on how big an area you have and how desperate you are to clear it, as it you will need to wait for the turnips to grow a reasonable size to choke out the couch - evil stuff that it is

Merry · Post: # 45517Post **Merry** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 10:16 am

I wonder how things like turnips and lupins get rid of couch grass (or twitch if you`re from round here).
Does it inhibit the roots in some way - or give off some substance that discourages it?
Interesting!
Going up to the allotment today to start pruning the soft fruit - we`ve got a huge, rampant blackcurrant patch that needs some firm discipline!

Chickpea · Post: # 45527Post **Chickpea** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 10:48 am

I also have head that turnips defeat couch grass. And then again I've heard someone say it's a load of rubbish, they tried it and the couch grass drove its roots straight through the turnips and laughed like this "Ha! Ha! Ha! I laugh at your turnips!" which I can believe. Right now my plan is to dig up as much of it as I can and burn it, and when it starts coming back just try to keep on top of it with daily weeding. I'm a firm believer that no plant likes having its head pulled off regularly, and that the laws of physics apply to couch grass and docks and horsetails, and sooner or later they must exhaust their energy supplies and give up the ghost. It only works if the area is small enough and the gardener has time enough to keep on top of it though.

the.fee.fairy · Sun Jan 07, 2007 3:05 pm

Chickpea wrote: they tried it and the couch grass drove its roots straight through the turnips and laughed like this "Ha! Ha! Ha! I laugh at your turnips!"

That made me spit chai at the screen!

What is couch grass?
I'm familiar with the green stuff, and the rye and the blue, but couch has got me..

gunners71uk · Wed Jan 10, 2007 2:44 pm

well went for a walk to allotment sorted carpets out a friend gave me lift down yesterday.notice on spare bit land where me muck is a lorry drove through the egeof me muck pile nevermind i will shovel it up where the tires went lol,pulled some leeks for a friend,went for walk round and a chat.me garden is ok i think one of me little spring cabbages went missing but not sure as netting seems to be in place lol, may dig tomorrow.

Merry · Post: # 45916Post **Merry** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 4:59 pm

gunners71uk wrote: may dig tomorrow.

You`re lucky!
My plot is so waterlogged it`s almost under water.

Chickpea · Post: # 46002Post **Chickpea** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 9:43 am

Fee Fairy, couch grass looks like any old grass from above ground, but all the action is underground. I have heard it described as "looking like a plate of spaghetti mixed up with coffee grounds", which is pretty close to the mark. It forms huge root systems which get everywhere, driving right through horticultural sheeting, old carpets and even concrete. And if you leave even a little scrap of root behind, it will resprout in no time. It's a bugger and no mistake.

red · Post: # 46057Post **red** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 11:47 pm

seeds that I hav ordered have started to arrive - so happily dreaming (easiest part of gardening)

supersprout · Fri Jan 12, 2007 6:47 am

Indoors: sowed banana shallot, early carrot and beet, and turnip rooted parsley seed yesterday.
On the plot: too wet to do much except harvest: leeks, jerusalem artichokes, couve tronchuda, parsnips, and some autumn sown onions as Spring onions.
At desk: seed swaps!

gunners71uk · Sat Jan 13, 2007 3:54 pm

well went to the allotment and finished off me digging on me other plot have some little bits to do but its done near enough . my neighbour gave me some jerusalem artichokes any ideas on how many ways you can eat them need some help on this. and some of the tubers can i put in the ground they are covered in mud do i need to wash them or what any help please.
regards dave

gunners71uk · Sat Jan 13, 2007 3:55 pm

well went to the allotment and finished off me digging on me other plot have some little bits to do but its done near enough . my neighbour gave me some jerusalem artichokes any ideas on how many ways you can eat them need some help on this. and some of the tubers can i put in the ground they are covered in mud do i need to wash them or what any help please.
regards dave

red · Post: # 46187Post **red** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 10:47 pm

I think the best thing for J artichokes is soup - make a really good soup.

well today we have planted 3 more fruit trees - 2 apple - Bramley and Newton Wonder and a plum - Majories seedling. feels good.

Ranter · Post: # 46337Post **Ranter** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 2:01 pm

At last our plot is starting to look like an allotment

We spent the weekend there, with a boyfriend & father roped in, & got a slab path laid & - more importantly - a level base for the greenhouse, with the frame built & attached. Veg beds marked out ready for mulching/ digging.

Lots of the greenhouse glass is broken - any advice on replacing it will be gratefully received: is glass or corrugated plastic better?

2 beds will be dug as soon as the plot dries out a bit, 2 more will be worked on the no-dig principle. I'm keen to try this as, although my health is improving, I'm still not up to digging heavy clay soil.

pskipper · Post: # 46364Post **pskipper** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 10:23 pm

Just put in J artichokes yesterday. I don't know if it's too early, but seeing as you are supposed to be able to leave them in for a fresh crop the next year I thought I'd risk it. Mine were washed from the grocers but I shouldn't think you would need to, the only advantage about washing them first is you can pick the ones with the most eyes for planting.

the.fee.fairy · Sun Jan 21, 2007 5:52 pm

Things i have learnt today:
No matter how much dog poo you think you've cleared up, there's always that little bit waiting to get you when you kneel down...
That puppy's lucky he's so lovable!

Hitting your finger with a hammer whilst doing a bad job of fixing the fence really really hurts.

You neighbours tutting is a good sign that you need to go get a cup of tea, the air is too blue after the aforementioned hammer and finger incident.

Potatoes creep up on you...

Today, i have dug over the whole veg patch, adding three bags of rotted manure under the topsoil. The clay was really heavy and horrible, i've taken a pic, so i'll post it at some point.

Then i fixed the fence that fell over in the wind. I've made quite a laughable job of it actually, i had these ideas of nailing it to new posts - that failed, then i had the idea to nail bits of wood to it that i could sink into the ground. That failed too, so i had a hissy fit and kicked a few things, then i had the idea to use the now broken bits of wood that were spikey for sinking to create a kind of thrown together ptach between the fence panel and the post (why is it that the fence seems to have shrunk by 6 inches?).

Its held so far, lets hope the pup doesn't get through - he shouldn't.

Next weekend: Digging the squash bed to add manure to it, sorting out the compost heaps and reading up some more about rooftop gardening, and grow-bags ready for growing tomatoes and peppers later on in the year.

OOh, anyone got any tip for growing tomatoes unpside down? Shall i get some buckets? 2 litre bottles? or will hanging baskets do it?