Topic: How do I clear my plot?

[Peeweepoopants]

Hello all, I have just taken on a plot for the first time and my plot is covered in nettles and doc's. I've spoken to a few people about clearing my plot and I've had mixed answers. I've been told to get a bush cutter to clear it and then go over it with a rotavator but I've also been told to fork out all the weeds and not to rotavate the soil. What do I do? ???

[green lily]

Being lazy I would invest in a large can of roundup and do as much as you can aford with that. be careful to get a still day or you'll kill someone elses prize something.. ::) Its time consuming but I reckon an old watering can with a spray bar held low gets less drift than a sprayer. Then you could cover an area with cardboard and scythe the weeds onto it plus any hay/ straw/ grass cuttings etc. Don't ever rotavate unless you're convinced the roundup has done a good job first or you'll have much worse problems with chopped roots. Dig a small area carefully and begin to plan beds if you want them and slowly increase your clearances. A lawnmower is better than a rotovator to control weeds and the residue can go either on the compost heap or onto the cardboard. Some people chop everything down, hose well, plenty of slug pellets, cover with weed membrane or black poly and plant brassica's etc straight through. .. ;D Whatever have a great time and get to meet the neighbours

[Sparkly]

I certainly wouldn't rotavate with nettles and docks! I would stim and cover up. Uncover and dig the roots out a bit at a time. You could use weedkiller before strimming back if you wish.

[lottie lou]

When i took my plot on the council rototaved it - something I lived to regret

[taurus]

remove as much weed as you can 1st then rotivate.  If you do it the other way round you'll chop weed into small peices and have millions next spring.  The best thing to do is get something to cover the ground with, to block out the light.  This will stop most weeds from growing.  If you plant as you clear the ground theres still lots of things you can grow for salad crops as well as things for winter.
Welcome to the site.  Don't go to gung ho to start of with or you'll end up with a bad back.  Someone will be along to give a better planting list/advice.  We love to see photo's of the start and work in progress  ;D ;D  enjoy.

[brown thumb]

when i took over my 1st plot it was a farmers field i had it rotovated and dug it removing all the weeds as i see them but has to keep on top of the weeding but i don't find it too bad to do, my 2nd which ive took on this january and i covered it over with  black plastic at the beginning of  april, i had a little look yesterday and the grass is all dead so digging is on the cards soon but lots dont reconmend rotovating  as it does cut all the weed roots in small peices but i dont find them too much of a bother to dig

[chriscross1966]

It's a shame you're about six weeks too late... rotavate in a thick layer of manure, ridge, cover with cardboard and more manure and then plant spuds through it .... you'll still have to dig it through in the autumn but you'll not get so many weeds that you can't just pull them out till then... unfortuantely needed to be done at least six weeks ago... now I'd say roundup then rotavate a week later, cover for a coupe of weeks, take the cover off, roundup again and rotavate a week after that, then rotavate weekly until autumn adding as much manure etc as you can while doing it.... you'll not get a thing this year but next year will be easy going....

Or do what I' did in the same situation.... get digging.... took me until spring to do the whole thing but I've precious few perrneials (mostly thistles) tryign to get back , the rest are annuals and can be hoed....

[Toadspawn]

I would cut all the top growth off, shred and compost or dry and burn. Then when the weeds begin to show new growth spray the whole lot with Roundup.
Get the proper stuff from an agricultural merchant rather than the stuff you can buy in a garden centre. It is more expensive but works better because it is more concentrated. Spray early on a sunny day and AVOID any drift onto neighbouring plots or paths. The beauty of Roundup is that it is a translocated herbicide and the roots are killed.
Preferably dig the plot over and remove all the dead roots, but you could use a rotovator (easier) because chopping up the roots will not matter as they should be dead.
Be aware that very occasionally a little bit may sometimes start to regrow if it was missed by the spray.    
If you wanted to you could plant into the soil immediately because the herbicide is denatured on contact with the soil.

[Tee Gee]

In the long term digging and weeding is the best approach!

