Allotment Gardening by Abbott Jez

Author:Abbott, Jez
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Allotments, Gardening
ISBN: 9781907562464
Publisher: The Foundry Publishing Ltd
Published: 2011-01-24T05:00:00+00:00

Is It or Isn’t It?

Opting to go organic may sound simple on the allotment, but what is organic? That manure may appear natural enough, but how was the horse it came from reared and was it a healthy beast or packed full of antibiotics? Likewise, that scrap of carpet that would make an ideal mulch could be awash with synthetic materials.

The good thing about organic gardening is that you tend to save money by foregoing all those expensive non-organic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. The bad news with going organic on the allotment is the labour intensity of digging up weeds instead of spraying them, or the time it takes to kill them with mulch.

Top Tip

Organic methods can be hard work, so it may be smart to dedicate a small amount of time to jobs like weeding by hand – do a little a lot of the time.

Natural Forces

Success with weeding without the use of chemicals is easier with annuals like groundsel, which can be pulled up by hand or hoed off when young. Marestail, on the other hand, can be removed only with deep digging to attack that taproot. Chances are you will never totally eradicate perennial weeds, so be prepared to go back and dig from time to time.

Keep Digging

If you have persistently bad weeds and can leave ground out of cultivation for some time, you can turn the soil. By digging the plot and turning each spadeful over you will expose the roots to the light and air and they should dry out and die. Like other forms of weeding, however, expect to pick out stragglers that survived the first cull.

Good Companions

A useful organic pest control for allotment holders is the art of companion planting. The aim of this is to confuse the pests and keep them off your plants. It also chimes with the organic allotment holder’s natural affinity with biodiversity by ensuring a wider array of plants are going into the ground. Some people swear by companion planting and its folkloreish charm. Others take it with huge dollops of salt.

Floral Friends

Examples of companion planting include:

French marigolds: Marigolds are said to contain chemicals that repel wireworms in tomatoes, potato cyst nematodes and slugs.

Lavender: This scented beauty is said to be loathed by many pests but is good for attracting beneficial insects such as bees and butterflies.

Nasturtiums: These are said to release a scent that many pests detest, but they can also attract blackfly, so some plot holders use nasturtiums as a decoy to lure the pest away from high-priority crops.

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