New Allotment

[Mr Smith]

I have had allotments before but because of work I have not had one for years. I have just taken one on which needs completely winter digging, it is covered in all sorts of rubbish so any suggestions on what to spray it with?, also I have been trying to locate someone with a plough to turn it over or would I get away with a heavy duty rotovator/cultivator from my local hire shop, cheers

[Mr Smith]

[twinkletoes]

Good morning Mr Smith and welcome.  You will have lots of views expressed here about the pros and cons of rotovating/ploughing or using chemicals (personally I'd dig if at all possible) but if you go down the hiring a rotovator route be very careful that the depth adjuster has not been capped so it only goes 6" deep maximum.  This has happened to people on my site and they were not very happy about it and of course makes the hiring of the item useless.  Sorry I'm not very good at technical-speak but I'm sure you will understand what I mean.
Twinketoes

[growmore]

Any spray containing glyphosphate,  popular one seems to be roundup which is a systemic  weedkiller. But it needs spraying on when plants are in leaf  which may be a bit late this year..
Alternative is to hire a heavy duty strimmer /brushwood cutter and chop everything to as near ground level as you can ...
A  rotovator from hire shop should then be OK to dig it. I would suggest you hire one if possible with the tines at the front.  |A bit more work to use than the rear tined wheel jobs but they  do dig quite  a bit deeper..
It's a good time of year to tackle it ..Hope it goes OK for you   :)

[growmore]

Twinkletoes our replies crossed in post :)   The reason I  suggested a front tined rotovator was they will dig to 10inch or more ...
The capped rear ones are ok for layiing  lawns not really suitable for veg etc..

[Mr Smith]

Thanks for the replies personally I'm not a rotovator fan but if I could get a depth of ten inch that would be good, I have a petrol strimmer which will knock all the big stuff down, cheers

[twinkletoes]

Thanks Growmore - I will smugly pass this information on.   ;D  ;)
Twinkletoes

[flowergirl]

Sounds like me and thee are in same boat cocker spadge, or for those of you more southern than Barnsley..It would appear you and I share the same problems.

  I will be keen to hear which method you choose.  I am strimming then burning, then digging the beds I need.  I will then wait until spring and round up any new growth.  I too wondered what to do but opted against rotivator because I'm not sure what further weed damage I will do.

Pics of you plots would be nice.  Mine are on a previous post: New allotment part 3 feel free to have a butchers x

Good look!!

[Tohellwithweeds]

hi Ive only just got my lottie and have been working hard  :) i have strimmed all the big stuff and was gunna use round up??? and then get it ploughed but i would rather do it my self and rotavate how deep do i need to go? oh and by the way Ive never used one before are they heavy and would i a slip of a lass be able to handle one? ;) :)

[cornykev]

Welcome to the madhouse both of you.  ;D ;D ;D

[manicscousers]

hiya, you mad people, pull up a wheelbarrow and join the nutters  :P ;D

[saddad]

Welcome to both of you... Amcide is a really good spray... but needs to be applied to green growth and you can't replant for six months... would be used for half the plot while you beat the other half into submission!
:)

[torquil]

   welcome to this site both, any information you need you have come to the right place ;D ;D ;D

[Tohellwithweeds]

hello to any one who knows about crouch grass :( :( half my plot is covered in the stuff  ??? ??? er i was thinking what if i just ploughed it up ??? would that get rid of it??? i was gunna use some sort of weed killer but the chap i spoke to in b&q said i wouldn't be able to plant any thing for up to six months if i did use a weed killer please help as I'm confused as to what to do   :(

[Trevor_D]

I think the guy from B&Q doesn't know what he's talking about. There are weedkillers that are powerful around, but the likes of you & I have been banned from buying them for years. I think anything you can buy off the shelf is rendered inert as soon as it touches the soil.

But couch grass - now they've banned anything that actually kills it - is a long job. Dig it out ruthlessly every year & burn it. Sorry.

[jennym]

You could use a weedkiller such as Roundup to kill off the couch grass, it's best applied when the grass is growing actively. This contains glyphosate as its active ingredient, and you will be able to plant in the soil within a week of using it.

The type of weedkiller that the chap from B&Q is talking about would be the type used to keep paths clear, those products like B&Q path & patio weedkiller, which contains Glufosinate Ammonium, or any weedkiller containing Sodium Chlorate. These DO persist in the soil, and shouldn't be used anywhere near your growing area.

You could also cover the land with a good quality thick black woven plastic membrane, or terram fabric or cardboard, anything to keep out the light.

[davee52uk]

We had a bloke on the plots for years who worked as a rep for a agricultural company. I used to call him Mr Green as he did not do any organic growing at all. I have to say that his was by far the best allotment. His produce was great and there was never any problems with weeds etc.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Weed free, perhaps, but who knows what was getting into his crops?

[stig]

weed free yes..and the only thing introduced to the dinner plate slug/worm when fully cooked will do you a lot less harm!

[Mr Smith]

Yippee,
             Today I picked my keys up for the gate that leads to our new allotment after four weeks of waiting(local government for you). I can't wait tomorow I'm going to mark it all out knock off all the rubbish which must have been growing for yonks with my mates pro-strimmer then  Mrs Smith and I will start to get stuck in with our tools which we last used 25 years ago in Rutland on our last allotment, Saturday I go and collect a Rotovator which I bought off E-Bay for £60, it's Christmas already :) :) :) ;)

[Lauren S]

Congratulations Mr Smith on getting the keys to your new way of life.
Happy digging and I wish you good luck with your 2008 harvest. 
Lauren  :)

P.S...Will you post some pics for us please?