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Tackling A New Polt In Winter

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I signed up for a plot about 10 miles east of Sheffield city center in December.

The soil is wet and heavy due to all the rain however I will have to put up with that if I am to get anything growing this year.

I have a substantial pile of couch grass roots and other tap roots with all the mud stuck to them.

I will wait at least a year for root crops as the topsoil is a little thin in places and is due to be raised once I have processed all the weed roots and recovered the soil from them.

The previous plot holder had grown a couch grass lawn and had been watering it with lawn greening fluid.

https://www.ispotnature.org/communities/uk-and-ireland/view/observation/795007/couch-grass

I am going to put in some spinach and curly kale in and will use up the remaining lawn greening fluid on them.

I had a lucky brake with four estate car loads of peat based compost for free. That has helped with making the clay soil easier to work.

So far I have planted blight resistant gooseberry and Japanese quince as a boundary marker with agreement from my next door plot holder over sharing of the fruits.

In the main plot I have planted onions from seed and a fig tree grown from the seeds of shop bought fruit.

I have got marrow seed and also fennel seed to be started off soon.

Advice on any other crops for a first year after restoration would be useful.

Edited by Refugee

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It's far too early to start Marrow and Fennel seeds.

Covering the couch with two layers of cardboard  and putting compost on top will starve the  couch of light. Any weeds that push through can be pulled out (doing this early will starve the roots and the plant will weaken ) .

Regular weeding is the key to getting rid of couch.

Broad beans are worth sowing now . Start them off in pots to stop the mice eating the seeds.

Don't bother working the soil, put your effort into making compost and use this to cover the land , the worms will do the work for you .

Edited by Thorpist

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I have already dug up all of the foot long tap roots of dock and dandelion plus many others.

They are in two big heaps where I will turn them several times once the weather gets a bit dryer.

The marrow and fennel will be started off later. I have also got some butternuts and some others that look a bit "geeky" from the photo on the packet from another plot holder.

Broad beans have a habit of attracting aphids so I have held off on them.

I now need to repair the greenhouse. The frame is complete but there is quite a bit of glass missing.

The shed roof needs fixing too as a wild bramble had grown over it and ripped the felt.

There is also a small chicken run that will be OK for four or five birds. I will want until the next batch comes in from the rescue people if nobody else has got any spare.

There will be plenty of added fertilizer in the peat based compost as it had naughty tobacco growing in it up until the police arrived to assist the farmers with there harvesting. The root balls just fell apart at the first sniff of frost.

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If you are wanting chickens, I read in the star that they are having a rehoming event in letwell this Saturday. 
 

you would just have to register your interest to get the location 
 

https://www.bhwt.org.uk/register/

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The hen re-homing sessions are often held and once I have got the soil done and planted out I will register an interest and come along.

The planting season is closing in fast and the greenhouse repairs have just been completed.

We have just had 20+ trailer loads of horse manure delivered to be shared between 90 odd plots. Much of it is in well rotted lumps that can be sliced and laid down as a mulch.

I have marrow and fennel seeds ready for germinating as soon as the time comes. There is no need to buy fertilizer this year.

I have stopped the worst of the rain by fixing the water butt system. I am now waiting for it to rain again to fill it all up🤣

 

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