It's binding, I'm afraid...

..bind-weed, that is.

The whole damned plot is riddled with it. On a glorious day yesterday, I spent a couple of hours clearing stuff. Bind weed, grasses, dandelions the size of cabbages... It's got it all. Underneath this stuff I found lots of veg.

Garlic

Red onions, in droves

Leeks

All completely useless of course, but interesting to see how the plot had been planted, nonetheless. I learned that the phrase 'gone to seed' is a real life phrase, to describe veg that have been in the ground way too long and are now way past their harvest date - and are putting out seed. Well I never..... it does raise the interesting question of knowing when to harvest your crops? I'm sure that dilemma will present itself to me next year....

 So I filled a brown sulo bin with weed, but have really only cleared about half of it so far. Feeling pleased with myself that I'd got a good bit done, but also even more aware that I haven't got the faintest idea what I'm doing, I showed the plot to my friend, a chap who has many, many years experience.

With the first look on his face being something akin to the face you'd pull if someone dropped a really smelly one in a lift, I knew that change was afoot. He was...intrigued...by the fencing and boards bordering each section of the plot, and also faintly appalled at the shanty shack at the top corner of the plot.

"That's gotta go. In fact why is that fence even there? These boards are pointless. and why has the previous owner put a fence around the plot? What's the point, it just makes accessing the crops more difficult?"

I have to say, when presented with those questions, I found it hard to reason it out. Looking over at other plots, and seeing their neatly lined rows of veg, with pathways between each, I was somewhat puzzled myself.

"That...structure. That's gotta go"

I found myself tormented by this. As shockingly bodgey-looking as it was, it was solid, and could withstand strong downpour, giving me some shelter.

But looking at it reasonably, it's a real piece of shit. Quite why the previous tenant saw fit to encase one end with blue mesh, I'm not sure. There are gooseberry bushes in there, groaning with heavily laden branches full of fruit. Fruit that I'll never eat, I should add. That and more damned bindweed... along with the mysterious chest, which could contain bullion, pirate treasure, severed limbs or frozen lamb joints.

However, gooseberry grows in full sunlight, so that'll remain a mystery that they will take with them. Its only redeeming feature is that it provides immediate relief from blazing sun/rain. But that's a push and it does take up a decent chunk of the plot.

I soon came to realise from Dave's grave tone that the plot, as it currently exists, will soon be referred to in the past tense. It will be an ex-plot. It will cease to be. The whole lot has to be ripped up, dug out, sorted, cleared and redesigned, piece by piece, stone by stone, plank by plank.

Initially I feel quite daunted by that, as there's a huge amount of timber and other crap which will need clearing. However, looking at the plot in general, it does give me an opportunity over the next 7 months to really make it my own. And I bet the Allotment association will be delighted to see that back of that timber frame/tarp affair. This 4 row split will disappear and be replaced with nice straightforward rows, with pathways in between.

So now, and for the next few months, I will be demolishing, clearing, and redesigning for spring planting..... as you can see there's work to do....