I want to get all my paths covered with woodchips and to that end I was up early on Saturday morning to get to the tree surgeons and fill 2 ton bags with the free chippings. I'll be having a few early Saturday mornings until I've managed to sort out the chippings for all the paths, which I want to do in the next couple of weeks.
My lovely neighbour dropped off some of her spare chippings which she put in front of my shed for me. Those chippings are a different colour to the ones that I collected myself which I think is again going to differentiate the little area in front of my shed as different to the rest of the plot, If it really looks bad I can just mix them all up of course but I am expecting it to look cool.
I've entered my plot into the allotment competition - eek!! I have entered my fairy container garden in the container category and I've entered the plot in the best plot category. I don't think I've any chance of winning the best plot but you never know; I am hopeful on the container one though because it really is lovely (even if I do say so myself!)
The other free thing I discovered this weekend was spent hops from my local brewery. The brewery want to try and avoid sending the hops to landfill and I am super keen to use free resources. I did a little bit of research and found...
Spent hops are regarded mainly as humus suppliers and are used in the preparation of ground for planting and also for mulching established plants. The best results are obtained when they are incorporated thoroughly with the top 15cm (6in) of soil at the rate of 5kg (101b) per square meter (yard) during the winter. For mulching purposes spent hops are very effective in keeping down weeds and retaining soil moisture in shrub borders and soft fruit plots, provided the ground is covered really thickly. If you apply a layer 10-15cm (4-6in) thick it will last for two years before rotting noticeably. The material gives off an objectionable odour after application but this usually disappears after 2-3 weeks. Although spent hops are slightly more acid than most soils they are used with great success for practically all trees and shrubs except for some of the outstanding lime-requiring plants.
As you already know I have such a problem with weeds in my fruit bed and I have used the hops I collected as a mulch on that bed to try and surpress the weeds. It is my intention to go back at the end of this week and get another batch to put a thicker layer onto the bed which will then hopefully give the appropriate thickness to keep those weeds down. I don't expect it to work on the bindweed but I'll keep my fingers crossed. The only other consideration to give on using spent hops is whether it will attract the slugs. We know that beer traps are really effective and so it should be expected that they will be attracted to the hops (which 3 days later have still left a beer smell in my car!)
I have said before that I use Richard Jacksons slug and snail control pellets. I know some people are really against any types of slug pellets and are very cynical about anything that retailers say but these pellets are certified as organic and pose no threat to pets, birds, hedgehogs, worms, bees and other useful insects.
One of the main things to remember when using pellets is not to use too much. The pellets should be scatter, not put into a pile - I used 3 small handfuls on a 6'x13' bed and you really don't need more than that. Also with these pellets you have to remember that if they're disappearing that's because the slugs and snails are eating them. I tend to apply them at the weekend and then mid-week. I've put them on the spent hops and I've put them on the brassica bed where I have the veggiemesh and the frogs can't get in.
I actually left the plot at around 5pm on Sunday because I had done all of the jobs I'd wanted to do for the weekend. That is the first time that's happened since I got my plot and it's very exciting. Mr L keeps asking me what I'm going to do when all the jobs are done, I'm actually looking forward to being able to pop up to the plot, do a bit of weeding and watering and relax by the side of my pond. It's also getting close to harvest time - the potatoes are flowering and the onion are really coming on.
Until next week then, happy gardening x
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