[Aserota]

Hi all,

Hope all are well, this is my first post on the forum! I am young gardener (24 years old) and picked up my allotment last September which is near 10 poles in size (that's around 180 meters squared). I now am working back in the city, but have spent a large amount of the last 2 years based around the UK working on pastoral farms; therefore am definitely not scare of hard work! I was lucky enough to spend 4 hours everyday on the allotment for 6 weeks during September clearing the couch grass, weed killing the regrowth and double digging the soil. I have just planted my first batch of crops and am looking forward to some new growth this spring/summer.

As its my first year on the allotment I have vast amounts to learn, therefore I have only planted out around 50m squared so far and don't intend to do anymore this year. I therefore have a large amount of bare soil with the threat of couch grass (which covered the whole plot when taken over) reappearing. I wanted to cover the bare soil with plastic to stop any re-growth during the next 3 seasons in preparation for next years planting.

Can anyone recommend any materials which could be suitable for the task? In an ideal situation I would prefer to use something 'green' but relistically with a plot this large it would be ridiculously expensive.

I will get some photos later today to show you all the progress!



Adam

[Yorkie]

Welcome to the site 

Firstly, double check that you are not going to get into trouble for having that little an amount under cultivation, particularly now that you've cleared the plot (well done by the way).  On my site you'd get a letter if 50% wasn't being cultivated.

If you're not going to be in trouble, I'd recommend that you avoid solid plastic.  As it will be down for some months, it will prevent air and water getting to the soil - this makes the soil stale / sour and really isn't very good for it.

Ideally, go for a woven fabric membrane.  Layers of cardboard will also do the job but look much more unsightly.

Avoid carpet.  It is banned on many sites for good reason - it may well contain toxins, and the grass grows back through it, making it impossible to lift and remove (one member on here slipped a disc trying to do so).  Or it disintegrates into lots of little bits.

PS It will help us to answer any growing type questions if you could add your general location to your forum profile - just click your username.

[compostqueen]

It's either thick cardboard which you can cadge from your local electric shops who will be glad to have you take it away or as Yorkie says and invest in some top notch heavy duty woven sheet mulch. It costs but you'll have it forever if you don't light a bonfire too close 

I have a large plot, which I tend on my own, and have worked on it gradually, making a bed at a time, keeping the rest covered up. I unfurled a section yesterday that had been covered over for ages (years) and it was weed free and moist despite the dry weather. The sheet mulch keeps the soil in good condition too    I made holes with a bulb planter and just popped my cabbage plants in. I didn't bother digging it first 

I got a 50 m lenth of HD sheet mulch from Allplas or Allplaz and    Smith N Jones does it (online) and their prices are about the same.  good luck

[azubah]

Seems a shame to be leaving all that lovely soil doing nothing..why not put in some spuds? They need little attention during the summer and the weeding gets done when you dig them up. Who can resist fresh new potatoes? I have 1/3 of my plot planted with spuds, and they can last until March if stored somewhere cool and frost free.

[emptydraw]

Seems a shame to be leaving all that lovely soil doing nothing..why not put in some spuds? They need little attention during the summer and the weeding gets done when you dig them up. Who can resist fresh new potatoes? I have 1/3 of my plot planted with spuds, and they can last until March if stored somewhere cool and frost free.

Couldn't agree more, why not add some onions and leeks, they don't need too much effort (in my opinion!) or maybe some soft fruit bushes?

[gremlin]

How about some green manure, or "cover crop" if you are being agricultural?
Phalacelia is my favourite.   Well behaved, pulls out easily, and the bees love it.

[Aserota]

Thanks for all the comment and apologies for taking so long to reply.

As I took the plot over when it was completely overgrown, there is no pressure on leaving the majority of it as bare soil. I have spent a fair bit of time at the allotment over the last few weeks and have now finished planting for this year (see pics below for progress). The couch grass is starting to come back in small amounts in the bare soil and I desperately want to get this covered to stop more growth.

I would love to get some good quality membrane, but due to the vast area that needs to be covered (circa 140m) it's out of the price bracket for this year. I was looking at possibly using PVC plastic sheeting, which would cost less then £20 to cover the who plot and wondered what you opinions were? Cardboard boxes would be a better option, but due to my busy schedule I'd rather spend my time keeping weeds out of the crops then ringing round local businesses.

This is one option
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BLACK-POLYTHENE-2M-WIDE-PLASTIC-SHEETING-Various-Lengths-125-Mu-500-Gauge-/300619298390?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&var=&hash=item45fe4e7656#ht_2267wt_806

The plan is for next year to plant out the whole area, with space for bees, hops, fruit trees and vines at the back of the allotment (currently covered in rubbish and asbestos; which the council are clearing soon).

Day 2



2 weeks ago, soon to have 4 cloches


(darker, wet area has been planted all other areas are bare soil)




Area to be cleared by council

More photos are here
http://photobucket.com/albums/ff446/aserota/Allotment

[Yorkie]

You can be rightly proud of the work you've put in there, well done 

[safetrade]

Well done it looks great

[azubah]

You have worked hard. Well done.

[Charityuk]

Very impressive.

[Aserota]

Ok, so I have been at the allotment today and the council have now removed the asbestos and old blackberry bush. I didn't have my camera with me, but will snap some photos when I am next there.

As I'm struggling to make sure I can spend time at the allotment each weekend; I am trying to actually plan what I want to achieve for this summer and summers to come. I have put together a very basic plan as below:


The green symbolises (you guessed it) grass; so I will need to get this seeded up at some point soon, as I'd rather not have couch grass growing again. The idea is that the allotment will be somewhere I can visit every two weeks and be low maintenance once setup; i.e. a bit of weeding and cutting grass; rather then turning soil for hours everytime I go. I'm not a massive fan of growing vegetables; therefore I have cut this out of the current setup, however if I have more time and the rest is maintaining itself it's something I can add later on. This setup would also remove the need to cover vast areas in Black cloth!

Any thoughts?

[lucywil]

Looks good, but I personally couldn't be doing with all that grass, but it's you that's got to cut it, not me!  We're not allowed bee's on our site, I sometimes wish we were

[Aserota]

The alternative to grass would be bare soil; must be a better option?

[Yorkie]

That will indeed involve quite a lot of grass mowing.  Bear in mind that trees don't like grass within about a metre of their trunks though.

I assume you've checked that you are allowed trees on your site?  Depending on which direction is north, you might want to consider putting the orchard on the far right of the plot, rather than inside the hops - although if you would shade a neighbour by so doing then perhaps not.  Make sure you get a dwarfing rootstock.

Re bees, my experience of people with bees on our site is that they should have netting or screening at least 6' high around the hive in order to ensure that they fly out of the plot above head height.  I'd consider putting your hive in a corner rather than the middle of the plot - can the shed be turned through 90 degrees and the hive put alongside?

Re weed suppressant, I would personally avoid polythene / plastic because it isn't good for the soil underneath - doesn't let water or air through.  It's also quite slippery in the wet.  The woven weed suppressant fabric is far better when you can stretch to it.  Get the widest width you can find; it is far easier to use and minimises weed regrowth at the joins where the wind gets underneath the edges!