Day 2 - In a Bind

Ouch! My hamstrings have knotted up and my lower back is screaming out - all after a paltry 2 hours tugging with the relentless bindweed yesterday. I didn’t even start any digging, that joy was reserved for today. No wonder they say gardening is good exercise, I’m going to have to go a little easy on the back breaking work if I hope to complete the Great North run in a fortnight though.

Thought I’d take some shots of the opposition:

I think I should be there in a couple of weeks or so!

Today, I did a bit more scrabbling with the surface weeds but tried not to spread my attentions across the whole plot. I’ve uncovered a few fruit bushes and some scraggy strawberry plants so if I can clear a small corner these can be nurtured for another growing season.

So me and the new fork were introduced to the soil for the first time. It’s pretty dusty stuff and I inhaled a good load of it as the wind blew in the general direction of my face every time I turned it. I bet this will be good for onions though, I’m looking forward to growing some prize winning, weighty bulbs this year, in contrast to my usual pickling size specimens.

Check out the bindweed roots in the tilth though. God damn its vicious stuff! There is as much under the soil as there was on the surface. In fact there’s probably more. I’ve patiently listened to two old timers inform me that the only way to remove such pernicious weeds is to double dig to the depth of 5 foot, taking care to remove every single last shred of root as you go. Let me just say - this is not going to happen.

Much as I would like to be organic, I am going to go back to my chemist routes and employ some science. Roundup TM will be invited onto the plot for one weekend only, to decimate anything with a leaf. I’ll then spend the rest of the year feeling guilty and trying to pretend I have organic principles, but at least I’ll have some time to plant stuff!

So a little progress was made today, actual cultivation is in evidence and the heap of weeds is growing at an alarming rate. Time to practice my fire making skills soon.