Fresh as a Daisy: Weeds, glorious weeds

First post of 2011! Actually, first post for about 6 months which is pretty reflective of how much time has been spent at the allotment since the big clearing last autumn. Long story short: coldest winter in 30 years, ridiculous amounts of snow and sub zero temperatures, major building work at home and major building-related stress and upheaval. So this weekend is really the first weekend that we have had time to actually get back to the plot.

Right: Weeds Left: Weeded!

The garlic and onions hastily shoved in very heavy clay soil last winter have actually survived and are growing nicely, albeit under a matted carpet of weeds. Above is a before/after shot of weeded ground on the left and as we found it at the start of the weekend. The ground is incredibly dry too as you can see from the cracks.

By the end of this weekend though we have managed to weed the whole onion/garlic bed and weed between the green manure which had grown to over 5ft tall. We've now chopped down the green manure which should start to rot down and will be dug in to help feed and break up the soil. This should then give us space for broad beans and climbing beans. Next weekend, with the help of big bro Nick we'll also be digging areas for some brassicas and some very, very late potatoes.