Topic: Weedkiller

[themauler]

I am in the process of clearing an area of my allotment that is quite overgrown with weeds. Although I am getting the weeds out, I know there are going to be a lot of roots left. is there a weedkiller I can use to kill any roots that are left, but also allows me to plant very soon after. I will be putting manure on top then more compost.
I am wanting to plant in it within days, anyone got any ideas?
I know to most gardeners weedkiller is a dirty word but hopefully someone can help.

[grannyjanny]

As we are no dig (Charles Dowding) we would take the perennial weeds out, put down some thick cardboard then put the manure etc on top & plant through that.

[lincsyokel2]

You can smother them. I use black plastic, and left on for 6 - 18 months. After 6 months all you will see is the tap roots, which you can dig out, after 18 months even they wont be alive.  I am of the school of thought that old carpeting is a seriously bad idea, because its been shown that it releases some very nasty chemicals into the soil as it degrades, and is the main reason shredded carpet has been rejected by the compost manufacturers as a substitute for peat. The best stuff is silage sheet, a thick black plastic resistant to ultraviolet, used by farmers to cover silage heaps. The cheaper alternative is old thick cardboard, but you need a lot.

Theres nothing wrong with chemical warfare as long as there nothing potentially edible at some point in the future in the way of the blitz. I wouldnt use chemicals on any plant is was going to have to eat in the next two months.

[goodlife]

I'm afraid there is no such a weed killer that would be able to select weedroots from other plant roots and work while still underground as well.
All available weedkillers work in a way that you need to apply them first on actively growing plant leaves and from that they either travel down to roots and killing the roots first and rest of the plant follows (slow process) or by killing the foliage first and roots without foliage will dies with the lack of top growth (doesn't work with perennials weeds).
There used to be 'total' weedkillers available for domestic use..but those killed anything and everything in their path and the ground was unuseable for up to 6 months afterwards.

Basically you are either doomed to use glysophate based weedkillers that need actively growing plants to transport the chemical into roots, wait to plants die down (takes couple of weeks)...or...get the elbow grease out..remove the worst of the weeds/roots and start planting and carry on weeding through the season as and when new weeds pop up.
Each year you will get less and less weeds coming up but at least your crops are free of chemicals and eventually you do get top of the weed situation... ;)
There is no quick and easy option available for regarding weeds..it is long term battle that you just have to learn to live with. Lot of veg tolerate some competition and you still end up with good crop..but wanting to land look 'perfect'.. :-\..well..I'm not one to advise with that as I don't even agree with weedless soil..totally unnatural...but that is another subject to write about.

[goodlife]

Grannyjanny refers to this chap.. ;) http://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/

[grannyjanny]

Thank you goodlife ;D.

[cornykev]

If your digging the weeds out then the roots will be dug out with then,
You'll never get them all out but weed killer is a no no especially if your planting straight away,
As GJ says lay down cardboard and plant through it,
I'm afraid there is no quick fix,
But as I've found out it's hard work running an allotment and many fall by the wayside because they don't realise the time and effort that goes into running a lottie, Once the hard work of digging it, is over, the work will be easier but you have to keep on top of it
Hoeing the weeds should be done at least once a week
Best of luck and happy growing.

[lincsyokel2]

If your digging the weeds out then the roots will be dug out with then,
You'll never get them all out but weed killer is a no no especially if your planting straight away,
As GJ says lay down cardboard and plant through it,
I'm afraid there is no quick fix,
But as I've found out it's hard work running an allotment and many fall by the wayside because they don't realise the time and effort that goes into running a lottie, Once the hard work of digging it, is over, the work will be easier but you have to keep on top of it
Hoeing the weeds should be done at least once a week
Best of luck and happy growing.

Once you have broken the back, and kept it weeded and cultivated, after a couple of years it gets easier. But you only need a plot neglected for a season and you're back to square one with the work.  I rotavate my from top to bottom at the start of the season, again at the end of the season, then cover it all winter.  The weeds largely dont get a chance to establish.

[Ellen K]

Spray everything with Glyphosate.  I did when I took on my plot.  At least things wont get any worse while they are waiting for you and your fork to reach them.   There isn't much else left on the market these days.  No dig and lasagne gardening are fine if your plot is relatively clear and the soil is good.  If you are starting off with a jungle on a former landfill as I did, these methods don't stand a snowball's chance in hell.  Good luck, people make this work and you can too.

[themauler]

OK Thanks all
The hard work starts here
Now I know whats required I better get started
Thanks

[laurieuk]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
This was my plot when I took it over in late February it is now almost completely planted, the only way to clear ground is with a good fork . This plot had been covered with carpet and all sorts then left for over 3 years.

[Sparkly]

Our plot looked like this when we first took it on:

http://bp0.blogger.com/_SXMv2XhorB4/R91W36cefBI/AAAAAAAAADI/KbphJlIwpf4/s1600/plot_summer_2007.jpg

Spraying with glyphospate and hacking it all back took it down to this:

http://bp2.blogger.com/_SXMv2XhorB4/R91fUacefDI/AAAAAAAAADY/jLBXzcQesvk/s1600/DSCF0307.jpg

If the plot is very bad you will still have plenty of alive weed roots to dig out anyway, but it will help. I would say it depends how bad the plot is. It's isn't a quick fix solution; you will still need to dig it all out anyway.

Our 2nd plot still had alot of weeds, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad so we just dug it all out without spraying.

To be honest most people who had failed on our site are the ones than come on, dig it all over pulling the odd weed out, but don't spend enought time getting the roots out. Then by May it is over run again and they dissappear. I would say planting it within days is unrealistic if the plot really is a mess. Allotments are long term projects. Perhaps it may be better to concentrate on clearing a smaller proportion of the plot well than all of it badly? Perhaps post a picture and we could give you better advice?

[laurieuk]

I should have put at the end of my previous post " in my opinion" as we all do our own thing. They tell us  glyphospate is so safe in fact some say it does good in the ground, they used to say this about so many things in the past and then change their mind. If you are going to dig the rubbish out you need to do it and aim to get as much as you possibly can get out. If you want to follow my progress you can do so on my blogspot website.