Many allotmenteers spend time clearing their newly acquired plot of weeds, namely:
- the "rooties" - the perennials - bindweed, brambles, couch grass, nettles and the like;
- the "big seedies" - the perennials - thistle, dandilion, and the like;
- the "little seedies" - the annuals - chickweed and the like.
After the first clearance the process is repeated until all the weeds are eliminated. That is the theory! I have read that there are buried in gardens and allotments seven years of weed abundance. In fact seeds, etc may exist underground for centuries and reappear upon the turning of soil after that time...?
Although a nuisance, the above mentioned weeds are relatively innocuous: beware of the "obnoxious weeds". They are a class of weeds which come under statutory controls. This post touches upon some of the obnoxious weeds and the reasons for the special controls pertaining to them.
Hogweed: An invasive river bank loving weed which blots out other vegetation.
Japanese Knotweed: A Victorian introduction as an elegant architectural plant, the Japanese knotweed escaped from gardens and now invests the many odd places it has reached, eg railway embankments.
Ragwort: A countryside weed which gets onto allotments, this plant can be fatal to horses if it is cut, dried and taken into the hay stock!
Although the buddleja and contoneaster are probably not statutory weeds and are not invading allotments, the link shows the importance of preventing invasiveness and the need to control it when it exists!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-16475562
I spent part of a morning a few months' ago tidying the grass "baulks" or "balks" around my allotment. They are the narrow strips of path between adjoining allotments which need to be kept tidy and free from stones and weeds.
If pebbles or stones are left on the surface any mowing operation is fraught with danger! Damaged mower blades are the Committee's main concern but mine is a fast moving stone at hip height or lower! Having suffered one blow on the thigh I was tempted to dig out my cricket box but now spend a few minutes in lifting any stray or dislodged stones.
Weeds and long grasses are another problem. Many years' ago I was on the South Downs (before it became a National Park) when the group's botanist guide indicated a square metre and announced there were about 400 plants therein. My allotment's balks seem to have 'millions' of grasses and weeds of the flowering type. In a never ending saga of year-long weed control today's task was to gather as many as possible - seed heads, dying flowers... whole plants.
As a child I have fond memories of family blackberry 'hunts'. Now I grow my own or try to do so. This year the crop is promising. The original rows were raised from a hedgerow infestation several years ago. They need attention but I have four relatively neat rows.
From the field next door the cousins are still trying to join their relatives on my plot. They send tendrils from the hedegrow which is another scratchy danger. Also, they attempt Colditz-like escapes by coming under the balk and popping up in the allotment - but not in neat rows.
A few weeks ago one of the baulks became "humped" with an ants' nest. Having removed it, it was soon colonised with weeds but now (12/2011) must be the time to remove them. The hump was noticed long before it was removed but when one of my infrequent mowing of the baulk took place the mower almost became airborne - hence the subsequent removal. Will the ants return?
