Mixed-planting Mayhem and Stuff.

Good morning.

I am embarking on a mixed-planting scheme this year, something dear to the hearts of certain gardeners - hi Kim.😄

I've already admitted that being an organised kind of girl - yes, at nearly 50 I still consider myself a bit girly! - I always have a plan and a number of lists on the go therefore the process is something quite alien to me.

I've wondered if this method of planting has a detrimental effect on your harvest. I have my spud tubers and last year knew exactly where I was going to plant them, how much space I would need and a very rough idea of how many spuds I may eventually earth up. Now I have some fairly random planting in my main bed and a couple of tyres just now. When block-planting you can see at a glance exactly what you have. Also I would normally put the spuds in all in one sitting but I feel I need to wait for seedlings to be a healthy size as I am planting in the open not in a polytunnel; individual sees could get lost without tonnes of labels.

I'm not saying I'm averse to the process but as I still class myself VERY much as a novice but learning all the time and I also lack confidence sometimes. I'm going to give it a go as I can really see the benefits for the plants themselves and also me as a gardener, but there are things to  consider. I'd be really interested to hear from any other mixed-planting virgins! How are you getting on with the idea?

In other news, regarding no-dig gardening which I am also trying this season, I have a question.

Does the no-dig philosophy help get rid of 'keen' weeds such as chickweed, especially as they can remain viable under soil cover for 20 years plus? Just wondered.

Ok, the weather is dry just now, if a bit blustery, so going to get outside for a bit before I need to do some baking and other indoor jobs later. Thankfully I cleared the ironing pile yesterday due to the rain. Yay, go me!

Bye for now.

Lou.xx