Rain at Last! Preparing My Allotment for a Winter Cover Crop

Comments · 64

• PJ

  @pjn7136 · 2 days ago

  Here was my comment three months ago when you planted the corn<br><br>“Please don’t get disappointed if you don’t harvest much corn, or that what do harvest isn’t full of kernels. Corn is wind pollinated, with each kernel on a cob corresponding to a silk that sticks out the end of the ear. Therefore you usually see corn planted in large quantities and in blocks, to maximize the potential of the wind blowing the pollen onto the silk.”

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• EM

  @emmamiller-n5j · 3 days ago

  Try chopping compost material smaller and mix it all together. It will break down faster. Also, make sure it&apos;s nice and damp.

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• HU

  @humanwritescode · 2 days ago (edited)

  When you get some successful corn growing, you&apos;ll see that the nodal root mass looks almost exactly like the roots on the ones you pulled out. The issue is corn sends very fine roots (almost too small to see) much deeper, and they were never going to get past that cardboard barrier, even if the soil below it was perfect. It just means that they needed a lot more consistent watering (because the top 2 inches of soil dries out completely in about 48 hours) and a lot more top dressing of fertiliser, because they weren&apos;t able to pull nutrients or stored soil water from deeper.

• DI

  @divine0swine · 2 days ago

  Good on you that’s so much work you’re doing. I was listening to a podcast with a guy called Michael Kennard. He is all about improving the soil. He runs Compost club but he creates like an organic innoculate to bring back the life of the soil. I’ve started bokashi composting because of him. I would really recommend taking a look as I think it would give you some ideas for your soil 😊

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• KE

  @kennethstensrud669 · 2 days ago

  In order to break up clayi soil, plant lupins, they are marvellous to break up clayi. I have done it in my garden, and i have a nice and crumbly soil.

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• UN

  @UnaOMalley · 3 days ago

  I collect all the stones off my plot. They have been useful in the base of plant pots so far. Next week I will be making a little base for my fire bin. Eventually I might have enough to fill a gabion as a feature.

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• RO

  @rosehawke2577 · 3 days ago

  Corn is wind pollinated, what you&apos;re seeing there is poorly pollinated corn I believe. It&apos;s no good planting a couple of plants, you probably need at least a small block of say, 3x3 or 4x4, corn plants.

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• CA

  @carolfisch9750 · 3 days ago

  I wish you could rent an industrial roto tiller that could dig down at least 5 or more inches into that hard compressed ground. Then you could remove the weeds that it digs up, then cover with cardboard and manure/compost/wood chips and let that sit all winter. &nbsp;Sigh.

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• GA

  @gardentours · 3 days ago

  The allotment will be happy about the rain ☔️ 🌧️

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• HE

  @hettispaghetti6061 · 3 days ago

  There’s people in the comments suggesting rotavating but that’s an awful idea if you have any perennial weeds like bindweed or horsetail. Loads of people wreck their ground doing it. Using a regular garden fork or (better) a broad fork allows you to aerate the soil without rotavating. Just stick it in, wiggle to make deep holes, remove from the soil, then repeat. Then rake and sow your green manures on top (a mix of different ones is usually better than a monocrop for coverage).

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• PE

  @PerlioInRaeford · 3 days ago

  Dude your arms look huge! Keep it up.

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• BE

  @bert_jansen · 3 days ago

  you need a little shredder for your compost material they are not really expensive i have one from parkside and it does the job pretty good!

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