Just taken on my first allotment which was well tended for many years(20-30), but has been left for about 1-2 years. Any advice on clearing matted grass, including large areas of Couch, would be much appreciated.
hi
congrats ;D
what size plot do you have?
Its possible that the plot might need a little freshening up.
Personaly i would hire some kit.
1) dont know what its called but they use it to cut the turf off the top of the soil this should slice away most of the dross at the top.
2) rotivate
then add as much maure and compost as you can and rotavate like mad
Or
Pen the site and add a couple of little piggie who will do the same job.
Cambourne7
thanks for the quick response- its good to get advice from others rather than info in books.
- I'm very tempted to go with your turf cutting/ rotivating suggestion - as it should be quick and satisying but I've read there would there be problems with working lots of small fragments of couch roots that would re-establish- am I over-worrying ?
The plot is fairly small; approx 7/8m x 30m
:-\
Hi saljo, no you are not worrying too much. If you do have lots of couch and you do chop it up with a rotivator virtually every new,small piece will grow. You have two choices, remove the pieces by hand or use a herbicide. Depends on which side of the organic fence you stand :D
Quote from: Larkspur on January 09, 2007, 14:57:13
You have two choices, remove the pieces by hand...
if it's any consolation, I've started down this road and I have to say that the bit I've dug and hand-weeded is the
only weed-free bit of my plot. everywhere else has new weeds growing away like mad that I'm frantically covering and ignoring!
norfolklass, I agree withyou 100%, have always done it that way and always will. I know it works but there are others on here who are likely to disagree......... ;) ;D 8)
We dug, forked and hand pulled, one bed at a time. Then did it again just before planting.
If I'd known about A4A I would have learned to use mulch / black plastic to suppress re-growth from the bits we missed ;D
Spuds and Jerusalem Artichokes seem good at clearing beds (but JA's can become a problem in their own right!). We also used a lot of marigolds.
Hi saljo, good question! We've all been there, just take it one small bit at a time and plug away :)
If you look on the wiki (middle button, above), Forum members have posted suggestions for alternative ways of clearing a site. I did what Barnowl suggests, and it's worked. There are different methods, find one that works for you and just keep going!
Good luck :D
thanks everyone !- this is one of the most friendly /useful websites I've come across
here we go then...........
-cut down tall stuff- remove perennials off site
- work rough bed layout with pegs/string
- cover beds in plastic
- dig bed/hand weed/ replace plastic unitil ready to plant
:)
That should sort it out!
;D
Looks a fine plan. :)
And take pictures before you start, then you can post them here and show us how brilliantly you've got on in due course :) :)
Saljo
I took on a previously cultivated then neglected plot last year. There were tufts of couch grass all over the plot. These were easy to lift, turn over then leave for a bit for the weather to do its thing then shake out the soil and dispose of the weedy bunch you are left with.
As the weeds started growing, I felt I was losing the battle so used some Roundup (said in a whisper, with furtive glances over shoulder ;) ) After about three weeks, it was completely knocked back and I have not had any problem with regrowth. So depending on how organic you plan to be, that could be another approach and then you could rotavate - the downside is that you would have to wait until the grass is actively growing and the rain stops........
BTW I am also with the diggers, but now use a spade rather than fork so that I get more of the weed roots out (not couch but the evil Horsetail) While it won't help you much in year one, I have found that digging in year 2 ,after a year of cultivation ,has been much easier.
One last thing, deffo recommend the string and pegs method to mark out and dig your beds but I found that the undug paths provided a place for weed roots to lurk and spring out given any opportunity, so it meant that I spent a fair amount of time hoeing the paths. It has to be said that I ran out of cash for ground cover material - so be prepared for those clearn soil paths that look fabby in April/May to be jungles by July. This year, I am digging up the paths and also resiting some of the beds and hopefully will get rid of the weed reservoir...
That all sounds a bit negative, but please don't be disheartened. If you can clear say 6-8 beds and cover or just ignore the rest in year one, you will be in a great place to fully cultivate the plot from Year 2 onwards.
Enjoy ;D
If the paths aren't free from perennial weds, you definitely need to dig them over, otherwise you're just laying up trouble for yourself.
Go for it Saljo ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Hi,
Your plot sounded a lot like mine from a couple of years ago, I waited for a nice day (a bit hard in this weather!!). Then phoned a few friends and said we'd have a digging party, everyone bring a fork. It took a while but it was well worth digging it all up by hand, I still got a bit of couch grass and bindweed the following year but most of it was clear.
i still like the idea of sticking a couple of pigs in the site :-)
has anyone tried it?
Quote from: Larkspur on January 09, 2007, 14:57:13
If you do have lots of couch and you do chop it up with a rotivator virtually every new,small piece will grow. You have two choices, remove the pieces by hand or use a herbicide. Depends on which side of the organic fence you stand :D
My last allotment I rotavated and got tons of weed cropping up and was forever weeding but never on top of it. My current plot I did by hand this past 8 months. It is still virtually weed free and they are just starting to rear their ugly heads now.
