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what to plant?


Patf
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We've just got our new (very small) veg. patch ready. I've planted some white onions, and broad beans. Is there anything else that can be planted now? I saw some lettuces in Pointvert today but think they're for putting under cover. We are in the South West.
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Grass - of any kind - is the last thing I want. Just spent hours getting rid of the stuff. OK so it's too late and too cold for anything else. Maybe I'll plant some pansies. Just so glad to have a garden again after so long without one.
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[quote user="woolybanana"]grass?[/quote]

I grassed over my veg patch after a very disheartening year.  The only thing that grew well were the weeds.  I'd spent the best part of 5 years improving the soil and really getting it organised.  I've kept the raspberries, cassis bushes and rhubarb but everything else (about 25m sq) is now lawn again.  The chickens enjoy eating the grass though and have made a nice dust bath too.  I'll do some veg next year in some large pots that I have. 

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It's amazing how quickly you forget things like weed invasions. It's only 2 years since I was asking for advice on stifling weeds in our last potager and here I am starting again. It looks pristine at the moment but next spring...... I will see if I can find some cabbage plants, and try the lettuce too. Another improvement is that we have our poultry enclosed at the moment. When they are allowed out they love to scrat round the young plants.
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Talking of weed invasions, I did a silly thing a couple of years ago. We have a compost system and one was ready for use having reverted to a wonderful soil-like texture. I spread it all over my veg patch. Within a couple of weeks the whole ground was covered in those tall weeds with hanging red tails (coeur de rat) our neighbour called them. We had previously thrown them into the composter where they had rotted down, apart from the seeds, which then enjoyed a new lease of life..[:'(]

Moral, burn the damm things.

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The only things I put in my two compost bins are kitchen waste (with no seeds of any sort), grass clippings, chicken coop waste and leaves.  I have an unlimited free supply of horse manure: last year I had put loads and loads of 'black gold' very well rotted manure all over my veg beds.  Although the soil was improved greatly the resulting weeds were a nightmare.  Never again unless it's bought sterlised stuff.

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weeds that grow from seeds are easy to hoe out. Just run up & down the rows of veg at least once a week - I swear by a "push-me-pull-you" hoe - so easy to use!

The difficult ones are the convolvulous, etc, with roots 2' down that just pop up everywhere... those need chemical warfare IMHO!
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[quote user="hoverfrog"]weeds that grow from seeds are easy to hoe out. Just run up & down the rows of veg at least once a week - I swear by a "push-me-pull-you" hoe - so easy to use!

The difficult ones are the convolvulous, etc, with roots 2' down that just pop up everywhere... those need chemical warfare IMHO![/quote]

the worst thing about convolvulous is that only a small amount of it's root needs to survive to start it off again so it's quite easy to make several plants from one just by hoeing or digging - and I agree with hoverfrog that chemical warfare is the way to go with this one.

one good way to reduce the growth of weeds is to use straw as a mulch if you have any, grass cuttings will do also so long as it's laid thickly enough - in fact anything that stops the light getting to those damn weed seeds :)

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Straw mulch does work especially if you put it on early in the year before the weeds start to get going. I found in this weeks Rustica that December is a good time to plant a vine. If the ground isn't frozen solid because you need to dig a 50cm hole.
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Liselois, you don't need to buy sterilised soil.

Many moons ago as a small child my grandad had a smallholding/garden that he used to grow all manner of veggies on, all started from seed.

He used an old water tank raised on three sides by about five courses of bricks under which he built a fire, then he shovelled in garden soil and stood back waiting as he picked out the worms and good guys that came to the surface in the heat.  Next day after the soil had cooled he had tip-top planting medium that was completely weed-free and cost him nothing because he used the fire to burn the weeds and stuff he had pulled out.   Sometimes the Old Ways are better and certainly a lot cheaper than buying the stuff from the garden centre.

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