Kitchen Garden Forum

Today I have been offered a full plot....and I have excepted..
What have I let myself in for
I can keep my little one till Christmas but this needs some serious attention
The pictures are taken in the middle of the plot, to the right( the bottom picture ) is a very over grown fruit patch any ideas on how to rescue this end would be grateful, there are gooseberry, rhubarb and blackberry from what I can see, oh and a blueberry in the front of the picture.

I've seen worse! It looks like 1 year of neglect. The grass looks like clumps of seeded stuff rather than couch/twitch grass so you should be able to work through digging up the clumps in the fruit patch. And as for the rest if you're a person who uses weedkiller you could spray and then dig, or just dig and remove. Look on it as more productive than going to a gym! And you're not 'donedigging' yet by the look of things!

Best of Luck

MW

hire a petrol strimmer and mash up what you dont want... cover in black plastic and sit on top for three months with a can of beer in the sunshine .

just a suggestion, but I'd start on the fruit patch, clearing the grass by digging the clumps out. the rest can be strimmed/mowed and kept tidy, until you have time to turn it over. (keep it like a rough lawn)

That looks a nice large plot and not too bad, at least it isn't covered in pieces of scrap metal.

I too would try removing the grass round the fruit bushes, and then just cover as much as you can of the rest with sheets of cardboard or black plastic or anything to exclude the light until you have time to tackle it a bit at a time.

The creeping buttercups are very easy to get rid of by covering with cardboard etc. for a few months.

Dear Donedigging, now where is that positive attitude that i expect from you....

Indeed it will be a lot of hard work, but having until Christmas to sort things out is a great
advantage. Now if you had got it last year i could have come and given you a hand while i was
visiting Somerset.

donedigging, it took us about a year to completely sort out a very similar looking large plot. That was about 25 years ago and we have never looked back! Hard work but it will be worth it.

I would strim or scythe off the long grass growth and compost that material, then start hand digging the ground, taking out as many perennial roots that you can find. If you can't get it all done for sowing and planting this year there is always the next!

Thank you all so much for your advice and encouragement .
I am feeling a little more positive towards it all now, I know a little at a time is what is said.
I have also got the excitement of breaking open a wooden storage box tomorrow, I wonder what's going to be in there?
At least the forecast is supposed to be good for the next couple of days.....
Now where did I put that spade

Dear Donedigging, i have the aftersun in the fridge, and i have sanded my hands, just incase you
have had a scorching day on your allotment.

Dear OH,
How very thoughtful of you.
I must admit I am glowing a bit this evening

Looking a little less wild ...

Dear Donedigging, you do seem to be able to tame the wildest of things.

Well done, you are making good progress.

looks good! you can keep that all short, and dig/weed as and when you can fabulous!

Goodness - impressed! Like Retropants said dig when you can! I dived into mine when I got it - did too much & hurt my back then by time could stand straight & get back down there it was like I had done nothing! Lesson learnt (well most of time anyway)

Westi