My opinion - get your back into it lad ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D Keep you fit....
Couch grass unfortunately in my experience needs digging out thouroughly and repeating until it is all gone. If you are using a new plot gradually, scrounge and beg old carpets and any other covering material available and cover for as long as possible areas not to be used - at least this reduces the area to work on whilst allowing the weeds to die off.
I can only repeat the virtues of thick, heavy, FREE cardboard, held down by bagfulls of the weeds you gradually dig out. The cardboard gives the couch grass etc a big setback, the bags gradually rot into useable compost, the cardboard rots away or can be moved to the next area as you dig. Another bonus is that in this constant rain, the ground under the cardboard is less saturated and easier to dig.
It does nothing for the look of the place, but now that I have been doing it for 7 months (v slowly and with long breaks for work/holiday/family reasons) there is a sense of purpose and steady achievement about the area, and it has received some compliments from the very few other users of this neglected field site. And I've had lots of veg from it.
I'd agree completely with what you say Artichoke.
The parts I covered over with cardboard were much easier to dig and suppressed the weeds. I then composted the soggy cardboard, what was left of it.
The most recent area I've done was marked out with string and sprayed with Roundup last summer. I've stripped off the top roots/grass and stacked it up. This area was much lighter soil than the rest of the plot which is heavy clay. I've now dug it over.
Both methods worked for me, but both knock back the growth of weeds in different ways while you get digging and that is the key.
Quote from: saljo on January 09, 2007, 13:30:38
Just taken on my first allotment which was well tended for many years(20-30), but has been left for about 1-2 years. Any advice on clearing matted grass, including large areas of Couch, would be much appreciated.
Hi saljo I suggest your use a sharp spade to chovel the Couch in case it is to thick like mine. I use a fork to take the root’s out I then cover the clean area immediately with a black plastic cover. I don’t use rotavator fear of spreading any roots.
Here’s an illustration (just click)
chovel the Couch (http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e392/AGbuaras/PICT0006.jpg?t=1168545334)
digging to pluck the roots (http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e392/AGbuaras/PICT0005.jpg?t=1168545371)
digging to pluck the roots close up (http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e392/AGbuaras/PICT0004.jpg?t=1168545397)
the roots (http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e392/AGbuaras/PICT0013.jpg?t=1168545425)
plastic black covers[/url
its back breaking work :P but saves the hassle on the long run...take it easy and do it bit by bit
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e392/AGbuaras/PICT0010.jpg?t=1168545448)
Hello saljo- I am also newbie lottie holder and my lottie is covered in couch and goodness knows what else. I intend digging by hand as rotivator will indeed exacerbate problem 10 fold! (See basics my poor little allotment)
I've had some brilliant advice including speaking to the lottie assoc about any help with clearance. I agree this is definately the friendliest site, but then gardeners all are a friendly bunch. probably because we're all as mad as each other!
Quote from: artichoke on January 11, 2007, 11:15:46
I can only repeat the virtues of thick, heavy, FREE cardboard
That was a great tip artichoke. Do you make your lasagnes on top of the cardboard? ::)
My allotment was not too bad when I got it at the end of the year but there are quite a lot of weeds sprouting up. the ground is very soggy and hard to walk up and down hadweeding. There are no paths yet. I have been down today and covered a big part of it with blue sheeting and bricks. do you think the weeds will die back or at least stay as they are until the weather gets a bit dryer? I know that everyone says the sheets should be black but it was all I had to hand.
Oh groan - your tale sounds soooo familiar to me! I have hand cleared half and have now given up on the other half and have covered it with weed suppressing fabric and intend to plant spuds/pumpkins/courgettes etc through this. They should be fine and a lot of the weeds will give up (hopefully). Then I plan to dig it over next winter and weed out what remains!
I'll used the well cleared half for all the other veggies!
Well - that's the plan anyway!
Louise
X
That sounds a great idea Artichoke i've got bags of weeds everywhere that i could use!
I definitely wouldn't rotovate the couch grass.
Hi all! We should be taking ownership of our new half plot soon hopefully. We've checked it over and at the moment its covered in a thin layer of grass. I'm not sure what type! Whats the best way of clearing this? And if I slice off the grass what should I do with it?
Piccy:
(http://oelph.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/allotment.JPG)
brilliant plot, the grass might just cut off, like turf, then upturn in a heap, cover and leave for a while, you'll get good soil from it ;D ;D
Our allotment site has 4 pigs that have been brought in to prepare the land for more plots.They are doing a great job.
Quote from: manicscousers on January 16, 2007, 20:16:41
brilliant plot, the grass might just cut off, like turf, then upturn in a heap, cover and leave for a while, you'll get good soil from it ;D ;D
Excellent, thanks!
I thought pigs would do a good job. You'd have to have a strong fence though.