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Any Advice for Clearing My Badly Overgrown Plot.

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Harry:
I just got my small plot. Looks like it's had ZERO attention for at least a couple of years or more.

A quick survey reveals it's had strawberries and raspberries and a small patch of rhubarb, but they are just integral with the weeds. The strawberries cover a random 2 to 4 square metres and the raspberries are just half a dozen tied canes with dead seedheads around them.

Should I bother to salvage those by weeding around them? Or maybe dig them out and move them? Or will they be worthless weeds themselves by now?

Allotment is to be used to grow veg, on a minimal budget. Much as I'd like to just nuke the lot and go no-dig, I can't afford to spend much on compost. Currently weeding by hand and trying to get ahead of the weeds with big sheets of black plastic. Obviously I can't just stick black plastic over the strawberry areas without sacrificing them.

Rotovating is not in my plan. I could strim it, fork it or dig it, but I want to save some effort. How much weed root can I get away with leaving behind? (How long is a piece of string)
I'm planning on trying to cultivate only half the area this year, because I figure if I try to clear it all, I'll run out of time for sowing.

Harry:
Hmmmmm.

Note to the esteemed site owner, moderators,

You do rather let adverts dominate the site. Sorry, to say. I know you need to monetise the site, but the auto-reply advert is a bit much.

I know.... Your site, your decision. I'd rather pay a subscription than see all those ads.

Regards,
H

Obelixx:
Sorry to say it depends on the weeds.  Annuals will be killed off by the plastic but perenneial weed roots, especially thistles and bindweed and couch grass will just bide their time and shoot again the minute you move the plastic.

The raspberry canes may well send up new shoots this spring and those will fruit so remove the dead canes and weed round them.   Starwberries are best re-planted every year so you crop on a 3 year rotation - the first year plants are getting their roots down and will not produce much fruit.  The second year plants will fruit well and the 3rd year plants will fruit and sen out runners you then plant out or pot up to keep the rotatio and vigour going.   If you want to keep your budget low, try some Tlc for the strawberry plants still there by weeding round them and/or re-planting in a cleared bed.

Start making your own compost with all the weeds and dead material you clear.  Try planting thru cardboard on new beds.  It will keep the light off weed seeds and roots and reduce your need to hoe.

Deb P:
Knowing where to start is always the hard bit!
First thing I’d do is try and identify any useful features, paths, compost heap, trees.
Then I’d dig out any perennial weeds, especially docks and dandelions which will just grow back if you strim the tops off.
I’d then strim the rest and take off the long grass and annual weeds to start a compost pile or add to an existing one.
That should leave you with a better idea of your space, so you can decide what you want to grow this year. Only grow what you and your family normally eat or would like to eat! There are plenty of planting and sowing charts available online ( see TeeGee’s excellent resources on this site) to help you work out what needs sowing when.
After that, only clear an area when you are ready to plant something in it….there is nothing more demoralising that clearing an area, only to have weeds take it back over with depressing speed. Cover other areas you know you won’t be tackling for a while with weighed down cardboard from recycling skips to help knock the grass and weeds back before you tackle them. Prepare, plant and keep weed free as you go. I sow very little directly in the soil as starting seeds at home and planting them out at the allotment has several advantages. Making a defined bed or some sort, a area pegged out with string or with wooden sides can help your morale as it immediately looks better, it stops you walking on it and compacting the soil, and with a defined area if you have limited time you can concentrate on just one bed per visit, sort it out really  thoroughly depending on what it requires (dig it over, or cover it, or plant it up, or weed it) then it looks good and you can move on to the next bit.
It might seem overwhelming at first but regular visits doing just a few tasks at a time is usually a successful approach rather than trying to sort it all out at once. Getting to know your allotment neighbours can be a worthwhile sharing site knowledge and seeing what grows well there. Enjoy!

Harry:

--- Quote from: Obelixx on January 14, 2023, 12:06:38 ---Sorry to say it depends on the weeds.  Annuals will be killed off by the plastic but perenneial weed roots, especially thistles and bindweed and couch grass will just bide their time and shoot again the minute you move the plastic.

The raspberry canes may well send up new shoots this spring and those will fruit so remove the dead canes and weed round them.   Starwberries are best re-planted every year so you crop on a 3 year rotation - the first year plants are getting their roots down and will not produce much fruit.  The second year plants will fruit well and the 3rd year plants will fruit and sen out runners you then plant out or pot up to keep the rotatio and vigour going.   If you want to keep your budget low, try some Tlc for the strawberry plants still there by weeding round them and/or re-planting in a cleared bed.

Start making your own compost with all the weeds and dead material you clear.  Try planting thru cardboard on new beds.  It will keep the light off weed seeds and roots and reduce your need to hoe.

--- End quote ---
Thanks, Last thing first: I already consigned about my body weight in weeds to a compost heap. A huge pile. And that's barely scratched the surface of a tiny corner of my plot. I've excluded the seedy weeds which I think included dock and bindweed. They are set aside for disposal. Maybe incinerate or take off the site.
Raspberries. I think I'll do as you suggest. Trim back the dead, re-tie the good and generally weed around them. See what they do in summer.
Strawberries look like they have spent the last few years spreading out by runners. I'm undecided really, but I would like to see SOME fruit this summer. So maybe a mixed approach of pull out and dump  the older looking source plants and separate off and leave anything that looks like a first year plant, weeding around them. That's if I can figure the old from the new. Probably relocate about half of the newer babies as well, so the beds will be where I want them.
Thanks for the cardboard tip. I think cardboard will be big in my plans, for weed suppressing and even for temporary paths.
I've never had so many weeds to deal with in my small garden, so it's a bit daunting. That black membrane stuff is a bit luxury for my budget unless I manage to scrounge some. I want to avoid chemical weed killer.
Perennial weeds. Hmmmf. I don't yet know which weed is what. Hard to tell because it's all dead looking at the moment. Few leaves to identify, just dried out sticks with seed pods on them.  I guess I just learn as I go. I think I already learned not to rotavate but I also learned I'm a slow worker and those darned weeds will be racing me.

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