Well I had hoped that it would rot down, when the digger made a heap of it,
but now it's just a huge amount of couch grass growing again in a 3 ft high
heapsigh
I guess growing courgettes in it are out of the plan now.
Tina

In article ,
Christina Websell wrote:
Well I had hoped that it would rot down, when the digger made a heap of it,
but now it's just a huge amount of couch grass growing again in a 3 ft high
heapsigh
I guess growing courgettes in it are out of the plan now.

Not entirely. Spray it with dilute glyphosate (use the low end of
the recommendations), wait a week, and then plant them. Couch is
very sensitive to glyphosate.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 10/05/2012 08:29, wrote:
In ,
Christina wrote:
Well I had hoped that it would rot down, when the digger made a heap of it,
but now it's just a huge amount of couch grass growing again in a 3 ft high
heapsigh
I guess growing courgettes in it are out of the plan now.

Not entirely. Spray it with dilute glyphosate (use the low end of
the recommendations), wait a week, and then plant them. Couch is
very sensitive to glyphosate.

I agree. Grass is exquisitely sensitive to glyphosate and this is by far
the simplest and most environmentally friendly way to quickly stop it
from regrowing. But it is against some people's religion.

The organic(TM) alternative would be to cover it with black plastic or
carpet. This is only organic after a fashion - plasticisers will leach
out from it into the ground but they are apparently not "chemicals".

It will take ages to expire this way. A hot compost heap will kill it
but I tend to throw any couch grass into the adjacent field instead.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

Christina Websell wrote:
Well I had hoped that it would rot down, when the digger made a heap of it,
but now it's just a huge amount of couch grass growing again in a 3 ft high
heapsigh
I guess growing courgettes in it are out of the plan now.

Not necessarily. courgettes are very hard to kill, I wouldn't have
thought the couch grass would do them much harm. They may even shade
it over enough to kill it off a bit

wrote in :

In article ,
Christina Websell wrote:
Well I had hoped that it would rot down, when the digger made a heap
of it, but now it's just a huge amount of couch grass growing again in
a 3 ft high heapsigh
I guess growing courgettes in it are out of the plan now.

Not entirely. Spray it with dilute glyphosate (use the low end of
the recommendations), wait a week, and then plant them. Couch is
very sensitive to glyphosate.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Too much expense and effort IMO.
Get some old carpet and cover your intended couurgette bit of the heap and
make a few 7.5cm (3-4") holes using a stanley knife or similar at the
distance apart you need. Then plant them. Of course you can never get old
bits of carpet whan you need them! But that WILL do the job.
Nuke the rest with Glyphosate or, even better, cover with heavy black
polythene until next year when hopefully no weed is present. Seed?
Give it a go for parts and see.

Oh, and as a precaution slug treatment could be used, though I have never
needed it, I hear slugs can be a bloody nuisance.

Good luck.
Baz

"Baz" wrote in message
.. .
wrote in :

In article ,
Christina Websell wrote:
Well I had hoped that it would rot down, when the digger made a heap
of it, but now it's just a huge amount of couch grass growing again in
a 3 ft high heapsigh
I guess growing courgettes in it are out of the plan now.

Not entirely. Spray it with dilute glyphosate (use the low end of
the recommendations), wait a week, and then plant them. Couch is
very sensitive to glyphosate.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Too much expense and effort IMO.
Get some old carpet and cover your intended couurgette bit of the heap and
make a few 7.5cm (3-4") holes using a stanley knife or similar at the
distance apart you need. Then plant them. Of course you can never get old
bits of carpet whan you need them! But that WILL do the job.
Nuke the rest with Glyphosate or, even better, cover with heavy black
polythene until next year when hopefully no weed is present. Seed?
Give it a go for parts and see.

Oh, and as a precaution slug treatment could be used, though I have never
needed it, I hear slugs can be a bloody nuisance.

Good luck.
Baz

I might go the carpet route. There is a carpet company not far from my
allotment, I am sure when they fit new carpets they take the old ones away
and would have to pay to dump them.

It's a long heap so I could help them out with a few carpets, if I asked
nicely they might even deliver them (she says hopefully..)

Tina

wrote in message
...
Christina Websell wrote:
Well I had hoped that it would rot down, when the digger made a heap of
it,
but now it's just a huge amount of couch grass growing again in a 3 ft
high
heapsigh
I guess growing courgettes in it are out of the plan now.

