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A lot of good advice already in, but a couple of things caught my eye - both in the area of that helpful new? US? proverb "don't let 'Perfect' be the enemy of Good".
1) Turning one or two compost bins is perfect - turning a mountain of compost is silly - it will do a good job on its own - & long before you will have time to use it. Growing stuff on the heaps is the best possible plan - in fact creating planters with pallets or builders' bags will allow you to plant carrots (especially red/purple ones) too high for the "fly".
2) No perennial weed can withstand being dried out - once it's crispy-dry it's dead & double-dead (I've done the experiments) - then you can compost them with everything else.
If you have a lot then you need to find some metal grilles or mesh (or netting 'hammocks') to spread them out above the damp soil. Once you've done this they will dry out twice as fast (and rain just washes the soil off so they dry nearly as fast as in a drought). This doesn't only apply to dandelions & docks etc. it also applies to couch grass and bindweed - though both routinely go down a spade depth and bindweed needs to be followed wherever it goes deeper. Neither of the latter 2 buggers can be killed in water - it's a popular suggestion but it's 100% nonsense (not to mention the smell).
One more thing - perennials can be weakened a lot by a year under black plastic - but it has to be 100% opaque. I made the mistake of using silvered (painted) tarp but when I held it up in summer it was only 90% opaque - it killed a lot of stuff in winter but by March, grass and even chickweed were flourishing under it. My temporary fix was to spread a mat of "safe" weeds to dry on it, a better solution is 'roof-tiling' it with whole opened newspapers held down with tree & branch prunings - surprisingly windproof & the tarp or plastic is key to stop weeds escaping through the gaps. The result also UV-proofs the plastic - it's (I hesitate to say it) Perfect and cheap (even foxes give up trying to dig through tarp).
an early morning stint will stop all the natterers holding you up.
My method is drag out the trusty asian hoe and chip the weeds out,
raking all the rubbish to a long mound at the bottom of the plot. Then start digging a couple of yards a day chucking all the bigger roots on the mound. You then have a cultivated plot even if you are not planting, normal size plot takes 2 to 3 weeks doing a couple of hours each day before breakfast. Cover the mound in builders plastic that can be got free if you are a skip diver. Make a few holes for the dreaded courgettes. Then you can start the finer digging for planting. Move any plants that have been left by the previous tenants to where you want them, the old spot would have used up all the goodness where they were and rhubarb like its roots frosted, doing more than a couple of hours each day will just wear you out and early morning stint will stop all the natterers holding you up.
I've ordered one. I hope the right type comes.
Just remember it is the hoe that does the work, if you ache afterwards you are using it wrong
Lots of advice on here for you Harry. I took on my plot in my mid to late fifties whilst I was still working full time. My plot is 34yd by 9yds and it had not been cultivated for at least 2 years, remains of an old greenhouse, glass everywhere. Nothing left that was worth saving. I filled skip after skip with rubbish let alone the weeds which I tried to compost after I had built my compost bins. My wife thought me mad for taking it on but when taking on a new plot you know what you are taking on its a case of take it or leave it. In year one I cleared it from one end to the other and set what I could. Not a great crop but it was a start and it only gets better. I cannot blame the committee for setting cultivation targets although the 50% after 3 months is a bit tight. I ran our site for a couple of years and its a thankless task too often people would take on an allotment and you would not see them after the first 3 months then you have all the hastle of getting rid of them.You say that you are aiming to cultivate 20 to 25 square metres and cover some of the rest of the plot with whatever. If that's your target fair enough each to it's own but you are not going to set much in 25 square metres. One suggestion I have for you is buy an Indian type digging tool ( an Azada ). I bought one when I took my plot on and it certainly helped me clear it. When all said and done you cannot beat hand weeding you will not clear any patch completely after getting on for 20 years I still get loads of weeds. The main thing is don't get too down hearted Rome was not built in a day. Sign up to the major seed companies and then when they have seed clearance offers buy your seeds.
Wear a hat when using it though or you will have loads of soil in your hair!
My advice is to look at your whole plot and prioritise:1. Nasty weeds such as docks, stinging nettles, ground elder, brambles you don’t want, giant plantain,dandelion, creeping buttercup, bindeeed - get rid of these by digging out as best you can all over the plot2. Get rid of or stack at the back of your plot broken glass (use gloves), rotten wood, old tyres, rusty metal, old carpet full of weeds, metal tins no longer holding water etc3. Choose an area roughly 5 metres long across your plot and dig it to remove weeds. I find it easier touse a fork as it causes less damage. Put the weeds either in a compost bin already on the plot or justpile it up in a heap. You can make a. Compost bin later.4. Rake your soil until it looks beautifully fine and weedfree.5. Then repeat 4,5 choosing the easiest part every time until the whole plot looks immaculate6. Build a compost bin with 3 or 4 pallets wired together and put in all your weeds.7. Sow your main crops in a greenhouse or windowsill and transplant to your plot.8. Beetroot, carrots, parsnips, broad beans you can sow direct when the soil temperature is warm enoughChris Donohue
My random thoughts:If I found my new plot was mare's tail and bindweed, I'd give it up. You are a better person than me.
I started off when about 15 years ago...I dug (and even double dug) it... It's clay soil and I think that digging helps... Whether annual digging is beneficial on the improved soil I'm not so sure now. I'm looking more to cover, mulch, lightly fork, but I'm a way off that yet as a total approach.
That said, if you grow potatoes, you will be digging a part of your plot every few years when you lift the crop. A good opportunity to see what a large area of soil is like and apply improvers.
Cardboard is great. Break open a stout box, place it where you have weeds - even bindweed - and cover with (ideally) wood chippings. If the covering is too light, you will need bricks or such to hold it down. It will suppress growth for a few weeks, and when it rots then, you can easily weed out what comes through (dandelions mostly). I use it mainly on the permanent paths but also between bean rows, etc. You could certainly plant courgettes, squash etc through it. The cardboard lasts only one season but the wood chip works on.
Similarly, carpet or plastic sheet clears the area of vegetation and gives you the clear space to start from. Then keeping that clear is the issue.
I use other mulches of varying cost and greenness, but would benefit from obtaining some good heavy duty plastic sheeting to use over winter. When I ask other plot holders where they bought theirs, it's usually been a builder's skip! My neighbours are not so accommodating when engaged in construction works.
Green mulches - a friend is a strong advocate of these as a soil improver and preventing erosion over winter. You just dig them in - or even plant through them. I'm wondering if they would be my new weed ...
Finally, the hoe, strimmer and mower are your friend (but I am not as well acquainted with them as I should be).
My next job is clearing the nettles and dandelions out of my raspberry bed. It may be easiest to lift the raspberries too.
You mention a lot of ground prep but have you been planting up the cleared areas yet? Getting potatoes in and growing and the foliage will suppress the weeds for you, any nasties you miss you can dig out at harvest.
Also I’d recommend getting your hands on any paving slabs you can on Freecycle or Marketplace, lay them on old compost bags or similar to make a semi permanent path or two, then you won’t spend time clearing paths as well as beds!
If you have anywhere at home to raise seedling you can give them a head start before planting out which will reduce your failure rate compared with sowing direct. Big leaved plants like courgettes and squash will also naturally suppress weeds once they get going, you can even plant them through cardboard that will help even more to knock the weeds back.
You will have to learn to live with some weeds as they grow back from the smallest bit of root left in….like most people I’ve spent years digging out couch on my plot but the bindweed is now knocked back enough just one bed suffers with it but I keep it planted up and the crops still grow ok!
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Topic: Any Advice for Clearing My Badly Overgrown Plot. (Read 9374 times)
