Ashford Allotments
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Weed-infested fruit bushes? Oh dear, never mind, it's easy to clean them up.

20/9/2014

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Autumn is coming, the leaves will soon be falling, but the weeds just keep on growing, eh? Never mind, if you have perennial weeds amongst your soft fruit, you can turn this to your advantage.

Nothing makes an allotment look scruffier than fruit bushes with couch grass, dandelions and dock growing under and between them. But these weeds don't just look unsightly, they are robbing your fruit of essential water and nutrients. Get rid of the weeds and the bushes will reward you with stronger growth and bumper crops.
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"I've tried!" we hear you wail - "I've dug them out but the roots are amongst the fruit and they just keep coming back!" The answer isn't hand-weeding (doomed to failure) but judicious use of the correct modern weedkiller. Glyphosate - available in many different brands but best-known as 'Round-Up' - only kills where it touches green leaf. This means you can wait till all the leaves have fallen, then water on your glyphosate all over the couch and dandelions. They will die and the bushes be unharmed.

For more about this solution to one of life's more annoying problems, click here.

Got a problem? Try our advice pages and see if we have the answer. Try the FRUIT & VEG A-Z, and the ADSVICE & INFORMATION pages for other topics. Doing well? Send us your tips for success! They will be included in our advice so we can all benefit.
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New plotholders get stuck in!

14/8/2014

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Many new plotholders have realised that the heavy rain we've had recently gives them a wonderful chance to steal a march on the seasons. Normally at this time of year the ground would be rock hard and there would be a two month wait before it was possible to achieve anything but a bit of weedkilling.

This year the ground is moist and in lovely condition. A very short spell of work with the fork will bring out most weeds by the root, and the warm weather means those weeds can quickly be on their way to becoming valuable compost.

Once a small area has been thoroughly cleared, crops of autumn carrots (Autumn King is the favourite), beetroot, spinach or its easier cousin chard, lettuce and herbs like parsley can all be sown and will germinate quickly. Cauliflowers and spring cabbage can be bought as plants to put in ready for crops early next year.

As all experienced gardeners know, weeds shouldn't be removed from the plot and every effort should be made to conserve topsoil. Some misguided new plotholders have even been seen to skim off their topsoil, complete with grass, and bag it up or dump it at the back of the plot! Weeds shouldn't be shaken free of soil and composted - don't believe what you may have read about seeds or roots not rotting down! Everything rots down, except perhaps the odd bits of polythene, baling twine and broken bucket which every new plotholder seems to inherit. See our tips for new plotholders for more useful labour-saving info by clicking here.
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Perfect time to clear your plot!!!!

17/7/2014

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If your plot needs clearing and digging, you may have been telling yourself "Oh, there's nothing I can do till autumn". But that's NOT TRUE! In a normal year, the heavy rain we had at the beginning of the week would have vanished. But because the subsoil is still soaked from the winter, the topsoil is lovely and moist RIGHT NOW. The surface may look dry, but less than an inch below that surface there's moist dark soil which you will find surprisingly easy to get a fork into.

So instead of waiting for autumn's short, cold days, make the most of the pleasant summer weather and get out there with tools. If you don't like the heat, then an early morning trip, or an hour or two in the pleasant evening temperatures, is a bliss and a joy. There is no need to water any plants you've already got growing (unless they are very newly planted) so you can concentrate your energy on the bits that badly need attention. All the weeds you fork out can be composted (whatever the books say, it all rots down and you need that humus), and in no time at all you'll have ground ready to sow lettuce, spinach, beetroot, late carrots or even pop in a few cauliflower or broccoli plants. Instead of waiting till next year to enjoy the fruit of your labours, you can be eating your own veg this autumn!
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Burning bonfires

14/4/2014

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The Council has asked us to draw your attention to the important guidelines on bonfires.

Bonfires are sometimes necessary on the allotment to get rid of diseased plant material, or where it is impractical to take prunings to the dump for industrial composting.

The dump will take all woody and green refuse. It is open everyday, including weekends. There is no charge for taking things to the dump.
Click here to go to the website for the dump.


You should always be aware of the people living in houses nearby and be a good neighbour. Don't have a bonfire during the daytime when people may be in their gardens or drying washing.

Leaving bonfires unattended clearly isn't safe.

You don't need to burn weeds: even tough weeds like dandelions and bindweed will die if composted properly. Anything which can be composted, should be.
Weedy topsoil must never ever be taken off your plot. It isn't just against the rules to take it to the dump, it's plain daft. You NEED that topsoil and getting rid of it will ruin your plot. It can be piled onto a bonfire at the end to burn out any remaining roots.

You should not under any circumstances burn plastic or polythene: it releases horribly toxic fumes. All such refuse should be taken to the dump: it mustn't be left by allotment entrances. The council does not clear rubbish from allotments.

Here is the council's leaflet for you to read.
Use the controls at the side and bottom of the box to go up and down or make the print bigger.
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Spring is getting a move on - act fast

7/4/2014

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Still available from the Trading Store

The next opening of the Trading Store is April 19th, Easter Saturday. It is bound to be busy and if you can spare two hours from 10 to 12 to volunteer please come along - it's great fun and you'll be helping everyone.

There are still some SEED POTATOES left - a modest choice of varieties, so if you're all behindhand, you still have a chance to catch up.

A few onion sets - red - are available and there is still time to plant. If you have a small allotment, buy just a few!

Shallots can go in till the end of April and there are still some golden shallots at the Trading Store to buy by weight - as few or as many as you like.

This is the ideal time of year to tackle the weeds on a neglected corner of your plot; you can use a glyphosate weedkiller now, as soon as the weeds turn yellow you can strip them off or dig them in, knowing the roots are killed and the soil ready to plant with no harmful after-effects. You can fork over or rotovate the soil and it will be ready to sow runner beans, french beans, late peas, or plant out courgettes or tomatoes. No need to sweat and strain, let glyphosate do the hard work for you. A bottle of concentrate which, diluted down, is enough to clear a whole plot, is just £4.95 from the Trading Store!

For more about using weedkiller, click here!
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Help! My fruit bushes are completely overgrown with couch grass!

21/3/2014

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What on earth can I do?

Weeds, especially grass, do a lot of damage to your crops. Fruit bushes are greedy plants and the grass steals the food and water they so badly need. Remove the weeds, feed the plants, and you'll really notice a difference in your yields.

Couch grass getting in amongst fruit bushes is a very common problem on Ashford allotments and there is still time to clear them of weeds if you use the 'cheat's method' described on our 'Advice & Information' page. Click here to discover the secret.

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    This website is happy to publicise all garden-related events.
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    Use the CONTACT box or click on the envelope at the top of the page to send us an item you'd like to see on our news page. Use "Add Comment" to comment on a news item.
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