Not necessarily. courgettes are very hard to kill, I wouldn't have
thought the couch grass would do them much harm. They may even shade
it over enough to kill it off a bit

I'd sort of hoped it would turn into a gigantic compost heap but
realistically, it's been too cold and wet.
I have no experience with courgettes. I tried them once (not where I am
planning to have them now) and the slugs got them.
So, if I inserted a bit of chicken manure into the bottom of the hole that I
plant them in (having started them at my house) do you think they would do
OK?
The main veggie beds show no sign of slugs or snails as there is a huge
expanse of bare soil around them so nowhere to hide.
It would be a brave slug or snail that attempted the journey to my lettuces
(famous last words)

Christina Websell wrote:
I have no experience with courgettes. I tried them once (not where I am
planning to have them now) and the slugs got them.

My first ever attempt when I lived in Newcastle was a failure, which was a bit
disappointing after reading everyone's accounts of having more courgettes than
they could ever possibly eat.

So, if I inserted a bit of chicken manure into the bottom of the hole that I
plant them in (having started them at my house) do you think they would do
OK?

I am about 90% certain you will do fine. Given the weather, you want to make
sure you have them big enough that they'll handle a bit of cold and a few
snails, though. I've lost mine in the past to snails nipping off the growing
end before they were big enough to survive that. Although if you /do/ get a
partial or full break, you can sometimes rescue by burying the nibbled or
broken bit and it re-roots. Not a guarantee, though.

Mine are currently in the greenhouse getting bigger before I am going to even
consider putting them out. I think next bank holiday is going to be the day
for sweetcorn, courgette, butternut and maybe sweet potatoes going out.

Oh, btw - what variety are you going with? If you want a near-guaranteed
success, get Green Bush. The others all sound so much more exciting, but I
have found that they are very hit and miss, but the green bush ones will just
keep going until first frost. Cut them small and they will just keep coming.
(watch out for accidentally missing one and it grows into a giant, which
will slow down production of new ones)

The main veggie beds show no sign of slugs or snails as there is a huge
expanse of bare soil around them so nowhere to hide.
It would be a brave slug or snail that attempted the journey to my lettuces
(famous last words)

*says nothing*

On 10/05/2012 22:18, Christina Websell wrote:
wrote in message
...
Christina wrote:
Well I had hoped that it would rot down, when the digger made a heap of
it,
but now it's just a huge amount of couch grass growing again in a 3 ft
high
heapsigh
I guess growing courgettes in it are out of the plan now.

Not necessarily. courgettes are very hard to kill, I wouldn't have
thought the couch grass would do them much harm. They may even shade
it over enough to kill it off a bit

I'd sort of hoped it would turn into a gigantic compost heap but
realistically, it's been too cold and wet.
I have no experience with courgettes. I tried them once (not where I am
planning to have them now) and the slugs got them.

When you transplant them they invariably suffer a bit of damage and the
smell attracts slugs and snails like displaying a large neon "Eat-Me"
sign. You pretty much have to put some slug pellets down as well or a
ring of copper or diatomaceous earth if you refuse to use chemicals at
all (the latter dust is incidentally *very* bad to breathe).

So, if I inserted a bit of chicken manure into the bottom of the hole that I
plant them in (having started them at my house) do you think they would do
OK?

Just make sure there is a layer of soil between the plants roots and the
chicken manure to avoid burning them.

The main veggie beds show no sign of slugs or snails as there is a huge
expanse of bare soil around them so nowhere to hide.
It would be a brave slug or snail that attempted the journey to my lettuces
(famous last words)

If not slugs then it will be caterpillars. I failed to pay attention and
lost an entire line of brassicas essentially overnight. They were
reduced to skeletal forms and huge numbers of big fat caterpillars!

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

In article ,
says...

If you want a near-guaranteed
success, get Green Bush. The others all sound so much more exciting, but I
have found that they are very hit and miss, but the green bush ones will just
keep going until first frost.

I agree. Yellow ones are particularly mean with their fruit.


Cut them small and they will just keep coming.
(watch out for accidentally missing one and it grows into a giant, which
will slow down production of new ones)

Have you done that thing with your boys, let them scratch their name
with a nail on a small one, then watch it grow into a huge personalised
marrow?

The main veggie beds show no sign of slugs or snails as there is a huge
expanse of bare soil around them so nowhere to hide.
It would be a brave slug or snail that attempted the journey to my lettuces
(famous last words)

*says nothing*

They are just forming up into legions before they set out on the route
march. Like antelopes travelling in huge herds across the plains, so that
most of them escape the lion attacks.

Janet.

In article ,
says...

On 10/05/2012 22:18, Christina Websell wrote:
wrote in message
...
Christina wrote:
Well I had hoped that it would rot down, when the digger made a heap of
it,
but now it's just a huge amount of couch grass growing again in a 3 ft
high
heapsigh
I guess growing courgettes in it are out of the plan now.

