We need help and motivation

[frantony]

Hi all,
My wife and I have 2 lottie plots and due to my wife having whiplash for 6 months and some personal problems, we haven't done much this year. We've got a few tatties, beans, sweetcorn etc in, all of which are not doing much because it's so over grown. We've just been up to sort the chickens out & I'm really down.
Looks like we'll just have to get the ground ready for next year, but it seems like we'll be starting again, when I saw the plots I was really embarrased and nearly wanted to give it all up, but we have some great times up there bbq's with the kids and learning them how to grow, I just couldn't give the lotties up, we just need some advice on starting again and a good kick up the a**e!!!!

[Carrie]

Frantony,
I've been thinking of posting a thread very similar to yours. I took the plot on last year and everything I did manage to achieve felt like an achievement. This year, despite all my plans, the overall yield has actually been lower, andthe only thing to have really benefited has been the compost heap. I'm considering finding someone to take on half(the over-large) plot, or simply invest in large amounts of plastic to cover up most of it. Anyway, sorry I can't offer you much in the way of motivation, but I can offer you loads of empathy - perhaps we needs an Overwhelmed Allotmenteers Group?

[oldherbaceous]

Dear frantony, i don't really know what advice to give you. These things happen in life, so i certainly wouldn't be embarrased about a few weeds.
I think you are just going to have to make this the new challenge in your life, and as you said start again.
One big bonus will be that you will have a good start for next year.
I think i would cut everything down that i could and that will make it look a lot better straight away.
I know if you get stuck in, you will overcome this minor set back in your life.
Hope your wifes neck is nicely on the mend.

You can do it.

Kind regards Old Herbaceous.

Theres no fool like an old fool.

[Deb P]

I've only just taken on an allotment, but the one I've taken over was obviously well used and tended once; the problem is it doesn't take long before the weeds fight back!!

I'm now just starting to clear up and organise it, and for me the bit-by-bit approach is the only practical way to attack it. I've had about twenty different people stop and offer me advice over the 'fence' (a term I use loosely to describe the thing that is just about standing at the front of my plot!)on how to tackle it, all well meaning, but only you know how much time you can really afford to spend on its upkeep; it's sods law in life something will come along and bite you on the bum when you least expect it, and you have to prioritise your time as and how you can.

Don't be embarrassed by the state it is in now; at least you know the plot and the soil, and hopefully do not have loads of other peoples junk to dispose of! I felt quite overwhelmed with the scale of what I've just taken on, but once started, just doing a couple of small areas then covering or planting them up straightaway so they don't go straight back to the dreaded weeds makes you feel a lot better!

I agree with OH, getting started again is the hard bit, even just cutting back and tidying up will make your plot and hopefully you feel a lot better!

[The Grock in the Frock]

arrh!honey dont you two give up,i know how you feel,only the other day i told my friend lizabets that i was sick an tired of the plot and the weeds and the sodden bine weed i feel like its a never ending battle,also the crops have been bad this year.sometimes we have a lot of crap going on in our lives and silly things get us down,but we bounce back .i dont know if you agree with weed killers,if you do give them a go.if not,could you srare 1/2hr every other day just to clear a small patch,its amazing how quick the plot looks better.ask the commity or friends if they could spare an hour of their time one day ,many hands make light work .and dont forget winter is here soon so most things die anyway.Apart from that i dont know anything else apart from coming down there and KICKING YOU UP THE ARSE! p.s hope your wife feels better very soon and i send you all big hugs from liverpool

[Weed]

The obvious answer is the 'little at a time' approach..

I am currently learning a little bit about green manures and one possiblity that springs to mind is to sow a long term variety and leave it for a year/eighteen months.
This would keep down the weeds in addition to the manure side of the equation.

Of course I may be totally wrong...

[Chantal]

I looked at mine this week and really felt as though it was getting away from me. In the past few weeks the rain has always come down when I could be there and I've just about managed to keep up with the harvesting.

