Blackberry Brambles and Bind Weed ...

Photo: The allotment in 2008 when we first started
to clear it of brambles etc.

Blackberry Bramble and Bind Weed roots you have to give them credit for their persistence; well that is the polite line of thought about them. In the evolution of plants these come out top of the table (in my opinion) for ones that survive even when you think you have eradicated them.

When I first took on the allotment most of it was a tangle of blackberry brambles, some bind weed and lots of couch grass. Well, we still dig up the odd bit of couch grass but if you get all of the root out as you dig it up you have a chance of getting shot of it. The bind weeds are tenacious though and deep and you are lucky to get the whole of the root out in one go. They look like bits of thin white spaghetti and even from one plant there seems to be yards of them. Any one who was not opposed to using chemicals would have probably used the ones that you apply to the leaves by now. But never let it be said that we take the easy route or maybe root when it comes to our allotment. Anyway that is what we have been doing today digging out the brambles that have re-appeared when we thought we were shot of them; and teasing out the tangled roots of the bind weed that re-emerged this summer under the netting of the fruit bushes. Anyone want five black sacks of weeds and roots? No I thought not.

Tomorrow it is round two of the autumn tidy up as I fix more wires to posts for the summer raspberries to be tied into. I was pleased to find enough compost ready to add to the two seed bed areas. When we looked at the weather forecast for the rest of the week really cold weather is predicted, so the three hours we spent on the allotment today may be the longest time we manage to work there this week.