Not necessarily. courgettes are very hard to kill, I wouldn't have
thought the couch grass would do them much harm. They may even shade
it over enough to kill it off a bit

I'd sort of hoped it would turn into a gigantic compost heap but
realistically, it's been too cold and wet.
I have no experience with courgettes. I tried them once (not where I am
planning to have them now) and the slugs got them.

When you transplant them they invariably suffer a bit of damage and the
smell attracts slugs and snails like displaying a large neon "Eat-Me"
sign. You pretty much have to put some slug pellets down as well or a
ring of copper or diatomaceous earth if you refuse to use chemicals at
all (the latter dust is incidentally *very* bad to breathe).

A wide barrier-ring of dry woodash works well, slugs and snails hate
crawling across it even when it's wet. Or, old dry dead bracken, mashed up
a bit.

Janet

In article ,
Janet wrote:

When you transplant them they invariably suffer a bit of damage and the
smell attracts slugs and snails like displaying a large neon "Eat-Me"
sign. You pretty much have to put some slug pellets down as well or a
ring of copper or diatomaceous earth if you refuse to use chemicals at
all (the latter dust is incidentally *very* bad to breathe).

A wide barrier-ring of dry woodash works well, slugs and snails hate
crawling across it even when it's wet. Or, old dry dead bracken, mashed up
a bit.

My slugs and snails are less wimpish. I just have to hope for dry
weather, when they estivate.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 11/05/2012 12:17, wrote:
In ,
wrote:

When you transplant them they invariably suffer a bit of damage and the
smell attracts slugs and snails like displaying a large neon "Eat-Me"
sign. You pretty much have to put some slug pellets down as well or a
ring of copper or diatomaceous earth if you refuse to use chemicals at
all (the latter dust is incidentally *very* bad to breathe).

A wide barrier-ring of dry woodash works well, slugs and snails hate
crawling across it even when it's wet. Or, old dry dead bracken, mashed up
a bit.

My slugs and snails are less wimpish. I just have to hope for dry
weather, when they estivate.

Mine are taking swimming lessons as we speak

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

Janet wrote:
success, get Green Bush. The others all sound so much more exciting, but I
have found that they are very hit and miss, but the green bush ones will just
keep going until first frost.
I agree. Yellow ones are particularly mean with their fruit.

Not just the yellow ones - the yellow bush ones were so-so. But the bush
variety vs the sprawling variety makes a huge difference in reliability,
IME. I think last year we actually had 3 varieties make it to reliable
cropping - green bush, nero di milano and, umm, something else. Black
beauty perhaps? But the year before the /only/ ones that cropped were
the green and yellow bush. The year before that the snails got all the
yellow bush ones before they got to fruiting, I think.

Have you done that thing with your boys, let them scratch their name
with a nail on a small one, then watch it grow into a huge personalised
marrow?

I haven't, I'll add it to the list. I'm not sure I have enough courgette
plants to add one to their patch, but I have a lot of patty pan plants
going spare (unless I sell them off at the school tabletop sale on Sunday!)
so it should probably work the same with them.

The main veggie beds show no sign of slugs or snails as there is a huge
expanse of bare soil around them so nowhere to hide.
It would be a brave slug or snail that attempted the journey to my lettuces
(famous last words)
*says nothing*
They are just forming up into legions before they set out on the route
march. Like antelopes travelling in huge herds across the plains, so that
most of them escape the lion attacks.

I now have mental images of snails strapping on antelope costumes and lining
up ready for the long haul ...


--

Martin Brown wrote:
When you transplant them they invariably suffer a bit of damage and the
smell attracts slugs and snails like displaying a large neon "Eat-Me"
sign.

I never thought of that. That may explain my annual courgette-disasters.

You pretty much have to put some slug pellets down as well or a
ring of copper or diatomaceous earth if you refuse to use chemicals at
all (the latter dust is incidentally *very* bad to breathe).

Really? I'm suprised I'm not dead. I think that's what we use on the
chickens for red mite. (We == Nick, but then it's me gets a face full of
it next time I go to collect eggs. Mind you, it's better htan the Neem
oil, which just makes me want to vomit the second I smell it)

If not slugs then it will be caterpillars. I failed to pay attention and
lost an entire line of brassicas essentially overnight. They were
reduced to skeletal forms and huge numbers of big fat caterpillars!

Oh, that was /so/ upsetting the first time I saw that happen! And yet the
plants actually fleshed back up and made a reasonable recovery (at least
until the pigeons arrived. Probably to eat the fat caterpillars)