Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: hebridean on December 14, 2010, 20:34
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I want to grow so fruit, berries, currents etc.But area any spare space I have is full of weed, rushes/iris's etc. Need advice on clearing the ground. Do I blast it with weed killer and cultivate it? and cover? if so what weed killer?
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Not much point applying weed killer when the weeds are dormant. I'd be inclined to dig out what I can then cover the area with cardboard with a mulch of compost/manure on top. This should suppress weed growth and be rotted down by next spring. After that I'd be inclined to use glyphosate on the weeds that are starting to grow.
Soft fruit need a good fertile soil with plenty of organic matter so the above will help. You should be able to plant bare-root bushes until late March and pot-grown ones much later than that.
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Clearing manually might be quicker especially at this time of year. Iris are easy to dig up, weeds - they just take a bit of determination and good eye-sight. I'm not so sure about the "rushes". If they are clump forming then it shouldn't be too difficult to shift them.
I prefer not to use any weed-killer on ground that is to be used for food despite manufacturer's assurance that they are completely harmless.
But... I do have one small area that returns to grass and weeds the minute I turn my back!! I'll clear it again by hand and bring it into full use with the intention of keeping it clear so the problem doesn't reoccur.
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If you have rushes and irises it suggests dampness of the area and you might want to investigate the drainage. Therefore digging over will remove the weeds and help with looking at any drainage problems.
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Thanks for the advice ppl. Think I will cultivate it and clear it. The ground is a bit boggy so drainage is on the list. If this snow ever leaves us!