There is nothing quite like the allotment on a chilly November morning. The air is sharp, the soil is damp, and there is a real sense of urgency to get the plot tucked in before winter truly takes hold. This week’s visit was all about preparing for the future, securing the final summer rewards, and celebrating a major maintenance victory.
Here is what has been happening down on the plot.
The Great November Weed-A-Thon (and Getting Garlic In!)
First on the agenda was tackling the stubborn autumn weeds. It’s easy to let things slide as the weather cools, but I needed a clean, clear bed to get my garlic planted this month.
Garlic needs that winter chill to split into cloves, but it absolutely hates competing with fast-growing weeds for nutrients and light. After an hour of therapeutic hand-weeding and clearing out the last of the debris, the bed was perfectly prepped, raked, and ready. I managed to get the cloves spaced out and tucked into their winter home. Now, we let nature do the rest!
My attention then turned to rescuing my poor leeks, which were being strangled by bindweed and other pesky weeds (some as big as cabbages!).
It didn’t take long to whip this bed into shape.
Rescuing the Pumpkin Harvest
Next up was a bittersweet job: bringing in the pumpkins. They had been sitting proudly on the plot, but with the first frosts around the corner, it was time to get them under cover.
A hard frost can damage the skin of the pumpkins, causing them to rot rapidly instead of storing well. I clipped them from the vines, leaving a good few inches of stalk attached to the ones I plan to store (though a few will be used up pretty much straight away), and brought them all home.
Why I Finally Ditched Woodchip for Grass Paths
Just before the first heatwave hit, I managed to complete a major project: clearing away the old woodchips, ripping up the weed membrane, and sowing the bare paths with grass seed. I know it wasn’t the ideal time to plant grass seed, but luckily, it rained for a good while before the heat arrived, and the seed germinated at record speed. I watered the paths a few evenings a week during the hot spells, but they eventually went brown. I assumed the grass had succumbed to the drought – most lawns looked awful this year, though an established lawn usually bounces back perfectly fine once normal weather returns. Surprisingly, the grass has regrown. It is a bit patchy, but I think it looks great considering the circumstances.
While woodchip looks lovely and neat when it first goes down, it became an absolute headache for a couple of reasons:
- The Supply Nightmare: Finding a reliable stream of woodchip has become incredibly difficult lately.
- Never-Ending Weeding: Woodchip is temporary. It constantly rots down into beautiful, rich organic matter – which is great, until you realise you’re basically creating a perfect seedbed for weeds right where you walk. Keeping the paths weed-free was becoming a never-ending chore.
Switching to grass paths has been a complete game-changer. Now, instead of spending hours on my knees pulling weeds out of rotting bark, maintenance is as simple as a quick whizz round with the strimmer. The lush green look really lifts the plot and will look even better in winter when everything else turns brown and bare. It feels much cooler underfoot in the summer and is far kinder to my knees when I’m tending to the beds. Oh, and my back is much happier too!
