Gardening Blog
Allotment Diary
May 14, 2008: unwelcome guests
Allotment expert, Terry Walton, warns that weeds will also be loving this perfect growing weather, so it's time to crack down on these unwanted guests
Little did we know a week ago that the heat would be on! Since Tuesday of last week the weather has decidedly taken a turn for the better. Hot! Hot! Hot!
In the valleys of Wales where my allotment is situated this very warm weather has been accompanied by night time showers. This is the gardener’s dream weather and providing perfect growing conditions. The little seeds that have recently been sown are really loving it and are bursting out of the warm, moist soil and are on the road to maturity. New life is born!
But all is not good news. What is great growing weather for our sown seeds is equally as good for those unwelcome strangers on the plot, yes the weeds. These too are galvanised into new life by these perfect conditions and they always seem to outgrow the cultivated seeds. So now is the time to take action and go on the offensive against them.
The hot, sunny afternoons are a great time to put these invaders in their place. Out with our gleaming, stainless steel Dutch hoe and onto attack. Hold it at the correct angle just below the surface of the soil and with a pull and a thrust these pesky blighters are soon severed from their root. Oh, doesn’t gardening sound a barbaric hobby! With lack of root to provide that moisture they soon shrivel and die in the hot afternoon sun and leave our crops alone to grow without challenge.
The one 'weed' that annoys and amazes me most is the stray unwanted potatoes that have been left in the ground. You may have dug over last year’s potato patch several times throughout the winter but some of these tubers remain hidden and escapes the blade of the spade and the tines of the fork. It pushes its self up just as your tiniest of seedlings emerge, usually in the carrot patch, and it’s a devil of a job to remove it without seemingly destroying half the row of seedlings. So you see not all weeds are sown randomly by nature - some are of our own doing.
There is a great debate raging at the moment brought about by the words of a famous chef. The debate is about the amount of out-of-season produce imported into this country. I for one support the argument of eating local seasonal vegetables. It is possible by adapting your growing habits to eat for ten months of the year off an average size allotment.
Summertime brings a multitude of types of vegetables to grace our table and give a wide variety of foodstuffs. The summertime also brings many surpluses and these can be stored for use in the less productive times on the plot. The freezer can be well stocked with runner beans, French beans, broad beans and peas. The frost-free shed will house the onions and potatoes for winter use.
All of these stored vegetables can then be supplemented during the dark days of winter by the crops on the plot. The parsnips, winter cabbage, swede, leek and some others can be harvested fresh on a daily basis to provide hot, wholesome, tasty meals on our plates daily.
It is all about educating you taste buds to what is in season! So come on, eat well by your own hand and go and get that allotment.
Right! That’s me off my soap box and back to what I enjoy best, growing your own.
More on eating seasonal foods
- Seasonal foods are better for your body
- Eat green to avoid costing the earth
- Spring recipe: falafel with watercress
More from Terry Walton
- May 7: does companion planting work for you?
- April 30: great expectations
- April 22: pumpkin planting time
- April 15: springing back to life
More on growing fruit and veg
My Life on a Hillside Allotment
Terry Walton is a regular contributor to The Jeremy Vine Show on BBC Radio 2 and has written a book called, My Life on a Hillside Allotment, published by Bantam Press. The book is available from Amazon
