[SarahC375]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on the best method to clear/use this vegetable patch this year (I've attached some photos).

It's a stone walled area in a field used for sheep grazing (seem to be fairly common in the west of Ireland, you can see them in quite a few fields here). My great uncle used to use it to grow veg, he seems to have had about 25 rows either side of a central path. It's very overgrown now, as you can see!

Last year we cleared a little space for potatoes, but being where we are, blight is inevitable, so I need to dig out a few more rows to use for potatoes this year. The original plan was to hire a rotovator to turn the whole thing over, but I'm not sure it's the best method? I also read about covering it over, covering it with weed control fabric and planting through the holes, a neighbor also suggested putting a pig in there for a while (but that's a whole other undertaking!). I also have to do this all on my own now, having recently split with my husband, so while I'm a young and fairly strong woman, not sure how much I can actually deal with on my own.

Sorry if that's a bit rambling, I'm just trying to work out the best way to deal with this and what I can actually cope with. I had a lot of plans for the garden and the veg I wanted to grow, and it's pretty gutting to have to scale them all back like this. Thank you for reading!

[Snowboar]

Throw cardboard down then cover with 6 inch of compost job done or double dig remove weeds and add some compost second option hard work see Charles dowding no dig

[snowdrops]

Throw cardboard down then cover with 6 inch of compost job done or double dig remove weeds and add some compost second option hard work see Charles dowding no dig

I’m in the no dig camp, but remember you don’t have to do all of it straight away, but try & cover to exclude the light of as much as you can to cut down on weed growth

[mumofstig]

You could grow squash (and sweetcorn) through holes in black plastic https://www.allotment-garden.org/garden-diary/6883/preparing-the-squash-bed/
After a year most of the weeds are gone..

[rowlandwells]

that's certainly a job and a half to tackle but not impossible to achieve i don't tell people what to do but tell them what i would do given the same situation I'm not a member of the no dig club so all that baron ground would be sprayed of with roundup spray or a similar product

then after around three weeks i would set to to dig over the ground removing any large stones may be a good idea to get a soil testing kit to test the ground and if your not intending to plant anything after clearing the ground you could sow some green manure and then dig that in to improve the soil

it really depends on what you want to grow and how long its going to take you to get this ground back to a growing space what i would definitely not do is use a rotavator on that ground till i had properly dug it

that's my advise for what its worth hope this helps RW

[Yorkie]

Personally I would have no qualms about using weedkiller once the plants are growing again, in order to make a difference between it beating me and me beating it.

You may have not found your way over to the main website, but there's also an article there about clearing a plot: https://www.allotment-garden.org/allotment-information/clearing-new-allotment/

[SarahC375]

Thanks all for your advice! Been having a think about it all over the past few days.

I want to avoid roundup or other weedkillers as much as possible and try and keep it organic - although it would certainly do the job in a fraction of the time! Oh well, rod for my own back and all that 

I actually have one of charles dowding's books about no dig, but not really tried it myself yet - I guess this is the time! My current thinking is...

The area that's already been cleared - give that a quick weed, maybe even cover with a grow grid, and plant onion sets there.
Strim the rest to get the reeds etc down
Clear a few rows now/early March and work in manure, plant potatoes there - or maybe plant these over cardboard too? In straw?
Cover as much of the rest as I can with cardboard and plastic now
Compost over the cardboard and plant over the course of the year
Try planting squashes through the plastic
Uncover and dig over the rest as and when I can

Does that sound do-able?

[jezza]

Hello a row of French beans planted in July last year as advised by the Charles Dowding method,the people growing them say it's an excellent crop for the first year  jezza

[Goosegirl]

Hi, and well-done you for tackling this on your own. Don't over-face yourself when you get going, just focus on one or two easier areas (if any!) and plant veg that you like, are easy to grow and give a good crop. I'd see what the soil is like for drainage by digging a small hole about 9"-12" down and filling it with water because sometimes farm land gets a "hard pan" over time which impedes this, and have a look at the sides of the hole to see how much topsoil you have by noticing any change in colour as you go down. It may be a bit rich in nitrogen as well which may suit green veg but can lead to too much leaf and not enough crop on others. Depending on the veg you like, try spreading the crop season by choosing say early carrots, the usual summer veg, sugar snap peas instead of usual peas and climbing French beans instead of dwarf ones as they give a good crop without taking up too much space, then pop in some leeks and later on more carrots of a later variety plus autumn and winter veg such as caulis, kale, spinach etc. Best of luck! 

[jambop]

Make up a couple of 3m x 1.5 no dig beds each year. Cover the area that is going to be the nest two beds with plastic sheeting or cardboard the year before you are going to prepare the bed this will get rid of most of the weeds. Not every bodies cup of tea but my beds are all made from very cheap 20cm x 2.5cm x3m spruce boards three for each bed one cut in half and the other two make the sides held by a few wood screws, job done! see photo below made in the spring crops in the same summer great system.