Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: midgetgerm on October 16, 2017, 20:02
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Totally new recruits to allotment life and not much left of the year to tackle the horrendously neglected patch we've been given! So my plan is:-
Strim it down to the ground one day this week.
Clear the resulting rubbish.
Spray with glyphosate based weedkiller.
Cover with growth retarding plastic.
I need to know if this is the correct procedure - is this a plan that will work. Then do I try and dig it over or
Leave until next spring?
Thanks
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Hi mg and welcome to the forum :)
I've moved this into the growing bit so more people will see it.
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Welcome to the forum.
So my plan is:-
Strim it down to the ground one day this week.
Clear the resulting rubbish.
Then -
wait a couple of weeks for new growth to show, before spraying as the weedkiller needs to be sprayed on foliage that is actively growing. Daylight helps the weedkiller work so don't cover with weed control fabric until all the weeds are dead. (as the label says weed control fabric controls the growth of weeds it doesn't kill existing ones, in my experience) You may need to spray persistent weeds more than once between now and spring.
Or, after strimming cover everything with weed-control fabric, which will weaken regrowth of perennial weeds. Gradually peel back the fabric a strip at a time and dig out the weeds that are regrowing, until you have a clear patch, which you can recover til spring.
The battle with weeds doesn't stop once the ground is initially cleared though, there will be plenty of weed seeds in the soil waiting to grow :( So be warned, you will need to hoe/weed regularly through the year, or grow everything through weed control fabric.
Good luck!
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I would buy my self a good digging hoe , then go over the ground with that , let it dry out for a few days and rake up all the exposed roots . You will need to do this two or three times forget weed control fabric you want the weeds to grow so you can get them out and you want the frosts to get into the soil to kill any exposed roots . weed killers only work when plants are growing and whilst its still warm the light levels are falling . You then need to see what soil you have . Dont fall into the trap of putting "Horse Manure" on the soil as unless very well rotted its full of weeds . Just start a compost heap and save scavange any organic materials for it Good luck and enjoy it
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Your approach with glyphosate is good. When you strim do not go too close. That will leave some leaves on weeds like dandelions which otherwise might not regrow. Once the leaves have yellowed, 2 to 3 weeks, you can strim down tight. Whether you dig out the weeds or not does not matter, if they are dead they are dead. Most people do as it makes cultivation easier if there are not lots of roots in the way. It may also find the odd root that has escaped treatment. Anything you have missed will shoot in the Spring and can either be sprayed or dug out.
Read the glyphosate bottle carefully. It does what it says on the bottle if you follow instructions.
There are a few important rules
Spray plants in active growth
There must be 6 hours of dry weather after it is applied. (more difficult than you think)
A good way to apply glyphosate is with a dribble bar attached to a watering can. This is a T piece with holes, you will find them in garden centres. This avoids drift from a fine sprayer. You will avoid taking out your neighbours crops and you can use a dribble bay on a breezy day.
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Hi.I am a retired farmer used to glyphosphate use before ploughing.Salmo is my way to the "T".If winter then allows give it a good digging over and clear anything in the soil at the same time.Get some horse/cow manure if you can,and cover the lot and dig that in during March.Yes,dig again and you'll be away with a good first year seedbed.After the 2 nd dig,about 3weeks before starting to sow or plant out you could use some garden lime where the crop would benefit.I had the same as you about 6 years ago and I overdid it a bit and the pleasure became too much like work.But it was worth it as the season went on.I hope you have as much pleasure as I do with my veg garden.THE BEST HOBBY IN THE UK. John.
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Don't try to do everything at once, slow and steady.
Enjoy it it's a hobby not a chore
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having read the replies I must say I agree with what's been said I did basically the same as gelliday I to got my experience from my farming days and when we took over our second plot I sprayed with roundup that cleared most of the weeds but that was in the spring when the soil was warming up
although I do have my concerns because the soil is getting colder roundup mite not have the benefits as it would when the soil is warmer I sprayed roundup last month on some ground after I lifted my potato crop and the ground has stayed pretty well weed free
I will be spreading my well rotted horse manure on the plot soon and then winter plough the ground leaving it to overwinter then come spring and the ground starts to warm up I will cultivate but as said unfortunately the weeds keep coming
but it is noticeable that the ground has got more cleaner since spraying roundup I spray with a knapsack sprayer on a still day had no problems with spray drift so far
hope this info helps good luck with your plot :)
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Hi!
Glyphosphate is a carcinogen so i would avoid if you can
Dig out the weeds by whatever means, but you will have a healthier plot if you do it by hard graft and you will get to know how your plot is doing, and there is a certain satisfaction to be had in growing your crops that have not had any chemical intervention. Just my 2P worth!
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Hi!
Glyphosphate is a carcinogen so i would avoid if you can
Dig out the weeds by whatever means, but you will have a healthier plot if you do it by hard graft and you will get to know how your plot is doing, and there is a certain satisfaction to be had in growing your crops that have not had any chemical intervention. Just my 2P worth!
