Rain and Weeds

Oh dear! It continues to be cold and wet and miserable - just 2 reasonably pleasant days and we were all up at the allotment beavering away with seed sowing and planting out and generally tidying up some pretty neglected plots. But everything is now so late, and we need warmth to bring things on. I only hope that autumn comes late and mild or many vegetables will not have a long enough growing season to reach maturity.
I continue to hear plotters crying that they cannot keep on top of their weeds. Do you know why? Take a look at this!

The plot looks well tended - but a moment or two getting rid of those dandelions before they seed would pay dividends in less weeds next year!! It's all a question of priorities!

Below is the photo from another plot. Again the other half of that plot is well tended, dug and raked and sowed - but why not pull out those big weeds at the same time? Why allow them to flower?

It all gets very frustrating for those of us who keep a weed free plot!!!!

Here is my plot. It's a busy plot - I like to think of it as a cottage garden allotment - there's always something on the go ready for the kitchen, and things get put where there's space, whilst still trying to avoid the same crop in the same place within a 3 year cycle. But weeds I do not have!

I've just sown rows of radish, lettuce and spring onion directly into the soil. All the seeds I sowed in modules in the cold greenhouse before I went way for a few days last week are all now well and truly up, and growing. Soon I shall be able to transplant beetroot, parsnips, onions, celeriac and many different types of brassica onto the allotment. I've also just sown all my cucurbits - courgettes, butternut squash, cucumbers etc, along with the beans - runner and french - so I don't intend to go hungry this year to come. If only we could have some more warm sunshine.