[chicken soup]

As some of you know our allotment is on a new site therefore I guess it is going to take time to get on top of the weeds etc. We actually got our plot on the 1 March and had been told the whole plot had been sprayed to kill the weeds.  I was up the allotment last Tues night and yes I could see a few weeds but nothing serious so as I was short for time left them.  I went to the allotment yesterday as I had loads to plant etc only to find at least 1/4 of it was covered in small nettles and grass,  where it has suddenly sprouted from I do not know.  I would have thought the weed killer the land owner sprayed would have killed the nettles originally but it seems they are still in abundance is there anything anyone would recomend to get rid of them once and for all or is it just a case of keep digging them out as they come through?

[John]

Nettles are tough, just one spray is rarely enough with glyphosate. You also need to leave the weeds for a couple of weeks after spraying to allow the poison to be taken to the roots.

I'd suggest you dig out the roots where you are planting and stick them in a barrel of water to drown them before composting.

In the areas where you're not planting, hoe off the tops or cut and compost the tops. Eventually this tires them out and kills them.

[compostqueen]

I keep some on the margins of my plot for the cabbage white butterflies to lay their eggs. Better there than on the brassicas. The top are good to eat in soup or quiche etc and you can put them in the compo bin as an activator or use them to make nettle tea fertiliser. Good stuff, in the right place  

[compo]

Take off the tops and make nettle tea, fab for most plants but especialy broad beans :salut:

[chicken soup]

Thanks for the replies I think it will be get as much root out as possible when I plant stuff and hoe the rest as they appear. I think it is going to be a long process it just amazes me how quickly they appear.

[poultrygeist]

If you've ver dug out nettle roots, they can run for yards and form a network. Snaps off if you're not careful so it can regrow. Very clever stuff. Just a pity it stings too.  

Rob

[lincspoacher]

Dont hoe, it cuts the roots up and the entire plant can regenerate from one inch of root, so to truly eradicate them you have to ruthlessly dig out every tiny scrap of root....very tedious...........

[chicken soup]

It is a very slow tedious job as they are only small nettles.  I spent half an hour on my hands and knees at the weekend just weeding out two rows of onions.  The plot is full of them.  Luckily I am not the only one with them everyone is complaining about them.  I think we spend more time weeding than we do planting.

I am thinking of covering alot of the plot with plastic, once everything is harvested, do you think that will help?  Thats a long time off yet though so back to the weeding. :cry:

[Alex 98]

Is that a Tibetan Terrier?

We had one Sideny 'Passiflora'
Miss him still :cry:

Alex 98

[Jeanieblue]

Be encouraged, I dug up a big nettle patch on our old, shared allotment last spring. I've had a look just recently. It's been abandoned by the person I used to share with, and the weeds are up again, but hardly any nettles in sight.

[blackbob]

i always leave a large clump of nettles untouched in a far corner of the plot.
the peacock butterflies rely on them,if you have the space i would recommend it