[1jim]

Hi everyone. Just taken delivery of a brand new allotment site, has been used for grazing land for years. The ground is quite firm and digging is going to very slow judging by test dig this morning. The current covering is grass. A local farmer has offered to plough anyones plot who wants it doing....this would obviouslybe easier for me but any thoughts, Im currently thinking that it would give me a start. break the ground up, let me put in the raised beds and could then deal with any weed problem as it appears but any thoughts on this approach...would it just be better to dig small amounts and keep cutting the grass back as I go?

[HilaryG]

You can get it ploughed and then cover up what you can't immediately dig with membrane/carpet to keep the weeds from re-appearing, which they will with a vengeance if you get it ploughed. My neighbour used glysophate on the grassland then covered it up until she had time to dig.  I just slowly dug a bit at a time and kept putting down paving slabs for paths as I went. Took longer but the end result is less weeds re-appearing.  I'm not a great lover of raised beds everywhere.......I just have 3 for spinach, salad, and carrots. Good luck!

[Christine]

I'm not a great lover of using carpet to suppress weeds - it rots down in situ and leeches chemicals. It's a bit of a so and so to remove if it rots down before you get round to digging an area. And then you have to dispose of it.   

[zazen999]

I agree, cover but use cardboard or newspaper rather than carpet. It rots down and you can plant through it in your first season.

[blackisgreen]

get it ploughed then dragged

[Snoop]

My plot was ploughed. It was pretty difficult to refuse in fact because it was taken for granted it was what I wanted doing and the person doing it thought he was doing me a favour.

Downsides - you will get massive amounts of weeds growing from bits of roots as well as seeds. Plus, unless you get it harrowed at the same time, you will be left with big clods that you will have to break up, either by hand or with a rotovator. Breaking up large, dry lumps by hand is no fun, I can tell you. I certainly wouldn't do it if I were you if the grass is couch grass - I speak from sorry experience!

Upsides - looks like you're making fast progress! Till the weeds grow back.

[strangerachael]

Just taken delivery of a brand new allotment site,

That must have been a big lorry! 

[1jim]

Just taken delivery of a brand new allotment site,

That must have been a big lorry! 

It was huge 

Seriously though, thanks for all your thoughts, have been up for the last few days and not really made any inroads, tried turf cutter with no luck. I think Im gonna dance with the devil and deal with the fall out when it happens, I figure I will be able to pull the weeds a little easier if the gound is loosend

[markp76]

Funnliy enough theres a site just opened down the rd from mine {still room for other plots on ours if any 1 is interested £10 month free water, muck and canes  } the whole site has been fully ploughed over, personally i think it looks a blooming mess and seems to have created more work for the new plot holders as the land is very marshy raised beds galore are popping up all over the place. Give me my couch grass and a spade any day!
 

[HugglescoteGrower]

My plot was ploughed and dragged before I had it and it didn't help. Yes it looked very nice when we "took delivery" but after only a few days the weeds were showing back and removing them proved a nightmare. So much so that I aborted my efforts in the first year and covered the lot. Spraying didn't help as there was sio much fragmented weed root all I was doing, even with glyphosate was killing what was showing and making room for more to come through.

That said, if it is so compacted that you can't strip it with a turf cutter maybe ploughing is your best option. Just be realistic about what you plan to achieve in your first year (like I wasn't!) and take things steadily.

If you do have it ploughed not only will you have huge amounts of scattered root to deal with but you will also have all that grass turned in in huge sods. Be prepared to cover and be patient. Cover as soon as you can, I am seeing a big difference between areas I covered in August and those that didn't get done until October.

[Salmo]

The logical way to approach this is surely to glyphosate the plot first and follow a fortnight later with ploughing.

[Carrotcake]

Funnliy enough theres a site just opened down the rd from mine {still room for other plots on ours if any 1 is interested £10 month free water, muck and canes  }

Is that the going rate now?  I was paying £28 pa for a full plot with free water and muck up until three years ago. They must be pretty special canes!

I wouldn't have it ploughed. I think you'll be making more work for yourself. Strim and cover (preferably with FRESH manure) what you're not using and work on the plot a bit at a time. You'll be amazed how quickly you'll get it under control.