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.
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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