Set out your beds and dig them one at a time in this way you will have ' usable' areas in a relatively short time.

For example you can have a couple of beds ready for planting out some salad crops straight away,then follow these with  winter greens,Japanese onions and garlic.

Then you can carry on digging at your leisure in readiness for next years crops.

Plus it will allow the winter weather to act on your soil structure.

This link might be helpful; http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Allotments/01-Introduction.htm

[Jeannine]

Feel obliged to say this..Roundup is now banned in many European countries.Harmful to wildlife and toxic to fish

I think  it's days are numbered in the UK frankly.Certainly in Canada it is coming despite Mansantos strength and power

XX Jeannine

[cornykev]

Strim to the ground and burn the weeds when dry on a wind free day
Mark a suitable area and dig over pulling out all the weeds
Cover the rest and peel back the covers as you go
A little at a time, don't kill yourself
No to weedkiller and you will be pulling weeds for years if you rotavate and chop the weeds ten fold. ???

[Digeroo]

Welcome to A4A.  For me people here are divided into diggers and rotavators, and being a digger I recommend digging.  I would back people who say take things steady.  If you dig over one bed at a time there is still time to sow some things and get a crop. 

Real seeds have a good guide
http://www.realseeds.co.uk/summersowing2.html

I think it is so much less daunting to attach one area at a time but seeing things growing will spur you on.   Mulch up your crops to prevent more weeds germinating and get rid of any weeds which pop up in done areas asap.

Good luck.  Set yourself achievable goals so you feel successful. 

Come back to A4A for lots of encouragement.

[roycurwen1]

Hi  i think there  is only one way to clear a plot and that is you have to dig out  all the weed and then get a mantis to break up the soil . When i took over plot9b in April 2011 it had not been touched for 3 years .6 months earl er the chap on the next plot had the whole area covered with carpet for me i just dug a little at a time . Don't over do it as this may cause you problems and you may loose faith . Just one more point when you are satisfied that you have cleared all the weed plant something in the space even if you don't like it or going to use it you can give it away this way you can see that you have  grown something and that will give you incentive  to carry on .ATB Roy

[cambourne7]

Welcome to A4A as you can see where a helpful bunch.

Every plots different as is every gardener and have to bite off enough of your plot at a time that you can deal with short term and on a longer term the bits your not getting to cover. In some cases you can spray then cover but you need to take a look at what you have as in some cases you might have some hidden gems in there.

Personally if i was to get an allotment again i would go to an antique shop buy £20-£30 quids worth of old bits and cover them in soil put some in the site and post the rest to time team so they could dig it for me :) HAHA

One serious word of advice is that having an allotment and getting it right takes time and hard work you dont have to do it all and you dont have to rush to plant stuff you might be better off spending your time getting it ready and planting for winter as you go and look to next spring/summer for your really start for lots of crops. I have seen many allotment holders go in all guns blazing and nearly kill themselves to dig a plot over get 2 lettues and a load of courgettes wonder if its worth it and give up.

Good luck

[Deb P]

My tuppenceworth, I use cover and planting to clear my very couch, dock and dandelion ridden plot.

Example below: in the foreground I have cut down the top growth, covered it with a manure and straw mix, and then covered it with damp proof membrane and planted butternut squash in bottomless pots. I will leave the membrane on overwinter then dig it over in the spring.

In the background you can see an area I cleared using this method last year. It is now couch and dandelion free, I have planted squash there this year and they are doing well, just keep hoeing any new weeds off. If you have a full plot it is important to get a bit sorted early on so you don't lose heart, very few lucky people inherit plots in a good state, so it keeps you going. If you clear a bit of ground by whatever method you choose, plant it up straightaway or cover it, or the weeds will be back before you can blink!

[dave83]

Hi PeeWeePooPants (love the name),

I was in a similar position back in Sepember/October, although to be fair we did not have nettles. We still have not totally cleraed it (have been a bit lazy), although we have started to realise that certain suggestions work well for us.

In a lot of allotment literature they do make the point about working on small sections of the plot at one time, do not try and do the whole thing. Yes it does look messy, but by slowly unearthing each section you can put more into it and see what works and what doesn't.

