Am I doing it wrong?

[Sarah]

I am a bit cross!

I have been working hard at my allotment for a few years now, and this year i am determined not to be beaten by weeds! I work and have a young family, nd my husband is not interested in gardening, so keeping the allotment up to scratch is an uphill struggle.

The plot next to mine has been taken over by someone new this year. I have met him twice in 4 months and he seems nice. The last time I saw him he was trying to find his seedlings in amongst the weeds. I haven't sen him since, and the weeds are really high on his plot now. However, so are the plants. He has carrots, peas, beetroot, onions and potatoes. They are all lush and beautiful. Mine are a poor comparison, despite my plot being diligently weeded.

My question is, do plants grow better when densely planted? My plants are all spaced out, and so may be drying out quicker, and being seen more easily by pests. It seems rather unfair that a plot left to fend for itself is doing so much better.

[Primrose]

I guess there is a theory that perhaps the weeds are preventing the plot from drying out and also providing a degree of protection for the small plants. Also, where there are plenty of weeds, the slugs and snails have a choice of foods and won't necessarily head straight for the lettuce seedlings, and good pollinating insects will be more bountiful.

Like you, a sense of tidiness leads me to want to yank out weeds and have nice clean soil around my plants but when we return from a fortnight's holiday in the summer, everything seems like a jungle and often the vegetables still seem to be thriving amongst the chaos. Maybe putting down a straw or cardboard mulch would help reduce the weeds. I often use my grass cuttings as a mulch but currently they've been treated with Weed & Feed so I have to dispose of them elsewhere.
I don't have an allotment and have limited vegetable growing space in my garden so everything is very planted very closely together and this does help keep the weeds down a little.

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Sarah, everything may look lush on his plot at the moment, but the weeds will win in the end.

I have to say i'm with Primrose on the mulching, it helps to conserve moisture, and if you use homemade compost, it will feed the plants to a degree as well.

I must admit the best crop of cauliflowers i have everseen were growing in a weed infested allotment.
Makes one quite frustrated at times.

[Geoff]

Could it be a basic fertility problem? The lush weeds are enjoying something as well as moisture probably.

[Parsons Jack]

I must admit the best crop of cauliflowers i have everseen were growing in a weed infested allotment.
Makes one quite frustrated at times.

Hi OH,

You really shouldn't talk about Old Codgers plot like that

Cheers, PJ.

[Sarah]

Thanks everyone, you've helped cheer me up a bit. It's a shame really that he hasn't been down to see how well everything is doing. Although the sight of those weeds might put him off a bit!

I'm off to the plot now to sow some more seeds, and some beneficial flowers too, and to mulch a bit more!

[oldherbaceous]

Dear PJ, I have to confess the allotment was mine.
I was 13 years old at the time, and had just discovered Farmgirls.

[peter]

OH, was that "Farmgirls Weekly", or the racier "Farmgirls of Bedfordshire"?