Advice on new overgrown allotment

[jillye]

Hi, Ive just taken over a very overgrown allotment - see my earlier post if you want some more background
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,41147.0.html
It is basically overrun with brambles and their roots - I have chopped down all the brambles so far and was going to just start digging beds and removing the roots as I go along.
I have just taken this week off on holiday to do this but the bed I started to dig is now more like a swimming pool - its that wet and the drainage is bad.
A friend of mine has offered to take the top off my allotment and then dig it over with his digger which would save me a lot of backache and it would be ready for planting. 
Would be grateful for any opinions as to the pros and cons of this suggestion.

[jillye]

[Ishard]

What do you mean by 'take the top off'?

If hes scraping it off with a digger hes also taking your topsoil and thats not a good idea.

I use glyphosate and wait for the weeds to die then rake them off.

[Baccy Man]

Don't let him skim the top as you would lose your top soil.
If your friend is reasonably skillful with his digger then he will be able to get your plot dug over & broken down to a fine tilth very quickly. You can then go over it with a fork to remove all the weeds & roots, that will be a fairly easy job as the soil will already of been broken up by the digger.

[saddad]

If he isn't you could end up with some stubborn compacted places...
:-X

[Gazfoz]

And a load of subsoil on top!

[albacore1854]

Cover it with polythene.When the top growth dies, use wood or whatever comes to hand to build some raised beds, fill them with potting compost, and hey presto instant allotment.

There really isn't a need for heavy machinery, all you will need is a hand trowel and a few questions on here.

Don't forget to ask some good ones that offer a lot of value, such as should I put three parsnip seeds, or four together when station sowing.

That isn't how I would tackle it, but it seems to be the correct way according to here.

[SMP1704]

I have just hit the 'ignore' button on Albacore's post - petulatant and sulking are words that spring to mind.

But let's ignore that and return to Jillies question.  I think this curent rain is so heavy that clay soil will struggle to soak it away and as your soil is compacted that makes it harder.  What makes it even more frustrating is that you have taken a week off >:(

I think the digger is a 50/50 - it could be great to get the bramble roots out but I think skimming off the top would leave you in a worse situation.

When I first started I used masses of the Wickes 4 for £10 compost to incorporate into the soil and that has certainly helped with drainage.

As well as brambles what weeds are you dealing with?  My view is that however much you dig, you will still leave bits behind, so maybe a couple of lasagne beds would be the answer this year and have you feeling like you have achieved something this week.

[posie]

I had mine rotavated by the local council, well they did it and then told me afterwards!  I have to say at first I was all in favour of it, it was easier to dig for starters.  However........despite my best efforts the weeds have returned en masse and I could have thrown myself on the floor and screamed the other day!  So I'm now against mechanical digging, slightly more in favour of glyco (did I just say that?) and dreading the good old manual dig in a few days time.  However I would advise to cover with polythene or any kind of weed supressant the bits that you're not working on, just to keep your sanity  ;D ;D

Most of all, don't forget the biscuits and the flask!!  Oh and photo's for all us nosy people.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Digging would be the traditional way, but it's slow, hard work, and you probably want to get something planted. Don't bother with raised beds unless you have a specific reason; they're a lot of work to set up. Dig part of it, and you can use that for crops with fine seeds like carrots. Put black plastic over the rest, and dig the edges in six inches or so so that roots don't run under it. You can plant a lot of things - potatoes, squashes, and so on - through holes in the plastic, so you can still get a crop this year. By next winter, a lot of the weeds will have dies, and it'll be a lot easier to dig it over and get rid of the survivors. Once you've got the perennial weeds out, don't dig without a specific reason. You can keep the weeds down and feed the soil with heavy organic mulches (lots of garden contractors will eagerly deliver dead leaves and grass cuttings to the site to avoid paying to dump them at the tip), and avoid a lot of unnecessary work. There's really no need for the annual ritual dig once the soil's clean.