Tuesday was a real mixture with a very dull morning and a lovely sunny afternoon.
It’s the time of year when I like to get as much tidying up and sorting out done on the plot before any bad weather arrives. I always feel the more I can get done now the better off I’ll be come next spring. This year I've found a big advantage where our beds are covered with weed control fabric. Normally the beds that have grown courgettes, peas and beans are just about overrun with weeds by the time we've finished harvesting. So all these beds normally need clearing of weeds and dead crops and digging over for winter. Not this year as there are no weeds so I intend to cut back the dead plants and leave the fabric in place over winter to stop any weeds growing.
The main bed in the picture was dug over a few weeks ago when our early potatoes were lifted. It was covered with weed control fabric today and some partially rotted horse manure spread over the top to keep it in place over winter. The other bed in the picture grew this years experimental onion crop through weed control fabric which has been left in place so no digging required and no weed problem.
Next spring I’ll dig over each bed as the weed control fabric will move round following the crop rotation of the beds. Onions, brassicas and peas already have appropriate cuts in the fabric for next years crops. We've yet to decide how to grow our early potatoes through the fabric but we’re certainly going to give it a go.
If you think that having to dig all our beds next spring is a lot of work it’s normal practice on our plot. Our heavy clay soil dug in autumn always needs digging again in spring after it’s been battered by rain, frost and snow through the winter months.
All digging is now on hold as the ground has become too dry and hard. A decent spell if rain is required to give the ground a good soaking and get it back into a condition suitable for cultivation.
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I really need to put in some hours down at my plot taking out spent crops and weeding, but finding the time is a big problem!
ReplyDeleteAt least the weeds should be slowing down a little bit by now - perhaps?
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