[nickmcmechan]

So, I've been up to see my new allotment now without snow on it.

Have managed tyo get in touch with the chairperson of the allotment association and the good news is that the rotivator in the portakabin is for all to use.

Hes been very helpful and has tyold me the weed that covers the allotment is couch grass. Apparently the last tennant gave it up as he dug up the couch grass with a spade and multiplied the problem. The advice is to fork it up.

However, after reading the guides I wondered if it would just to use Glyphosphate after my Hols at the beginning of Feb and then rotivate about 3 weeks later.

I would then plant my garlic at the end of February / beginning of March

Am I going along the right lines?

Ta

[DD.]

Weeds need to be actively growing for Glyphosphate to be effective. This really means waiting until April/May to use it.

The only effective way to clear a patch at this time of year is by using the aforementioned fork, I'm afraid.

[Mark-S]

the garden centre glyphosate products are very low in a.i.  (ie the amount of glyphosate in the bottle) in which case i recommend you apply it at an appropriate rate and leave it is along as possible.

I would rotatvate as a very last resort, and only after i was sure the whole network of rhizomes are DEAD.  Very dead.

[mumofstig]

I dug my couch grass out with a fork in spring last year and had very little regrowth.
It takes a while but is worth doing, and you'll have it ready for spring planting then.

[DD.]

the garden centre glyphosate products are very low in a.i.  (ie the amount of glyphosate in the bottle) in which case i recommend you apply it at an appropriate rate and leave it is along as possible.

I would rotatvate as a very last resort, and only after i was sure the whole network of rhizomes are DEAD.  Very dead.

That's fine, but the O/P wants to plant February/March, it just won't be effective in that time at this time of year.

[Junie]

I have found that the glyphsate products do not kill couch grass on the first attempt, my couch grass is well establish, but I have weedkillered, dug then rotovated, and still see lots of live roots, I will be weeding all next season I think!

[Nikkithefoot]

My plot was covered in couch grass, convolvulus (bindweed) and ivy (thankfully no marestail). With a combination of black plastic, glyphosate and sheer hard work its now clear. Took nearly a year all told, but this years winter digging has been a pleasure by comparison.

I started by digging and planting small areas as I cleared it, the 'diggings' were bagged and taken to the tip as it was mostly roots. Some of the plot I covered in plastic so I could essentially forget about it, and the worst bits I used glyphosate on. The glyphosate took about a few days to be effective (I used it in May, June and July but only on small patches at a time.) before digging everything in. The plastic covered areas were a pleasure to dig as by the time the plastic had been on for 6 months everything was dead and the ground underneath nice and crumbly.

I would say dig everything by hand and pull all you can out if you wish to be fairly organic and use no chemicals, and you can start now providing it isn't too soggy. Also cover what you can in plastic or heavy duty cardboard to stop light getting to the weeds, eventually they weaken and die. Glyphosate will have to wait as DD says until things are growing strongly AND you have at least 6 hours guaranteed dry weather.

Personally I would avoid rotavating until you can be sure all roots have gone, otherwise you will spread the problem and get very quickly disillusioned.

Good luc

[Elaine G]

Have to agree with Nikkithefoot.
The council 'kindly' rotivated my plot before I took it over.
3 years of digging later, I just have to contend with the stuff that grows in from my neighbours!

Elaine

[Salmo]

If there is green leaf I would apply glyphosate during the next mild spell. You need 6 hours of dry afterwards which may be a problem. That will kill only the roots with shoots. There will probably be dormant buds that will not have shoots.

When the green leaves have started to turn yellow, 10 days to 3 weeks depending on the weather, remove as much of the top growth as you can. Either mow and rake off or skim the surface with a sharp spade.

Then rotovate and leave for a while. You may be lucky and have killed it all. More likely is that you will wake up dormant buds. Allow these to grow to about 4 inches and apply more glyphosate.

You could leave out phase one and just remove the top growth, rotovate, wait for regrowth and apply glyphosate.

Be patient and do not expect to plant early crops. Peas, beans, carrots, potatoes, courgettes, tomatoes and salads do not need to go in early.

[robbodaveuk]

Applying Glyphosate to green leaves at this time of year is a total waste of time and money. It will not be absorbed until the plants start growing again. Glyphosate should only be used when plants are in active growth.

  Robbo.

[DD.]

I totally agree with Robbo.

Applying Glyphosate whilst the couch garss is not growing is pouring money down the drain and contrary to it's usage instructions. By all means try it, but expect nothing.

[Christine]

To the opening poster:

Dig the area you want to use now and get it cleared so that you can plant something. Do it thoroughly with a good fork. Bag up all the roots and take them to the tip - don't compost them for heaven's sake or you will have a multiplying problem.

You have a month in which to clear the garlic bed. You should be able to do that plus get some other areas clear to plant other crops. It's going to be a hard first year getting the place clear and you won't get the plot into full production. But that's not unusual for a newbie on a plot.

Four years down the line with a clear plot and experience behind you, well you will be a good allotment holder.

[bigben]

I think you might need a combined approach.

The areas you need for early stuff like garlic or onions will need you to attack with the form and dig out the roots.

If however you are planning on growing stuff like squash, courgettes, sweetcorn then you could leave an area until it is a bit warmer and use the glyphosphate before planting stuff (check the instructions on timings of course).

If you are running out of time you could also cover with plastic and plant through it. This would alllow you to grow stuff while suppressing the growth of the weeds. It will not kill the couch grass but might stop the situation getting any worse while you use ground you have not had time to thoroughly clear.

[DD.]

The areas you need for early stuff like garlic or onions will need you to attack with the form

Sounds like a lot of red tape to me!

[Kristen]

If Garlic is your only early-crop worry you could start them in 3" pots and plant out later.   (If you are planting a Winter variety that needs the frost to get the cloves to split then best to do that straight away so the rest of the Winter can do its stuff )

I think Glyphosate will help (depends on how much time you have to carefully sort through the soil to get the roots out whilst digging), but as others have said not until the Spring.  If you can wait I would use Glyphosate to give you a flying start.

But either way, I think covering will help.  I would suggest Cardboard  You can use plastic weed suppressing membrane, but you can't just pull that apart to make a seed sowing drill, all you can really do is cut an X where you want a planting hole.  Whereas cardboard will be like a patchwork quilt! so easier to move around to make a drill etc. Hopefully you would be able to get cardboard for free from somewhere near you - industrial estate that has to pay to have their packaging waste taken away, for example.