[Clarky86]

Hi everybody

I'm starting to panic a bit about the lack of headway I have or should I say haven't made this year in preparation for my new allotment in my garden.

I've been so busy with a house move and DIY along with keeping on top of the mowing/maintaining the garden that I haven't given a second thought to preparing ground for next year's veg.

I have a decent rotovator and could happily use that to turn the paddock over but I'm concerned that with it being the first dig the paddock has seen in what I'm told is 200+years ( still has old ridge and furrows ) I might just cause more problems by chopping up weed roots etc.

What would you suggest? Is rotovating really going to cause me as many weed issues as I think it will come next spring?

Thank you for any ideas/suggestions in advance.

[Growster...]

Clarky, welcome!

Here's a link to a similar post, which may help!

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=126824.0;topicseen

For me, I'd just suggest doing a few square yards when you can, dig out and clean the couch and perennial weeds and get rid. Rotovating may just chop up some of the weeds and double their growth, so try and avoid doing that yet.

But don't even try to do the whole lot in one afternoon...

You're with chums here, as we've all had to do this at some stage!

[snowdrops]

Hi Clarky, sounds idyllic, love the idea of the fudge & furrows id use that as part of the allotment highlights just growing on the ridges & leaving the furrows as the access paths 😊. You could spray with glyphosate to kill the grass, it might just still work if the grass is still growing, or you could cover it to kill it over the winter then rotorvated. Or look in to Back to Eden or lasagne gardening or no dig, google any of them & plenty of links pop up. Will you be enclosing the area with rabbit proof fencing?

[jambop]

Hi Clarky
I would use a glyphosate weed killer then rotavator to turn the ground over when it has done its job. I use a rotavator on my garden veg plot... if I didn't I would not be growing veg  My situation is different though the weeds I have a more often just annuals although I do have some deeper rooted ones. I don't use weedkiller though I just choose a really sunny day and let the sun scorch the blighters after I have turned the ground over. Lots of the purists' don't like mechanical tools in the garden I would not be without my MTD pro I am not breaking my back digging over 300m2 of fairly dense soil.

[rowlandwells]

I tend to agree with Jambop that's what I would do I've been using a rotavator for 40 years and always use glyphosate to clear couch never had any problems with growing after using glyphosate  roundup

I've just bought a new rotavator because I find it saves me both time and effort and saves my back and we garden an acre of allotment need I say more 

good luck with the cultivation 

[jambop]

I tend to agree with Jambop that's what I would do I've been using a rotavator for 40 years and always use glyphosate to clear couch never had any problems with growing after using glyphosate  roundup

I've just bought a new rotavator because I find it saves me both time and effort and saves my back and we garden an acre of allotment need I say more 

good luck with the cultivation 

With an acre to look after and cultivate you could not do that without a rotavator ... or a horse and pough   I have an acre but only actually grow veg on a small part of it. If I was younger and had the vim I could probably make a good living out of just growing on my land and selling the produce even down here in France organic is taking off. Now I just take the easy route and grow what we need and more importantly what we like to eat. Winter gardening down here could be very good and very productive ... I just don't like working when the sky is grey and the soil and air is cold .

[compostqueen]

Not 😃

[rowlandwells]

your so rite jambob rotavator yes horse no tractor yes plough yes I have to say it is getting a bit harder as one gets older but converted some ground to raised beds

and half gets planted with potatoes so its manageable at present but I am a bit disappointed because there's getting less takers for spare plots this year we had 5 not cultivated rent paid but not done so its back to that saying use it or loose it

[Yorkie]

Just a general point for Clarky about growing potatoes on ex-pasture land.

Wireworms are usually endemic in grassland, so a population of them will remain in the soil for the first year or three after converting from grassland to allotment.  Wireworms love spuds, so be prepared for the spud crops to be wormy.  You can cut the wormy bits out, of course, but just don't be too disappointed.

There are some ways of tricking the wireworms by using decoy spuds, but I can't remember the details of what they are - hopefully others will help.

[snowdrops]

Bury half a cut potato with a cane stuck in it, cane sticks out of the ground, leave for a few weeks, then locate the spud by finding the cane, dig up knock out the wire worm & dispose of, then rebury the spud & repeat 😊