Start of winter mulching

As much as I like a good digging session as a stress buster, I've found no-dig particularly effective for perennial weeds like couch grass and bindweed. 

Over the years, most of the plot has had some kind of no-dig treatment, either in the form of green manure strimmed and covered with weed control fabric when it's time to dig it in, or thick cardboard covered with a thick layer of manure, compost or bark chips.

This is what I've started on this area at the back of my plot. I've now moved all the soft fruit that were originally at the back of 'plot 13A' (I got 2 half plots rather than a full plot when I took on the allotment, which I've joined up over time) to the back of 'plot 13B', a more shady area near the greenhouse. 

Now I've added a bucket of manure around each tree and along the row of raspberries, I'm mulching with cardboard and bark and when it's all settled a bit (and the squirrels have gone to bed for the winter), I'll plant some daffodils in between the fruit trees.

I really enjoy working on the layout of the plot - you need some vision and it's always so nice to imagine what things will look like when they start growing as they start losing their leaves!