Anyone with an allotment?

Horsetail is a bugger. Ground elder is causing us first world problems. I think I'll have to get the Roundup on it (although I do not like using chemicals).

You know that you can eat Ground Elder? It fell out of favour as a kitchen garden plant specifically because it was so vigorous and takes over.

Anyway, the glyphosate definitely worked well. Not sure if I got it all, but had it under control well enough that I'm confident I can wipe the bindweed out. It did seem to cause some problems to plants that were local to the one I targeted, so presumably once the poison is in the root of the plant that got dabbed, it can pass into the soil a bit. It breaks down in the soil but perhaps not quickly enough to avoid hurting surrounding plants a little - some yellowed and were weakened, but seemed to recover.

This year I have started by shovelling about a ton of manure onto the plot. It was too dry recently to wash the poopy goodness into the soil, so I dug it over last Sunday and was rewarded with a nice farmyard smell that filled the whole street the next morning. I hope to have really reinvigorated the soil for this year, as apart from beans and potatoes, last year was a bit of a washout (partly because I spent harvest time in Cuba, I guess). The missus is growing a tiny Fidel Castro in her tummy this year, so I guess I'm going to have to do most of the planting for once. Usually it's the best I can do not to just kill everything - my job is normally 'hole digger'.