Asparagus spears are starting to appear but so are the weeds, writes Jamie Marsh in his latest allotment column…
If it’s warm enough for weeds to grow, it’s warm enough for most other plants as well. You can really see it now. The beds that looked fairly quiet not that long ago are starting to fill up, and not always with what you want.
Tiny weed seedlings popping up all over the place and, although they’re a bit of a nuisance, they’re also a good sign that the soil is warming up and ready to get going. I mentioned last week that I’d added a fresh layer of compost to most of the beds, and you can really see the benefit of that now.
If it’s warm enough for weeds to grow, it’s warm enough for most other plants
It cuts the light to the seedlings, so most of the weeds will die, or at least take a while to come back. The couple of beds I didn’t get chance to cover with compost last week are already starting to show a flush of tiny seedlings. A bit of a nuisance, but again, a sign the soil is warming up nicely.
That said, this is the time to catch them early. A quick run over with the hoe while they’re still small is far easier than leaving them to get established. Five minutes now saves a lot more work later on.
Now’s a good time to plant your seed potatoes and, as always, I do it slightly differently to the traditional way. Traditionally, potatoes are planted in trenches, spaced out in rows and then earthed up as they grow. It works well and plenty of people still do it that way.
Tiny weed seedlings are popping up all over
I don’t dig trenches anymore. Instead, I just make a hole about four to six inches deep, drop the seed potato in, and cover it back over. If you’ve chitted your potatoes, make sure the shoots are pointing upwards, then leave them to it.
In a few weeks, once they’re up and growing, I’ll start earthing them up as normal. It feels almost too simple at times, especially when you think about how much effort used to go into digging trenches and turning soil over. The main reason I do ‘no dig’ is to minimise soil disturbance as much as I can.
You may remember a few weeks ago I planted a new asparagus bed, something I’ve been meaning to do for years. I had to dig trenches across the bed to get the crowns in properly. It all looked really smart at the time, neat straight rows, freshly turned soil and a layer of compost on top.
Fast forward several weeks, and that same bed is now full of life, and not the sort you want. Couch grass popping up all over the place, thistles, and all sorts of weeds I didn’t even know were there. That’s what happens when you dig.
Now is a good time to plant your seed potatoes
All those weed seeds that have been sitting quietly in the soil get brought up to the surface, given a bit of light and warmth, and off they go. And with something like couch grass, every little bit you break up just turns into another plant.
Compare that to the beds I haven’t touched, and the difference is night and day. The asparagus bed is full of weeds, while the rest of the garden, where I’ve left the soil alone, is relatively calm and easy to manage.
On a more positive note, amongst all that in the asparagus bed, I’ve spotted quite a few spears starting to push through. It’s a good sign that they’ve settled in. I’ll leave most of them alone this year and let the plants build up some strength.
It’s just another reminder that the less I disturb the soil, the better things seem to work. Let the soil get on with its job, and it usually pays you back for it.
If you’ve got any questions or just fancy letting me know what you’ve been getting up to in your garden, drop me an email at: jamieslittleallotment@gmail.com.
Comments are closed.