Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: She'sinthegarden on March 02, 2009, 21:49
-
Hi
I've had a read through threads about rotovating but I'd like some views on my cunning plan, please, if you would be so kind:
Info
Ground under black plastic since May. Weeds were - horse's tail/couch grass/others.
Have dug and composted 3 beds for permanent crops (autumn raspberries/asparagus/strawberries). Have started a bean trench.
Kind neighbour has offered to rotovate the rest of the plot for me.
Idea
I reckon you have to put work in on a new plot. It could be digging if I don't rotovate. It could be mega-weeding if I do rotovate. I don't mind the work, but time's getting on and I feel a sowing frenzy coming on as we're in March.
Plan A
Have my kind neighbour to rotovate, then cover up any bits I'm not using with the black plastic?
Plan B
I could rotovate, then give the beds a few weeks for the perennial weeds to sprout. Pulling little newly-emerging weeds should be fairly easy? Also there are fewer air-bourne weed seeds around at the moment. Then I could cover up what I wasn't using until needed.
Plan C
Gently refuse his offer and have a butt like J-Lo by May? :D
Any ideas welcome
Thanks
S.I.T.G.
-
Go for the but, and as they say on here. Piccys
-
Take up his offer - then if anything regrows, dig it out or glyphosate it. You'll have the whole plot up and running in 6 weeks.
-
I like the J lo plan
But plan B sounds best
-
Have you heard off the no dig option.I don't know it myself.But I am sure you will find it on the internet.
Celery
-
Thanks v. much for that. I'm wanting to go the rotovating route but I'd hate to make a Joe Swift style gaffe. I'm afraid the only piccies will be of my stack of 30 4 m long scaffolding boards delivered to my house today for £60!!!! Is it normal to be so chuffed about bits of old wood? ;)
-
No, that is perfectly normal.
-
Phew!
-
Go for B
I didnt
And Ive got a butt like J-Lo ;)
-
Deffo Plan 'c' ... and look at my
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d4/Flack17/mooned.jpg)
-
Thats definately not a Jlo look bombers :tongue2: :blink:
-
I went for the digging but it didn't change my bum! :nowink:
-
Is it because this is a cunning plan or the fact that it's showing a naked bum ???
We have had other plans on here and they were....well....frowned on and people were told not to have anything to do with them.
-
Apart from chopping up the weeds, a rotivator doesn't prepare the ground like a good digging over. I go for C every time. Why my butt isn't like jlo's I don't know lol
-
Bombers! How rude! :ohmy:
Only the orange peel texture is accurate there - ladies of a certain age will know what I mean. ;) I only mention the J-Lo effect because I'm having to lower myself gently to sit down and I was hoping that there may be some benefit for all this pain. AND I did stretching.
Lacewing, could you please let me know what you think. Sorry to be dim but I'm not sure what you were trying to say.
-
Bombers! How rude! :ohmy:
Only the orange peel texture is accurate there - ladies of a certain age will know what I mean. ;) I only mention the J-Lo effect because I'm having to lower myself gently to sit down and I was hoping that there may be some benefit for all this pain. AND I did stretching.
Lacewing, could you please let me know what you think. Sorry to be dim but I'm not sure what you were trying to say.
Sorry, I was just being silly! referring back to a previous thread where it was said that making plans was a waste of time as they never work out.
-
Sorry S.I.T.G I don't mean to offend, I was just testing the soil temperature..... ;) Honest!
(That's why I've gone a funny colour....I think I'll leave those carrots for another few weeks yet). :)
-
rotovate and get some spuds in, clean the
soil when you dig them up, werks for me!!
-
I would rotovate then fork through, just keep in mind that the horsetail will come back, it has a very deep root system that seems to survive anything, let me give you an example, when we moved into our new house one of the first jobs I did was to block pave the path, from the time the house was built (over 40years) the path has been concrete, then it had a layer of tarmac on top of that. Within two weeks horsetail had popped its ugly head between the block paving and after 1 month I pulled up some blocks to discover a network of roots. This weed has survived from prehistoric days. Keep digging it out and never let it get the better of you.
-
Aidy - yes, much as it's a pain in the rear (Bomber - NO!) you just have to admire something that tenacious! I will admit that I think it's a beautiful plant too. Not that I'd be encouraging it, you understand. ;)
Those experienced allotmenteers will have a shock when I give Bomber's soil temperature testing method a try after the rotovating. They don't think I know much but they'll just have to think again-so there.
Lacewing - I get it now! Can only agree about 'plans'. :D