mess mess and not so more mess...

Wow, so to keep with being completely honest with you guys, this month the kids went back to school, I was overjoyed as I knew I would now finally have free time to get all the jobs that needed doing done. I had grand plans of finishing the internal layout of the polytunnel off and clearing all the external beds ready to cover and leave over winter.

Turns out that was very short lived, the kids brought every known germ on planet earth home with them within the first week of going back. It's been a month of Calpol, paracetamol and lots of hot and cold sweets. I know I am not the only one going through this and I am guessing there are lots of you guys out there with lists as long as your arm that need to get done before winter.

So as it's that time of year when many of us turn over and cover up for winter, my plan for the blog this month is to talk about management, mainly of weeds and the mess. As 80% of our plot isn't under cover, it's a constant battle as you know to try and keep the allotment looking nice. The worse thing I have found with this situation is the worse it looks the less motivated I am about going there. It really is a slippery slope to get into and I find myself less and less motivated about heading down there. In some ways I feel gutted after putting in all the hard work during the winter months.

Thank god for the polytunnel, it has been my saving grace. No matter how long I have left it between visits, when I open that door I have been greeted with an amazing space. I know it's down to the fact I used a weed membrane and built raised beds but it really does help cheer you up. I think having the tunnel has shown me that I may need to look at rebuilding my whole plot and putting down a weed membrane over the whole site, then rebuild the raised beds. But that's for another day…..

So the tunnel, I am not saying it has never been a mess nor am I saying weeds haven't appeared from time to time, but because the weeds and the mess don't get out of hand it is far more controllable and feels a lot more manageable. By mess not only do I mean mess I make with cuttings etc, I mean things like grass growing everywhere you don't want it to.

Both the weeds and the mess are down to us, we cause them, but with the tunnel and the set up we went for, it is just an amazing way to manage it all. If we didn't go for a weed membrane and raised beds and we just used soil we have, I can imagine it would have been as out of control as the outside, maybe even worse with the heat in the tunnel. One of the reasons we have always wanted a polytunnel was for control and management of our growing space, with a young family and work we can't always put in the hours that are needed to stay on top of it all and we knew this would be a massive help.

What I will say about the system we went for, if I was to start again I would double skin the membrane as the horse tail is still managing to push its way through. We also have some nettles peeping though from the sides and again that's my fault, where I cut the membrane to go around the poles I should have taped them up and not left a little gap around them. The weeds always find their way....

My next steps for us now will be to sit down this weekend and plan our winter growing. More than ever this year's winter crop could be a massive help to us and close family, if you watch or read the news you will have all heard about the food shortages that may be coming.

If, like us, your time isn't always spent on your plot but you want a system that is manageable, go for a polytunnel. Not only do they provide heat and protection, if you plan it right you can cut out mess and weeds all together. I create a space that you can escape in, close the door behind you and just relax….

Like always, if you want to follow our journey check out our instagram @allotment102