Graham RawlingsJan 22
New beginnings at the allotment! 🌱
After a couple of years unloved by the previous tenant, this 8m x 12m plot has started its transformation. I’ve been battling perennial grass and broad-leaved weeds since October but I’m winning. 👏
Here’s the blank canvas on a damp South West England day 🌧️
I hope to post through 2026 as this overgrown patch becomes productive ground again. Wish me luck !
#Allotment #AllotmentLife #GrowYourOwn #SustainableLiving #Gardening #PlotToPlate #VegGrowing
Show threadBecca 🌳🚀🛀Jan 22
@grahamrawlings Nice work. If you struggle tackling all the weeding at once, I recommend buying a few bales of straw and putting them down to kill of weeds, while you take care of another part of the plot. Saves tons of work, and mulch is good anyway. We are slowly turning 500m² of meadow into a perennial garden this way. Almost no time wasted digging up grass.
Show threadGraham RawlingsJan 22
@rlcw Thanks Becca . Brilliant suggestion! I’ve tried various techniques over the years and the straw method can be good other than the possibility of importing a lot of perennial grass weed seed with the straw. The plot I’ve inherited has two types of thick perennial grass but also a massive infestation of bindweed. I’ll post on how successful I am with control. Good luck with your project - I look forward on checking your progress .
Show threadBecca 🌳🚀🛀
@grahamrawlings Straw essentially doesn't have grass seeds. I've even used hay and not have had any issues there. The key is really mulch of any kind, thick layer, since that drastically reduces the number of weeds that can even be successful And even if something comes through, the ground below the mulch is very soft to work with, so weeding is very fast and easy. I weed once, max twice per year in my beds.
Jan 23 at 12:41pmWeb
Show threadGraham RawlingsJan 23
@rlcw Hi Becca . Thanks for your experience and I’m pleased it is working so well. Like you I’ve had some success 👏with a similar method on a much smaller scale than you. If the source crop had grass weeds (e.g., brome, ryegrass, couch, wild oats), their seeds can absolutely end up in the straw. Convulvulus is very common, too. 😟On the one year’s seed , ten years weed principle, I’d still remain cautious about the source of straw 😅 Keep up the good work