To add to this, I would look to get your hands on either spare/old carpet or thick tarpolin (like what the markets use to cover there stalls). It's best to get either carpet or tarpolin first, then you can see what sort of area you can cover.

Start by clearing the section, you can use a petrol strimmer, or by hand with some shears would do. When the grass/weeds are cut right back to almost nothing, then dig a square patch, about a spades depth, put the soil to one side and then put in some compost into the whole.

With the dug out soil, if it has grass on it, turn it over and put the grass side down ontop of the compost, fill up the hole that you have just dug, then put your carpet/tarpolin on top, use bricks or something equally heavy to weight it down, leave this for minimum 3 weeks, keep checking underneath the covering to see what is happening, if there is any growth, get rid of it straight away.

This is not an exact science, you will have to guess but about a month would be best to leave it. Once this time has passed, turn the soil over, which is pre-paring the beds, then the best thing to start with would be potatos, try to aim for a plot for about 9 potatoes, and space them out equally. By planting potatoes this will help to break the ground up even more, plus they are hardy and should grow anywhere.

Once the potatoes are in, move on to another spot, about the same size again, repeat the steps above, if you found the grass had not fully died, then leave for longer, or do not even put the grass back in (this is suppose to help with the soil, not sure if it actually does yet).

That is what my friend and I are doing on our plot, sorry for the long reply. I think if you want it cleared organically, then this is the best method to use.

Hope it helps.

[antipodes]

Strim - cover (manure first if possible and if you will be leaving that area for quite a while) - uncover and dig over when ready to plant - don't expect that you will ever be weedfree :)

Simples!

[goodlife]

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don't expect that you will ever be weedfreeWell said..many don't realise that is on going battle....that's what nature does..try to grow and spread.
We have one 'newbie' who hired mini digger.. ::) They scraped all top growth off and the allotment looked great in couple of days..all veg plants were soon set and now they are no where to be seen..and lottie looks like it was last year this time.. ::)
There has been loads of good advise given here..and now you have unfortunate job to choose your way of tackling the worst.
My advise is..fork out all obvious perennial weeds..nettles, dogs etc. and turn the rest of the soil over with spade so that the top soil with all rest of the weeds (annuals) are turn over into bottom of the hole. All annual weed will die once out of the light and any nutrients they have taken for growth will be returned back into soil.
You soon see progress with your work and maybe even plant something. You can then rotavate next spring when the soil is moist and easier to rotavator to work in and perharps start using manures etc to make your soil better...but for now when things can be bit overwhelming just consentrate clearing first.
Any soil you don't use..turned over or not..covering will help keep unwanted growth down.
Now, I'm intersted to know what approach you are going to take..keep us posted..it will be helpful info for other newbies too as your question is something that I'm sure many will think but don't dare ask...photos would be lovely too..particularly before , during and after.. ;) ;D..that's if you got time for that sort of thing..you'll be busy, busy.. ;D

[Ian Pearson]

If nettles and docks are all that's there, it probably means it has only been unused for one season. If it hasn't been trodden on, it might dig quite easily. Wait for some rain, then it might be possible to just fork out the roots.

In the mean time, priority 1 is to prevent seeding. Chop off any flowers or developing seed heads with shears.

Sow some winter squash in pots at home. They'll be ready to plant out once you have some ground cleared. Plant them with some layers of cardboard covering the surrounding ground to prevent germination of new weeds (you turn up new seeds when you dig).

[gypsy]

2 good reasons for starting at the front edge...
This may sound obvious, but worth a thought.

If you walk over the ground and  dig further back then there will be a lot of hard packed ground at the front which will be difficult to clear.

Also, a whole plot may take years to clean up. Progress can be very slow at first. In the meantime the landlord (council or association) will expect to see crops growing and progress made. This looks better if the front part is clean and being used. The rest can be cut down and covered with whatever you have (cardboard will rot down, unlike carpet which is harder to dispose of).

Hope this is helpful.