Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Jd1980 on October 30, 2019, 22:40

Title: Grass removal
Post by: Jd1980 on October 30, 2019, 22:40
Hi

Trying to get the rest of our plot ready for next year.
There is alot of grass , what's the best thing to do with the dug up grass ?
Takes up alot of room on a compost pile and I'm concerned the roots will just make more grass.

Burn ?
Take to the skip ?

All advice greatly received.
Title: Re: Grass removal
Post by: Plot 1 Problems on October 30, 2019, 23:57
Turn dug slabs of turf upside down and stack them into a compost heap and cover. Give them a year and you'll have a top bit of compost to dig back into your beds.
Title: Re: Grass removal
Post by: jaydig on October 31, 2019, 09:10
Turn dug slabs of turf upside down and stack them into a compost heap and cover. Give them a year and you'll have a top bit of compost to dig back into your beds.

I'd agree with this, don't waste it, you'll be glad of the compost later.
Title: Re: Grass removal
Post by: John on October 31, 2019, 10:03
In my Dig for Victory guide it suggests double digging, placing the turf upside down in the bottom of the trench, for breaking in new ground. I've not tried that myself but have stacked the turf as described above.

This year I covered a large patch of pasture, about 6 metres by 10 with brown cardboard followed by part rotted compost, green waste and grass clippings. This was covered in heavy duty landscape fabric. To avoid wasting the space, I dug planting holes (roughly a foot cube) and filled those with finished compost. Planted squash and they did quite well.
Title: Re: Grass removal
Post by: rowlandwells on October 31, 2019, 18:33
i agree with what's been said because we took on quite a large plot some years ago that had been left and gone back to nature and i did what's been said cleared the plot and stacked all the weeds  in a heap they rotted down and we had some good compost that we put back on the allotment

the only downside was i had to hand pick all the weeds that had not composted like couch grass now if i have a patch of grass or weeds that needs to be cleared I spray the weeds with roundup before digging