The most tedious job on the allotment.

A place to chat about anything you like, including non-gardening related subjects. Just keep it clean, please!

Moderators: KG Steve, Chantal, Tigger, peter, Chief Spud

User avatar
snooky
KG Regular
Posts: 1033
Joined: Sun Aug 31, 2008 5:03 pm
Location: Farnborough
Has thanked: 16 times
Been thanked: 65 times

I don"t know why but I find earthing up potatoes most tedious.I can dig all day long and not be bored,hoe until the sun sets,rake until my muscles ache but I put off earthing up potatoes for as long as possible.
I earthed up 3x6 metre rows of first earlies today and it did cross my mind that it would be easier and more efficient than the traditional earthing up to grow them through black plastic sheets but my"mentor",Dilwyn,would throw a purple wobbler!!A traditionalist is Dilwyn!
Who else has a phobia about doing certain,but necessary jobs on the allotment??
Regards snooky

---------------------------------
A balanced diet is a beer in both hands!
WARNING.!!... The above post may contain an opinion
pongeroon
KG Regular
Posts: 580
Joined: Sat Jul 28, 2007 9:44 pm
Location: worcester

I usually find planting onion sets really tedious for some reason, but this year it wasn't so bad. Possibly because there weren't as many as usual.

Cutting (and eating) the first asparagus was BRILLIANT :D
User avatar
oldherbaceous
KG Regular
Posts: 14435
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2006 1:52 pm
Location: Beautiful Bedfordshire
Has thanked: 712 times
Been thanked: 710 times

Drinking a mug of tea, when i could have my hands in the soil instead. :)
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.

There's no fool like an old fool.
User avatar
Smurfy
KG Regular
Posts: 171
Joined: Mon Jan 19, 2009 2:46 pm
Location: Sheffield

for me it's hand weeding because i have a bad knee so it gets to my back. Especially as my next door neighbours lawn is more dandelion than grass so turn your back for one minute and you have millions of little dandelions growing in your raised beds - still its all good exercise i suppose :roll:
Life's a journey, not a destination - Aerosmith
User avatar
Primrose
KG Regular
Posts: 8096
Joined: Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:50 pm
Location: Bucks.
Has thanked: 47 times
Been thanked: 324 times

Anything which involves bending down is tedious for me - with a bad back and a bad knee I always seem to be trying to position myself so I can get up again - so weeding, tranplanting and dibbing in leeks are all things I have to do in small batches.
User avatar
Johnboy
KG Regular
Posts: 5824
Joined: Tue Nov 22, 2005 1:15 pm
Location: NW Herefordshire

Hi Snooky,
Earth your spuds up as you go when you plant them. I saw one person locally planting earlies with a bulb planter into unmanured soil they went in about 3" deep. Wonder how many she will harvest! I doubt that she will earth up 'cos that means doing some work!
She is one of the local "I'm Organic" set and her 'man' has injured his back.
JB.
User avatar
Chantal
KG Regular
Posts: 5665
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2005 9:53 am
Location: Rugby, Warwickshire
Been thanked: 1 time

Planting. I hate planting, which is crazy I know. I sometimes get Seedling to do it for me whilst I carry on weeding (if she's at a loose end).

I too have a bad knee and thus can't crouch down, kneel down or do anything other than a straight leg bed. So, I use a kneeler as a seat and a long handled hand fork. It's brilliant. No knee pain or back pain to speak of and I can happily weed all day. :D
Chantal

I know this corner of the earth, it smiles for me...
User avatar
Malk
KG Regular
Posts: 318
Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2005 10:29 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 4 times

I like doing most things, but weeding certain beds gets me. I have one that's waterlogged and I know it's pointless to weed it as it will not grow anything but wild garlic and I'll let it go to weeds again and have to strip it all in a few months anyway.

I'm also not very good at anything that requires building, it always goes wrong and takes 6x as long as it should. I hate asking the guys on the plot to do it for me as I'm a proud feminist, but they know I'm cack-handed so usually take over before I hurt myself.
Welcome to Finland!!
User avatar
Primrose
KG Regular
Posts: 8096
Joined: Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:50 pm
Location: Bucks.
Has thanked: 47 times
Been thanked: 324 times

Oh, I forgot to add "picking gooseberries" to my list of tedious tasks. No matter how careful I am, I always end up covered in scratches.
Stephen
KG Regular
Posts: 1869
Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2008 4:03 pm
Location: Butts Meadow, Berkhamsted
Been thanked: 2 times

I think I can adjust to most of them
Watering is dull, especially after a hot day when you are covering the whole plot.
At the begining of the season I am dedicated and enthusiastic (almost) about the weeding but as we roll into autumn my enthusiasm wanes (badly)

Oh, the worst tedious job is getting the stones out. Reducing the gross mass of stones!
Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
vivienz
KG Regular
Posts: 530
Joined: Tue Mar 20, 2007 1:55 pm
Location: Very north Dorset
Has thanked: 14 times
Been thanked: 30 times

It has to be hand weeding onions for me. I never seem to leave quite enough room between the rows to use a normal hoe (I always have casualties when I've tried to take a short cut in the past), and the onions always seem more willing to come out than the rotten weeds!
Vivien
User avatar
Geoff
KG Regular
Posts: 5785
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2005 5:33 pm
Location: Forest of Bowland
Been thanked: 319 times

I don't have an allotment. I like digging but hate breaking the lumps up afterwards, mainly because I find it painful on wrists and elbows.
User avatar
Colin_M
KG Regular
Posts: 1182
Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2006 7:13 am
Location: Bristol
Been thanked: 1 time

Chantal wrote:Planting. I hate planting, which is crazy I know. I sometimes get Seedling to do it for me

Can you let us know how much Seedling charges and what her availability is over the next couple of weeks :wink:
User avatar
Tigger
KG Regular
Posts: 3212
Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2005 6:00 pm
Location: Shropshire

I don't have an allotment but I hate watering my garden. Any other job is fine.
Bren
KG Regular
Posts: 766
Joined: Sun Jan 14, 2007 9:00 pm
Location: Birmingham

Weeding and planting I also can't get down on my knees so every thing has to be done with bended back, then its the backache, into the shed for a 5 minute break and a pain killer other wise nothing would get done.
Bren
Post Reply Previous topicNext topic