Thoughts on my battle plan!

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Aidy

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Thoughts on my battle plan!
« on: September 27, 2006, 13:53 »
First let me explain, I have had my plot for 5 years, the first year was spent clearing, I used roundup twice, then strimmed and then used a rotavator, for the first two years I noticed that the nasties (Horsetail etc) didnt really show their ugly heads but as time has gone on they have taken over. Last winter I dug one bed three times and thought I had it cleared, nope, by August I had a forest (arrrghhhh), now on our allotment the elder statesmen frown on anything mechnical, but I have noticed that a new holder has a rotovator and has over last summer used it about every two-three weeks, he then goes over with a fork and collects as much root as poss, his plot this year was superb, he now starts repeating the cycle so this has got me thinking that if I bought one of these frowned upon machines and spent spring, and early summer knocking the pesky weeds down as well as working compost in, the theory being the weeds wont get the chance to get the food so I will STARVE them to death, my bed should be fit for the winter/spring crops. Has anyone got any advice on this plan before I let lose with hard earned cash.
Please also bear in mind I am not getting any younger :cry:
Punk isn't dead...it's underground where it belongs. If it comes to the surface it's no longer punk...it's Green Day!

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DD.

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Thoughts on my battle plan!
« Reply #1 on: September 27, 2006, 15:56 »
Quite a few of the 'elder statesmen' down my site use rotavators, in fact one of them is a retired Professor of Horticulture from a local Agricultural University, so not all frown on them.

HOWEVER - they only use them on weed-free soil to help them break it up into a fine tilth or to dig in manure etc.

I suspect that it's not so much the rotavating that your neighbour has done that's got rid of his weeds, more the forking out afterwards, and he would have had ten times, if not more, bits of root to fork out.

You can do what you like with you plot, but in practice you cannot stop weed seeds from blowing across from an untended plot or Mare's tail roots spreading either. This could be what has happened with yours. It's been a good year for weed germination!

I've never used a rotavator & my current plot was quite free of weeds after about 2 years, despite it not having been culitvated for the previous 5.

After it's initial dose of Round Up & forking out, the only thing I've used is the maxim 'keep the hoe moving'. That certainly starves the weeds of food & it's much less effort than persistant rotavating & forking!
Did it really tell you to do THAT on the packet?

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Aidy

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Thoughts on my battle plan!
« Reply #2 on: September 27, 2006, 16:33 »
Thank you for your opinion Dave, from what I have read this afternoon the theory to all this is to expend the weedseed bank, by turning the ground over the weed will germinate and then you again turn it over a couple of weeks later so that it rots down and then a new batch of seed germinates therefore gradually reducing the the seed bank. I can see how this works and indeed how it may of worked on the other plot, yep I agree the fork will clear a lot of the stuff. I am pretty convinced this will work over time so I think I will give it a go. I think A photo diary may also be done.
Cheers
Aidy

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James

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Thoughts on my battle plan!
« Reply #3 on: September 28, 2006, 08:20 »
plants - even the most pernicious perennial weeds - cannot cope with repeated disturbance.  If you can be bothered to keep at it, then yes, there will be nothing left alive, and with luck you will have brought all those annual seeds to the surface at some point so there will be nothing left to germinate!  

One can hope!



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