On Thursday I managed to clear and dig a small area then got the strimmer out and took down all the weedy areas and the path. It's a different allotment and I feel good about it again. As Grock says, clear a bit at a time and strim or glyphosate anything you can't do now. I also walked round and hauled up all the fat hen, shepherds purse and docks that were seeding (I ignored the smaller weeds for now) as by getting rid of them I'm saving myself a world of grief. The ground is so soft even the docks are coming up without a spade or trowel. It's amazing how big a difference was made in just a couple of hours.

So, get off your bum and get out there; the longer you leave it, the worse it will get.

[Cider Boys]

Hello Frantony

I would takle the problem, like others have suggested, with Glyphosphate Herbicide. Wait for a dry period and spray. Once it has killed the growth I would then burn and if required spray any regrowth again. You will soon start to see an improvement.

Hope it all goes well for you both.

Barney

[jopsy]

i suggest the wife and yourself getting to the drawing board and feeling inspired to prep for next year
you can do all the manual work while the wife recoups whilst reclining in a hammock with pimms and seed catalogues.
or was that just my own dream!!
i agree with the rest, don't give it up tho as being outdoors is good for the soul
hope the wifes on the mend soon-i found the bowen technique helped my whiplash

[frantony]

Thanks all for your support, gardening isn't a hobby, but a way of life to us now so we will not give up, you have good and bad years, we'll get ready for next year. Jopsy, I expected a comment like that from you, i'll make sure the wife doesn't see this, she has got to get her ass into action as well, sorry no pimms

[oldherbaceous]

Thats the spirit Frantony, glad you,ve got your head round it.
You will get there i'm sure.
Your quite right, gardening is a way of life, and i'm really pleased about that.

Kind regards Old Herbaceous.

Theres no fool like an old fool.

[mazmezroz]

I hurt my neck, then moved house, then went on holiday. Then my lawnmower packed up and woooshhh, where there used to be an allotment and a half, there was a reclaimed nature reserve. In the middle of all the bind weed, goose foot and couch grass were all my precious crops I'd planted lovingly back in April and May before the Catalogue of Disasters.

I am really sorry, Frantony, that you have had a tough time, but must admit it cheered me up immensely to know there is someone else out there who hasn't coped this year! I agree with many of the previous correspondents who advise looking forward to next year's well organised productivity.

Also, however, I have relinquished the half allotment now, 'cos I have had to admit to the limitations I have in terms of time and energy. It has made me feel more able to face starting again with the rest of it!

Good luck, and remember how much fun it all is, most of the time!!!

[Vivien]

Sorry to hear about the problems this year - so many things can get in the way of getting to the allotment and it does get you down to feel as though you've failed. I've had an exceptionally busy work year this year which has limited spare time. I've always struggled on with sowing seeds, pricking out, etc. but just couldn't get enough time for it this year, so I caved in and went for planting direct once the soil had warmed up and ordering veggie plug plants for the sowings that I couldn't do earlier in the year. Although I felt as though I'd sinned and cheated, I've had (just) enough time to keep on top of things and loads of stuff coming on for winter & spring now. Didn't stand a cat in hell's chance otherwise! I had to overcome quite a mental barrier to order plants, and it is more expensive that the seed route, but not in time if that's what you're short of. Worth a go - you can still order spring brassicas that arrive end September - just enough time to get a bit of ground cleared for them.
Best of luck!
Vivien

[jopsy]

frantony i hope you meant that in a nice way
am i really that predictable?

[Carole B.]

I've found that raised 'hump' beds have really saved time for me,you only have to dig and set them up once....and they have no woodwork edges so that saves on that expense. I marked out the plot in 4'beds....1'path all the way down and then made the beds by digging the path out as a trench and chucking the topsoil onto the bed.It's a bit of an intense effort to start with but then you don't dig again and bare beds can be covered easily with whatever mulch takes your fancy from carpet to straw to green manure and all manuring takes place on the top. I find these chunks of plot so much easier to manage,you go there and think 'today I'll weed the onion bed and the cabbages' and you get a job finished if you know what I mean!
So get it clean with the previous postings good advice,set up a few beds and see how you get on with them,I wouldn't go back to a flat plot and I was an old 'dig it every year die-hard'!