New Plot Help

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Jacquelyn1401

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New Plot Help
« on: May 16, 2017, 16:10 »
Dear Forum users

We are the recipients of a new plot in leafy Surrey however the plot is very, very overgrown and as a bonus we also have bindweed, horsetail and copius amounts of cooch grass!!!  We have managed to weed and dig out 1/4 of the plot and plan on doing another 1/4 this weekend BUT the remaining half of the plot is completely covered with weeds (and I mean completely).  Weeding by hand would take us forever and we really want to get on top of this.  I've been researching Glyphosphate and my question is twofold 1. Do we still have to dig up the weeds once they are dead and 2. How long do we have to wait before planting on this ground.  I'm guessing the answer to No 2 is going to be next season but any help would be a bonus.  We are not going to use a spraying system but use a watering can so nothing sprays out onto other plots.  Thank you in anticipation of your help
« Last Edit: May 16, 2017, 16:12 by Jacquelyn1401 »

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aelf

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Re: New Plot Help
« Reply #1 on: May 16, 2017, 16:41 »
Hi in theory, glyphosate breaks down and is rendered inactive once it gets into the soil. Most makers recommend that you wait at least 24 hrs before planting flowers and up to 3 days before planting edibles and trees.

In my experience, the weeds don't show signs of dying back for several days and then, if you are as overgrown as you are, I think you would still need to clear the dead stuff away so that you can get to the soil. And, of course, once the soil is exposed, the huge bank of weed seed that is sitting in the soil will start to germinate  :D

I would clear by hand or with a strimmer and not bother with glyphosate. just my opinion. If you are not going to plant all the plot this year then think about covering up those areas with weed fabric or plastic sheet (once cleared) so that the weeds don't grow back. It is a challenge, but well worth it in the end. Good luck!  :D
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snowdrops

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Re: New Plot Help
« Reply #2 on: May 16, 2017, 18:24 »
Another option in that situation is to strim it down, allow a few inches of new growth, spray as you suggest then wait until it is brown & died back, then either cover & dig as & when you can  then wait for regrowth & spray & repeat. The areas you have already prepared will need lots of weeding for then next year or so as Aelf says there will be a huge bank of weeds seeds waiting to growth. The old saying of 1 years seeds, 7 years weeds has seemed to be very correct in my experience. Take lots of before & after photos to remind you how much you took on,but most of all go slowly & enjoy the process
« Last Edit: May 16, 2017, 21:39 by snowdrops »
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Growster...

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Re: New Plot Help
« Reply #3 on: May 16, 2017, 18:49 »
Hi and welcome, Jacqueline!

You've done well to get even a quarter done, and there's nothing more satisfying than seeing the result of clearance such as you're faced with!

Just take it all bit by bit, and Glypho as the others say, because that'll reduce the energy you'll need to hoik out all the couch and stuff!

I actually like the challenge of doing over such a weedy bit of ground - it keeps me sane, but it does take a longish time, and as I have more spare hours these days, I'm lucky in that respect!

You'll be fine - keep at it as it's well worth the time and effort to get it done properly as soon as you can!

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Christine

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Re: New Plot Help
« Reply #4 on: May 16, 2017, 21:07 »
Just don't compost any of your weeds - they are all ones which will thrive in the compost heap and come back to haunt you.

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gobs

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Re: New Plot Help
« Reply #5 on: May 17, 2017, 00:11 »
Dear Forum users

We are the recipients of a new plot in leafy Surrey however the plot is very, very overgrown and as a bonus we also have bindweed, horsetail and copius amounts of cooch grass!!!  We have managed to weed and dig out 1/4 of the plot and plan on doing another 1/4 this weekend BUT the remaining half of the plot is completely covered with weeds (and I mean completely).  Weeding by hand would take us forever and we really want to get on top of this.  I've been researching Glyphosphate and my question is twofold 1. Do we still have to dig up the weeds once they are dead and 2. How long do we have to wait before planting on this ground.  I'm guessing the answer to No 2 is going to be next season but any help would be a bonus.  We are not going to use a spraying system but use a watering can so nothing sprays out onto other plots.  Thank you in anticipation of your help

1. yes
2. theoretically and health-wise shortly after, as said, however, dying down - especially with heavy weight weeds - will take even longer than above hinted

Horsetail, I thankfully do not have to cope with, the other two I managed to learn to live with, as on heavy clay, where I am, they prove to be an excellent ground breaker as in green manure.
"Words... I know exactly what words I'm wanting to say, but somehow or other they is always getting squiff-squiddled around." R Dahl

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Yorkie

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Re: New Plot Help
« Reply #6 on: May 17, 2017, 21:37 »
Bear in mind that glyphosate is unlikely to have much impact on the horsetail.  It has a silica coating and the stuff just runs off it.  Your best chance for it to have any effect, will be to bruise it first.

I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days all attack me at once...

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Jacquelyn1401

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Re: New Plot Help
« Reply #7 on: May 18, 2017, 12:17 »
Thank you all for your help, I will most certainly take photographs and even though it seems very daunting we will enjoy it all.


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juvenal

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Re: New Plot Help
« Reply #8 on: May 18, 2017, 12:29 »
Just don't compost any of your weeds - they are all ones which will thrive in the compost heap and come back to haunt you.

Not sure about this. Unless weeds have matured to seeding status, won't the compost heap simply kill them?
I hoe/dig weeds out long before seeding stage and compost them without problem.

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aelf

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Re: New Plot Help
« Reply #9 on: May 18, 2017, 13:12 »
Just don't compost any of your weeds - they are all ones which will thrive in the compost heap and come back to haunt you.

Not sure about this. Unless weeds have matured to seeding status, won't the compost heap simply kill them?
I hoe/dig weeds out long before seeding stage and compost them without problem.

A lot of these weeds have roots that produce shoots at the drop of a hat. They can be killed off in the compost heap if decomposition is fast, when large quantities of green matter are added at once and it gets very hot but most compost heaps are not big enough or filled often enough to achieve this. Best to drown or burn the roots of  things like ground elder, bindweed mares tail and nettle.

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Luiska

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Re: New Plot Help
« Reply #10 on: May 18, 2017, 23:40 »
I started with the same problem 2 months ago and began experimenting. The first strip - attacked before the combination of nettles, bindweed, couch and voluntary potatoes got too tall - I just mounded two long strips of bought compost to about 8 inches in height straight over the weeds, covered with a layer of cheap fabric weed suppressant, infilled with free wood chip from the council and just plunked seed potatoes through holes cut in the fabric. They are looking as healthy as any other on the allotment - and nary a weed. I did much the same thing to construct my strawberry patch.

The second strip I used roundup on the couch, bindweed and nettles and, about 10 days later, when they had yellowed, I roughly turned the soil, covered with the cheap weed suppressant and about 3-4 inches of wood chip. Yesterday, about 6-7 weeks later, I cleared little patches of wood chip, crosscut the fabric and dug holes for my sweet corn seedlings. I didn't encounter any of the telltale white roots of bindweed or stringy mares tail - or any roots at all. I'll plant squash in the remainder of the strip.

That left a much more manageable area to approach by traditional methods - though I also tried laying cardboard, topped with 6 inches of bought topsoil over the top of nasty weeds. Just to see what happens. Otherwise cover with black plastic and forget about it until late autumn when it will be easy to dig over, cover with compost or manure and then cover again until spring.

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juvenal

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Re: New Plot Help
« Reply #11 on: May 18, 2017, 23:43 »
@aelf
Best to drown or burn the roots of  things like ground elder, bindweed mares tail and nettle.


Agree absolutely about these menaces. I should have added that myself..



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