Officially the jury is still out on that sd, but everyone can make up their own minds about it ;)
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HI I am a newbie to this site but have been allotmenting for over 10 years. I am just taking on a new allotment which is absolutely covered in perennial weeds. I am going to experiment with 'no-dig' techniques. How about strimming and covering in membrane/plastic without the need for weedkiller? I have done this before and although it didnt kill the weeds completely, the few that were left were far far easier to get out.
I am going to try a few raised beds with 6 inches of manure over cardboard as Charles Dowling (no-dig guru) says this works without the need for weeding (unless brambles). Lots of information on you-tube.
Good luck whatever you decide to do!
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Is moving around all that manure any less work than digging the bed? Granted it will improve the soil if you can manage it :D
I still feel it's worth clearing the worst weeds, at the beginning, even if you go no-dig from then on. Good luck!
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Is moving around all that manure any less work than digging the bed? Granted it will improve the soil if you can manage it :D
Not really.
If you want to cover 200 sq m with 10 cm of manure you will need 20 cubic meters of manure. To shovel that quantity, transport it to your plot and spread it around is going to require significant physical effort over a significant period of time. Even if you are lucky enough to have machines to do the transportation and digging, you still have to barrow it to your plot from wherever it is dropped off (it is unlikely a lorry will be able to drop it right next to your plot). If you want decent soil and good crops, you have to put effort in, that is the true cost of renting an allotment as opposed to letting someone else do the hard work and going to the supermarket.
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Hi, we are lucky enough that manure is delivered direct into our plots so that takes some of the work out of it. I’m not necessarily looking for less work ( although that could be nice!), more what works best for the plot. I was aiming to put manure on raised beds only and then covering paths
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I am pleased that you can get hold of good quality manure its very valuable stuff to be good it has to have rotted down for a few years though or it will be full of weed seeds
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Hello :-) got my first wee plot (tiny really just 18m2) in mid August this year and it has taken a couple of months to get it into good order (between work and family etc.)
I decided to dig it over, not for the weeds particularly, but with a little test dig I found some rubble just under the surface.
I'm glad I did because I found lots of rubble, glass, half a bicycle, a pair of trousers of all things, some batteries, mattress springs and buried polythene sheeting - nothing would have grown with all that in there.
I'm quite happy to be of the no-dig persuasion now that I know the soil is clear of all that rubbish :-)
Clearing the weeds with cardboard and mulch is good, but I think digging to clear when you first get a plot - although really hard work even for a tiny plot like mine - is the best way to know everything you're going to grow has the best possible start (some of the other plot holders I have been speaking to that didn't dig to start with are still digging up glass and rubble years later).
All in the preparation ;-)
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HALF a bicycle?! :ohmy: :lol:
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Better than the ford prefect that someone dug out of one of the allotments on our site. Or the 250 bricks we found when clearing an allotment. Always dig first. ;)
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Ok, had been hoping to do no dig, particularly in places that seem to have grass only (not couch). My plot has had various coverings which have sometimes done their job, BUT now appreciate more what Christine and others have said. As we have strimmed bits we hadn’t done before, the extent of stuff left by previous plot holders has come to light. As we are not allowed sheds, they obviously hid lots of things under carpet. And put more carpet over old carpet, and made a big pile of (now rotting) underlay, and put lots of bricks, plastic bags, pots, wood etc - all rotted now and nicely incorporated into the soil so that you cant get them out easily! So no dig will have to wait until we’ve got rid of all the rubbbish!
Hope we manage to get on top of it - another gloomy plot holder was saying how bad our plot is and that it will take years and years to get on top of it. I keep telling myself that each year will be better (less rubbish and weeds) than the last if I do a bit often! Glad its not our first plot otherwise we might give up already! Need a bit of a pep talk really...
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Don't try to do everything at once, slow and steady.
Enjoy it it's a hobby not a chore
Lots of good advice by all, but this one above, pure gold!!
Take it easy bit by bit and dont tackle it all at once.
When I was showing people plots to take over I would show them some of the best ones and explain to them it took the plot holders around 5 years to get it to this state, there is no secret army of gardeners like GW behind the scenes.
Enjoy it, never get downhearted and also speak to people on site, they will know what grows well and what doesn't on your soil type.
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HALF a bicycle?! :ohmy: :lol:
Unicycle?
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Don't try to do everything at once, slow and steady.
Enjoy it it's a hobby not a chore
Lots of good advice by all, but this one above, pure gold!!
Take it easy bit by bit and dont tackle it all at once.
When I was showing people plots to take over I would show them some of the best ones and explain to them it took the plot holders around 5 years to get it to this state, there is no secret army of gardeners like GW behind the scenes.
Enjoy it, never get downhearted and also speak to people on site, they will know what grows well and what doesn't on your soil type.
Great advice, I've learnt so much about allotment growing from other plotholders who know the local conditions rather than books that deal with generalities.